It's not exactly a "little shop", but my vote would be to pop in to Dania and see what they have... because "affordable" is the hard part to fulfill. While they have a little more design-conscious... More

It's not exactly a "little shop", but my vote would be to pop in to Dania and see what they have... because "affordable" is the hard part to fulfill. While they have a little more design-conscious stuff than IKEA, their prices are still quite reasonable, so it's kind of like an upgraded IKEA (less particle board). IKEA does have some pieces made of solid wood, but I hear you, they are limited. :-) I like that some of the pieces carried by Dania are innovative for small spaces... for example, a coffee table which can convert to a dining table http://daniafurniture.com/?page=shop/flypage&page_back=shop/category_items&offset=18&product_id=1192&category_id=f85e462baf927f8e53989dd969c0e430 - they also have a few more extension tables which remind me of clean and functional designs by muji http://www.muji.net/eng/ (whose furniture is unfortunately not available in the US ). We looked for quite a bit of cute "small space furniture" since we live in a small condo, but I tell you, they're hard to find! They also have a beautiful table named Kobe, which converts to a dining table but can be stored away in size of a console table and comes with storage drawer space. I don’t see it on the website, but the last time I was in their showroom they still had it. Their north location on Roosevelt Way has more merchandise, including discontinued items and a big as-is discount corner with stuff that’s been returned or scratched. If you are in Vancouver, I highly recommend popping in to EQ3 http://www.eq3.com/cat-eq3/splash.html - another cute furniture shop whose stuff is quite reasonable by furniture standards, and much cuter than IKEA - and they have a lift-up storage bed reminiscent of flou beds, for about 1/3-1/5 of its Italian counterpart. They can deliver to Seattle for a fee. Happy shopping and don’t forget Craig’s List!
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We fell in love with a friend's Dania couch and armchair and bought our living room furniture there. Their furniture is very stylish (much of it with clean, minimal lines and a European feel) and... More

We fell in love with a friend's Dania couch and armchair and bought our living room furniture there. Their furniture is very stylish (much of it with clean, minimal lines and a European feel) and reasonably priced -- our leather sofa was ~$1500. It's also very comfortable. We probably visited the store six or eight times before deciding what to buy, and then came back a few days after ordering to change our order. Through it all, the staff were patient, helpful and friendly (and had a sense of humor!). Be aware that some of the upholstered furniture is made to order and can take up to 3 months (!) to deliver.
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