Walter E. Smithe Furniture & Design — Local services in Chicago

I placed an order online & had it shipped to this store on Clybourn in Chicago. I have always been in such Awe of Walter E Smithe & it’s Furniture & Design for Years.

And vowed that One Day.. Some Day.. I will be able to Afford the Furniture they sell.

But for now I purchased some accent pieces for my table & bookshelf.

They were Exquisite Pieces & I couldn’t wait to pick them up.

(This was a little over a year ago & I just came across the paperwork from my purchase)

And I parked my truck & walked into the store.

And I was greeted by Margo Dahmani..

And just for the record.. She looks as Classy as her Name Sounds..

And the type of person I would have expected Walter E Smithe to hire.

The store was designed So Elegantly & my eyes went everywhere..

Margo met me at the top of the Stairs & asked did I need assistance as I walk with a Cane.

She was just So Kind & So Welcoming..

I could not afford most of the things in the Store & I’m sure I looked like I couldn’t either. Well I was dressed nice & clean but not Elegant.

That didn’t seem to matter in the Least to Margo. She treated me like I was Queen for a Day!!

She asked me if I would like something to drink while she went to the back to retrieve the items I had ordered. And she invited me to take my coat off & have a look around & just make myself comfortable.

(Ohh, May I also add that I am Black & not that it should matter but sometimes.. even in 2020 it does.. But Margo saw a Customer Only.. who used a Cane & she wanted to help me feel welcome & comfortable no matter what color I was or how much money I Didn't have)

I meant to write this review so long ago but I put my paperwork up somewhere & couldn’t find it. Until Now.

After I walked around I saw some other items that fit my budget so I brought them to Margo & she rang those items up & began to wrap them up so Beautifully with my items I had ordered online.

With the items I ordered along with the items I picked up in the Store.. I think I spent maybe $300 - $375..

That couldn’t even purchase a couch in the store but you couldn’t tell I had spent Soo Little based on the Treatment I received from Margo..

You would have thought that I had purchased thousands of dollars worth of Furniture.

The wrapping was so beautiful that I hated to unwrap everything once I got home.

Once she wrapped everything up she went & got The Most Beautiful Bags to put my items in.

I don’t know about you but I am a Bag Person & so many stores seem to skimp on Bags Now but Not Walter E Smithe..

They are as Elegant as the Store & the people that work there..

I walked around & no one followed me or kept asking me can I help you with something. I was just like a kid in a candy store..

Margo also Gave me some of the stores Magazines & I have them on my table in my living room..

And once she wrapped up everything she asked me to go & bring my car to the door & she would load the packages in there for me...

I was like ... Wow... 😯

Now I am telling you .. The lady was dressed BAD!! Awesomely Elegant..

And she said she would bring my packages to the car & load them in for me..

Ohh & did I mentioned it was chilly out & lightly raining on & off? No I don’t think I did..

And I did as she asked & If I could just express how Awesome her Treatment of me made me feel on the inside..

It’s difficult to put it into words really..

It was such a Memorable Experience for me.

So much so that even after a whole year & 2 mo the later from that Experience.. I happened to have found my Paperwork with her card with her lovely picture stapled to it & ALL of the Feelings I had that day came rushing back to my memory.

Soo.. if you would like to have a Shopping Experience Unlike No Other you may have Experienced Before.. I Invite you to take a trip to Walter E Smithe on North Clybourn in Chicago And Be Prepared to be Dazzled with White Glove Treatment..

Be sure to Ask for my girl Margo Dahmani..

Who will definitely be my design assistant when I move into my Dream House ..

Let Walter E Smith Design your...

Purchasing a custom sofa from the Lincoln Park store of Walter E Smithe is one of the worst mistakes I have made. My husband and I are Seniors in our 70’s and we thought we were purchasing a quality product and used money from our savings to purchase this $6500 custom leather sofa nightmare. Every time we sit on it, the VCF commercial comes to mind. We have attempted to address these concerns unsuccessfully with the WES Customer Service Manager. We even wrote and sent a letter via Priority Mail to the President, Walter E Smithe, III. (No response, by the way). We spent (2) hours in the Lincoln Park store with the “designer.” We were very specific about measurements and durability. We explained the new sofa was intended to be the primary seating in our family room, and it would be utilized every day by my husband and myself. No children or other persons live in our home. I was very specific about measurements, seating height and durability. We purchased EVERY recommendation/option made by our “designer.” The sofa was delivered in November, 2024 and initially looked to be okay. Within days, however, I noticed several issues and concerns and contacted Customer Service. The stitching on one of the back cushions was defective and you could see where the manufacturer made an error and restitched the seam, however needle holes and thread from the error were visible. Despite ordering the” top of line” cushion stuffing, the seat cushions have compressed 2.5 inches in 4 months of use, making it difficult for us to get up from the sofa. The seam stitching on both sofa arms is suspect and looks to be defective or loose. I was told the stitching was within “variance” and not defective. I discovered the sofa is only 72” in length instead of the 74” as specified on the order. I spoke with the Customer Service Manager several times and she stated the measurement variance was within their “5% variance” as stated in the “Miscellaneous” section of the agreement. This sections references color variances, not size variances. The Customer Service Manager finally agreed the back seat cushion was defective and WES would send it back to the manufacturer to be replaced. The Customer Service Manager repeatedly assured me the cushion would be replaced and returned within two weeks; it took 8 weeks to receive it. The WES technician stated the cover was replaced, however it looks like the manufacturer re-stitched the original cushion cover. So, we are now stuck with an uncomfortable, $6500 poorly manufactured sofa. I wish we had gone to VCF or any other furniture store. ...

We are finally empty nesters, sold the house, and moved to a great condo. We finally were able to get adult furniture since the kids are grown. We went to a number of stores and loved the concept from our designer. We gave him the dimensions of our existing furniture and our new place. We were so excited. Then it turned into total frustration. The delivery group and manager were absolutely horrible. The first delivery, they refused to take the legs off of the couch and said it wouldn't fit. They took everything back. The manager apologized and told me the next delivery would work and they took the legs off but it still didn't fit through the door. I was really upset as I'm taking time to wait for the delivery. I asked if there were any options as we found out that the back height of the sofa was different than our existing sofa. The length and width were the same. The options were a 30 percent refund charge, over 3000 dollars, or them to deliver it with a crew that takes it apart and puts it back together. The extremely frustrating part was no one mentioned back height may be a problem when buying a sofa for a condo. We chose to have them disassemble and reassemble the sofa. Besides taking three days of my time for delivery, we are stuck with a sofa, that, if we ever decide to replace, we will have to have it disassembled to get it out of our unit.

Also the delivery manager was not helpful at all. She misrepresented what the second crew would do. It got to the point that I would only communicate via email with her so I could have a record of our conversations. She said don't worry, our conversations are taped. I asked her for one of our conversations and she sent a different one.

While we loved the design concept... it was the best we encountered in our numerous store visits, their delivery team was horrible to work with. We spent over 10000 dollars to get what I thought would be our dream living room. What should have been a great experience turned into two months of total frustration. For the rest of our unit we will be going to room and board or arhaus.

The reason for the 2 stars is the design was great. I wish the designer would have asked for the sofa back height dimensions, we didn't know that would...