Walter E. Smithe Furniture & Design — Attraction in Wheeling Township

We have been so fortunate to work closely with Ellyn Anderson over the past year as we built our first home and invested in furniture for the long-term. She has not only become a friend, but a trusted advisor with an incredible design eye and vision.

Ellyn has helped us make selections for investment pieces, like an oversized sectional sofa and a family kitchen table, that become the cornerstone design features of our home. She went above and beyond with her time and council, working many weekends to accommodate our schedules and coach us through strange pandemic delivery schedules/delays so we could keep our move-in timing in mind. She also was VERY generous and helped weigh-in on selections not directly in her oversight, such as flooring and cabinet color and lighting heights etc. All of this made her a VIP for us during what is a stressful time in building and moving.

My favorite memory is on our delivery day. Ellyn was there onsite to oversee a smooth delivery of our pieces and celebrate with us. This is the defining difference. She cares immensely. Talent is one thing, but care is what sets Walter E. Smithe, and Ellyn, apart.

We look forward to working with Ellyn as we complete more areas of our home, and am so grateful to her. Thank you for everything and you have a customer...

Unfortunately, I had the absolute worse experience with Walter E Smite. We placed an order for a new table and 6 chairs back in Oct 2020. The table was originally delivered damaged, the wrong table was delivered 2 more times! We waited three years for them to resolve the issue. We suggested early on to either cancel or provide a discount to cover the damages. They refused to cancel the order (Said it was in production) Discounts on the table would be for store credit. WES idea of a part time solution was to give us an old out-dated pine table that didn't match anything in our home. It wasn't until they finally admitted they could not remedy the order. At that point, we canceled. I now have 6 chairs ($1,000 a piece) for a table that I can't replicate nor match to. My final invoice to manage the balance was still wrong, even in the end (they didn't credit the correct amount and said we were delinquent - can you imagine!). It was insulting, embarrassing, disappointing and greedy on the part of WES. They did not care at all about their client's best interest or the reputation. I would not recommend them to anyone interested in a reputable service.

PS: I put this on their website. If it's still not there - that should tell...

This happened several years ago, my wife never left feedback but I want to warn others about this store.

My wife purchased a very expensive solid wood dining room table from Walter E. Smithe in Arlington Heights. After delivery we noticed that when we sit at the table the finish is sticky across the entire surface of the table.

My wife called to complain and they sent someone out who tried a couple different solvents to see if they could correct it. Nothing he tried worked. He told us that the table would need to be refinished. He said this would be expensive and that it would not be covered under any type of warranty, we would have to pay. I was furious when she told me but she wound-up putting a tablecloth over it because we had already spent so much on the table we couldn't justify the additional expense of having our NEW table refinished! I like the wood grain finish of the table but now it is always hidden under the cover.

So the takeaway here is that when the Walter E. Smithe factory screws-up the finish, it's the customer's fault. You have no recourse. I do not shop here anymore and I warn everyone I know about our...