Post by aprilsails on Sept 12, 2021 21:09:06 GMT -5
I have a Canadian problem. DH and I have spent two days shopping at all the local stores for new bedroom furniture (we are using his childhood set, seriously), and are having a bad time. We’ve found dressers we like but struck out other than one $8k bed which is not happening. One bed on the West Elm site ticks all our boxes, however, the closest location is a 5 hour drive.
Before we order this and pay $500 for shipping, does anyone have West Elm furniture and care to comment on the quality of the veneers on the beds, dressers or tables? I’m ready to pull the trigger, but it would be great to get some feedback so I can assuage DH’s concerns. He is killing me in this process. Killing me. I’ve wanted real furniture for so very long, and we basically don’t have any because we agree on nothing.
Post by Doggy Mommy on Sept 12, 2021 21:48:25 GMT -5
We got the mid century coffee table last year and I was impressed with the quality. That thing is solid. So then we got the mid century dining table and same thing, it's beautiful, weighs a ton, and the quality has been great. We got dining chairs too and I think they could be more comfortable but I love how they look.
Eta: I forgot we have a rug too. It looks nice and feels soft but quality isn’t great. It snags with the dyson. But it was on a huge sale and is definitely worth what we paid (maybe it was on sale due to quality issues).
I have two tables with mango wood from West Elm. They are solid wood though, not veneer. I also have two all metal pieces and a rug. We have an upholstered headboard from there that is about seven years old now and still in great condition and a solid-wood bench that is the same age. I am really happy with the quality of everything I own from West Elm, but I have heard not great reviews about soft seating (chairs, couches), so I have steered clear of that stuff.
A friend of mine has a full bedroom set from West Elm and as far as I'm aware she really likes it and hasn't had any issues.
I suspect their customer service is a bit lackluster if you have issues, but I can't say I've ever had any problems. I would probably feel pretty comfortable ordering a bed frame and dresser from them.
No idea on West Elm, but commiseration on the Canada problem. We are sitting on a very old, very sad ikea couch because we just can't figure out what to buy. I was ready to pull the trigger on an Article sofa, but after some deep dives into not compensated reviews I wasn't super impressed. We mostly just exist with old stuff or things I find second hand. Or ikea if it can fit in my hatchback and we have time/not covid to make the 8 hr round trip.
We have a west elm couch. It’s only been 1.5 years, but we have 4 kids under 10 (including 3 boys), and it’s held up well to all their heavy use so far. West Elm usually has really good discounts for Black Friday, if you’re not in a hurry.
Post by goldengirlz on Sept 13, 2021 0:53:57 GMT -5
Most of our furniture is West Elm and we bought it nine years ago when we bought our first house. The couch needs to be replaced but our dining room table, chairs and dressers have all held up very well. I’m quite fond of the table in particular.
Post by aprilsails on Sept 13, 2021 5:10:43 GMT -5
Thanks everyone. We’re looking at the Wright Upholstered bed. DH hates low beds and based on the dimensions given this one is tall enough to meet his requirements, even without a box spring. It isn’t fully upholstered around the base so we don’t have to worry about a cat shredding it (cat wouldn’t bother with the top due to pillows being in the way). It’s walnut which I want to match some other pieces. The bottom legs don’t stick out at the foot of the bed to stub your toes, and it’s not a platform bed which is designed expressly to bruise shins when made in wood. Finally it doesn’t have a footboard which DH would hit with his feet, and it will work well with the very plain and modernish dressers that we both like and that have excellent mechanisms (most important for DH).
Oh yeah I forgot the most important limitation: DH hates anything tufted. So like 95% of fabric headboards are out. And no nailhead trim, and no leather or pleather, etc etc. So this is our winner:
We have some West Elm pieces we really like and are generally solid, but I’ll give you my two complaints (neither of which I think would impact a bed). 😉
We have a console table that is allegedly “contract grade” which I intentionally spent more for something that I thought would be near-indestructible since it’s in a high-traffic are and we have two young kids. One of those kids set a water bottle on it for maybe 5 minutes, when we had it for like all of two days, and now there is a permanent condensation ring in the table. Grr!
My other issue is with our mid mid-century style dressers and bedside tables. The drawers do not slide our smoothly it feels like wood-on-wood grinding. You kind of have to smack the drawers closed. And I now fear water rings on those pieces so my bedroom is littered with coasters. 😬
Post by expectantsteelerfan on Sept 13, 2021 7:19:34 GMT -5
I have no clue on West Elm, but I wanted to commiserate in that we are using MY childhood bedroom set (and have been since we moved in together 15 years ago, although we did get a new bed when we got married 13 years ago), and we are currently looking for new bedroom furniture and finding it super frustrating even though we are in the US. We ended up buying an upholstered bed from Wayfair and nightstands online from somewhere else, but we are still looking for dressers. We did find a real wood set (as opposed to particle board/mdf/veneers) but it will be after new years before we would get it. So we're still debating whether we want to go that route, keep looking, or settle for cheap stuff and get it now.
I've bought a ton of West Elm stuff in the last year. The dressers that I've seen in store don't seem to be worth the cost at all. I was temped by their coffee tables but ultimately ordered from Article because the shipping cost wasn't insane. I ordered two rooms of furniture all at once earlier in the year to minimize the shipping - I've read it's gone up significantly recently, especially to Canada, so be sure to double check before you get your heart set on anything.
Our couch came manufactured incorrectly (the leg placement isn't accurate at all) and they're sending us a new one. I waited 3 months for the first and it'll be another 3 months for the replacement. But I do love the look and feel of it. The accent chairs I've ordered are substantial and worth the cost. Bar stools and rugs as well, I love them.
I was in a somewhat similar predicament trying to find a bed last year and ultimately bought this one from Wayfair: www.wayfair.com/furniture/pdp/three-posts-emile-low-profile-standard-bed-w000405961.html?piid=869376771 It's not fabric at all, and out of stock at the moment, but might check all the other boxes you've listed so I thought I'd throw it out there. I'm very happy with it and significantly cheaper.
Post by lightbulbsun on Sept 13, 2021 8:45:53 GMT -5
We've had a West Elm bed for around 8 years and it's held up really well. I don't think they sell the model anymore, but it was wood and the finish has held up. It still feels really solid.
Post by ellipses84 on Sept 13, 2021 14:39:58 GMT -5
That one is contract-grade which is rated for commercial use, which means the veneer should be quality. I’d be more hesitant of a veneer if it was not commercial quality. You may be able to find reviews for west elm acacia veneer products aside from the bed. I’d be willing to take the risk and order this one.
We have some West Elm pieces we really like and are generally solid, but I’ll give you my two complaints (neither of which I think would impact a bed). 😉
We have a console table that is allegedly “contract grade” which I intentionally spent more for something that I thought would be near-indestructible since it’s in a high-traffic are and we have two young kids. One of those kids set a water bottle on it for maybe 5 minutes, when we had it for like all of two days, and now there is a permanent condensation ring in the table. Grr!
My other issue is with our mid mid-century style dressers and bedside tables. The drawers do not slide our smoothly it feels like wood-on-wood grinding. You kind of have to smack the drawers closed. And I now fear water rings on those pieces so my bedroom is littered with coasters. 😬
No idea on West Elm, but commiseration on the Canada problem. We are sitting on a very old, very sad ikea couch because we just can't figure out what to buy. I was ready to pull the trigger on an Article sofa, but after some deep dives into not compensated reviews I wasn't super impressed. We mostly just exist with old stuff or things I find second hand. Or ikea if it can fit in my hatchback and we have time/not covid to make the 8 hr round trip.
Post by pizzaandtulips on Sept 13, 2021 20:18:17 GMT -5
I would highly recommend googling “West Elm shipping complaints” before buying anything large from them. I have a friend who ordered furniture and after a year it still hadn’t arrived, they had terrible customer service, and it was a fight to eventually cancel the order. This wasn’t a unique issue. Lots of similar complaints.
I would highly recommend googling “West Elm shipping complaints” before buying anything large from them. I have a friend who ordered furniture and after a year it still hadn’t arrived, they had terrible customer service, and it was a fight to eventually cancel the order. This wasn’t a unique issue. Lots of similar complaints.
I saw the same, and it did take several months to receive the things I bought from them last year, but I don't believe that was unique to West Elm. I saw similar complaints about Interior Define, but the timeline of my chairs was exactly what they told me when I made the order and they kept me updated throughout. It just took six months.
I honestly feel like sometimes people have unreasonable expectations, especially during times like these where there are significant delays that people are being warned about.
Not saying those things don't happen or that your friend wasn't wronged, but just offering a different perspective that I think sometimes those things get blown out of proportion. I will say, as I said above, that I am somewhat wary of West Elm's customer service based on things I've read, but I haven't personally had any issues with them.
I'd buy wood furniture from West Elm, but absolutely nothing upholstered. I'm so disappointed the way our $3k couch looks a year later.
I agree. The fabric on the chair I have from there has not held up well at all.
I’m not too worried about the upholstered headboard since it’s not going to see a lot of abuse. Worst case scenario, I can re-upholster it myself too, which I may very well end up doing as our tastes change.
I would highly recommend googling “West Elm shipping complaints” before buying anything large from them. I have a friend who ordered furniture and after a year it still hadn’t arrived, they had terrible customer service, and it was a fight to eventually cancel the order. This wasn’t a unique issue. Lots of similar complaints.
I saw the same, and it did take several months to receive the things I bought from them last year, but I don't believe that was unique to West Elm. I saw similar complaints about Interior Define, but the timeline of my chairs was exactly what they told me when I made the order and they kept me updated throughout. It just took six months.
I honestly feel like sometimes people have unreasonable expectations, especially during times like these where there are significant delays that people are being warned about.
Not saying those things don't happen or that your friend wasn't wronged, but just offering a different perspective that I think sometimes those things get blown out of proportion. I will say, as I said above, that I am somewhat wary of West Elm's customer service based on things I've read, but I haven't personally had any issues with them.
To be honest, since I am in Canada and not in a major market city (Toronto, Montreal or Vancouver) I am at the whims of shipping timelines for any company that I order from. We just got our first Amazon distribution centre 3 years ago, so we don’t have much warehousing locally. I might have the same problem with any company, American or Canadian. I called a CSR rep and asked about shipping timelines and they are saying mid-October and that it is a regular stock item and I would get it quickly on one of their runs between Toronto and Montreal, so that is promising.
The custom dressers we want to order are made in Canada and the CSR indicated that they would be ready in less than 9 months from order, so we’re not really in a rush to pull this room together.
I saw the same, and it did take several months to receive the things I bought from them last year, but I don't believe that was unique to West Elm. I saw similar complaints about Interior Define, but the timeline of my chairs was exactly what they told me when I made the order and they kept me updated throughout. It just took six months.
I honestly feel like sometimes people have unreasonable expectations, especially during times like these where there are significant delays that people are being warned about.
Not saying those things don't happen or that your friend wasn't wronged, but just offering a different perspective that I think sometimes those things get blown out of proportion. I will say, as I said above, that I am somewhat wary of West Elm's customer service based on things I've read, but I haven't personally had any issues with them.
To be honest, since I am in Canada and not in a major market city (Toronto, Montreal or Vancouver) I am at the whims of shipping timelines for any company that I order from. We just got our first Amazon distribution centre 3 years ago, so we don’t have much warehousing locally. I might have the same problem with any company, American or Canadian. I called a CSR rep and asked about shipping timelines and they are saying mid-October and that it is a regular stock item and I would get it quickly on one of their runs between Toronto and Montreal, so that is promising.
The custom dressers we want to order are made in Canada and the CSR indicated that they would be ready in less than 9 months from order, so we’re not really in a rush to pull this room together.
I think as long as your expectations are reasonable, you'll be fine. IMO (most, not all) of the people who complain about this stuff had unreasonable expectations to start with or ordered something knowing there was a five-month lead time, but got annoyed with waiting three months in.
Regarding the headboard, we have an upholstered one from WE that we bought in 2014. It still looks good, no complaints.
I would highly recommend googling “West Elm shipping complaints” before buying anything large from them. I have a friend who ordered furniture and after a year it still hadn’t arrived, they had terrible customer service, and it was a fight to eventually cancel the order. This wasn’t a unique issue. Lots of similar complaints.
I saw the same, and it did take several months to receive the things I bought from them last year, but I don't believe that was unique to West Elm. I saw similar complaints about Interior Define, but the timeline of my chairs was exactly what they told me when I made the order and they kept me updated throughout. It just took six months.
I honestly feel like sometimes people have unreasonable expectations, especially during times like these where there are significant delays that people are being warned about.
Not saying those things don't happen or that your friend wasn't wronged, but just offering a different perspective that I think sometimes those things get blown out of proportion. I will say, as I said above, that I am somewhat wary of West Elm's customer service based on things I've read, but I haven't personally had any issues with them.
Of course it’s not unique to them. And my friend was very patient and forgiving. If they had said 3 months, and it took 5-6? That might be reasonable. Over a year with no one answering her calls and emails is terrible customer service. I read one story that was similar but for baby furniture - not exactly something you can typically sit back and wait a year for. Many of these complaints go way back before the pandemic. Just reading some of these posts (and others) on quality that’s just meh for some things, combined with stories of bad service, it’s not a company I’d choose to just give a lot of money to.
I saw the same, and it did take several months to receive the things I bought from them last year, but I don't believe that was unique to West Elm. I saw similar complaints about Interior Define, but the timeline of my chairs was exactly what they told me when I made the order and they kept me updated throughout. It just took six months.
I honestly feel like sometimes people have unreasonable expectations, especially during times like these where there are significant delays that people are being warned about.
Not saying those things don't happen or that your friend wasn't wronged, but just offering a different perspective that I think sometimes those things get blown out of proportion. I will say, as I said above, that I am somewhat wary of West Elm's customer service based on things I've read, but I haven't personally had any issues with them.
Of course it’s not unique to them. And my friend was very patient and forgiving. If they had said 3 months, and it took 5-6? That might be reasonable. Over a year with no one answering her calls and emails is terrible customer service. I read one story that was similar but for baby furniture - not exactly something you can typically sit back and wait a year for. Many of these complaints go way back before the pandemic. Just reading some of these posts (and others) on quality that’s just meh for some things, combined with stories of bad service, it’s not a company I’d choose to just give a lot of money to.
Again, not saying there wasn't an issue for your friend.
I think it's a tough balance for someone who is, let's say, upper middle class. Places like Room & Board ($2k for a single armchair) can feel out of reach even though their quality and customer service is great. If someone wants a step up from IKEA (not knocking it, we own tons of IKEA stuff), it's hard to find companies that offer a good balance of quality and customer service at the right price point.
Companies like Wayfair (who I don't shop anyway for ethical reasons) and Overstock sell a range of different qualities, so it's really hard to know if what you're getting is going to be any good.
In my experience, it's easy to find really high quality furniture with good customer service and similarly easy to find low cost options. It's the in between that gets murky and, IMO, ends up being the reason people are willing to sacrifice a bit of both.