iTimmy

I am very interested in some furniture available from them http://www.restorationhardware.com/r...rdware%20store for those not familiar. I am looking at a pair of Library chairs in the master bedroom, hudson parson's chairs for the breakfast room and matching counter height stools at the counter facing into the kitchen and if money allows I would love to pick up a pair of Maxwell couches for the living room. The problem is, anyone who is familiar with there stuff, its kind of pricey. The problem is even at the best places in this area I can't find thing I like as much. Is it worth the money? I really like the library chairs and want something like that for the sitting area in the master bedroom, I've looked far and wide and nothing has the style and quality. The rest of the stuff I am sure I can find similar style products else where. But if it is worth the price I am willing to pay for it.

I know this is kind of a shot in the dark, but sometimes I am shocked what I get from people from this forum.

eclipse23

Well I have stuff from there and it's definitely like a pottery barn for people with more cash. Their styles are retro but modern, very interesting designers they have. I personally love one of their coffee table sets but I don't want to spend 2K for a coffee table. Although, if I had the cash in hand and wouldn't miss it I would in a heartbeat. I have one right by my place on the way home from work. Staff is fairly average, I relied more on the catalog for measurements and facts over the 22 year old college student who twills her hair and stares at the walls.

wipe0ut

i love their leather couches. but like ernie said, they are on the expensive side. if i had the cash, i would definately have one.

supposedly their employees get kick-ass discounts though.

my dad and stepmom were shopping around for furniture and got to talking to one of the salesmen at a restoration hardware. the guy works there, part-time, every saturday, not for the paycheck, but just to get the discount.

go fill out an application.

soopa

yeah they've nice stuff, good quality. most of their styles are a bit too traditional for me, but their maxwell series is really nice. restoration hardware is much like pottery barn, ethan allen, etc.

iTimmy

I was under the impression it was like an upscale pottery barn. I don't care for pottery barn's stuff, but some of this stuff is more of what I am looking for. I would just go check it out myself, but the closest place is about 2 hours away and I won't have time for a few weeks if not months to make it down there.

Hey Soopa, which furniture stores have you had luck with? I liked a few things I saw at stickley but other then that this area seems to be full of crappy stores. I forgot about ethan allen up in schenectedy I'll have to check them out this weekend.

soopa

I really don't think restoration hardware is any more upscale than pottery barn. Same wide range of prices, same materials, their stores are in the same malls. It's just a more traditional style than pottery barn, appealing to those restoring old classic houses...

Stores around here suck. We go down to Jersey or out to Boston for furniture shoppin...

ric

I think the Pottery Barn "style profile" runs more to traditional "cottage" style stuff... and Restoration Hardware fancies itself to be more formal traditional stuff. I think RH would like to think their stuff is more upscale than Pottery Barn, but there is a significant price overlap between the two.

With RH's chairs and couches, you have to SIT IN IT BEFORE YOU BUY as their proportions are built to be quite generous. The seats tend to be unusually deep and the seat height is frequently rather low. THis disproportion makes a lot of their stuff look posh and sleek and very "big", but may mean that your shorter guests are going to look like a kid sitting on it with their knees not "breaking" at the edge of the seat. This seems to be a classic challenge with their stuff; if you're a pro basketball player, it's probably fine.

That said, we recently cashed in my AMEX "Rewards" funny money, and bought Restoration hardware's propietary line of bath linens. Very luxurious, very comfy. We've purchased some of the gadgets for bathrooms from them as well. Quality seems to be very good, the stuff was what it proported to be. BIggest was a Stckley style recliner, with massive wood arms that my wife can use to help herself in and out with some ease. Looks decent, performs well.

Another source might be Crate and Barrel. THeir stuff is more clearly contemporary, and the lines will be generally quite simple.

(I recently helped a divorcing friend of me re-stock his new home, since the ex-wifey took all...... spent two days in Boston checking out the major retail furniture lines.