Nadeau Furniture With a Soul — Local services in Lake View Township

Edit: I can see why some folks say there are pushy salespeople. Most aren't, but the owner is extremely pushy to the point of obnoxiousness. Like stalks you and shames you if you don't jump on the pieces. He's even talked at me while I was on the phone and telling him to stop (I was already on the phone when he came up to me, I didn't take a call while talking to him). Reducing a star because of it. Seriously stop it already.

I'm honestly surprised to see all the negative reviews here. Well, most of them are just b.s. that has nothing to do with the store itself or by people who can't read: I can attest that the "all sales are final" sign is posted, it's common sense not to park in a designated spot that isn't for you (I've seen the signs and the spots are clearly marked), and it's completely idiotic to buy a piece of furniture without measuring your space or deciding on style first. C'mon now, these things have nothing to do with the store.

If you're looking for a manicured showroom with with the most high-end furniture you've ever seen, this is not the place for you, and I think that's what people are thinking it should be. It's essentially a warehouse. The shop brings in pieces from South Asia and fills the store with them. There is no official stock, though there is a lot of continuity among the pieces and a bunch of repeating styles. I think they're very well priced for what you get. $350 for a beautiful large wooden desk? Uh, yes please. Are they the most polished pieces? No, but that's not what you come here for. You come here for rustic, unique, and a bit antiquey. You do have to weed through a lot to find what you're looking for, but you absolutely can find it.

I've visited the store on 2 occasions (once during Ravenswood Arts Walk) and had fantastic service. The same lady helped me both times, and the second (non-art walk) time, she basically walked around the store with me for an hour. She couldn't have been nicer. Yes, she was a bit pushy, but she's selling things, that's her job and she wasn't rude by any means. There is a gentleman who is a bit rude, but I've only seen him moving pieces around, and quite frankly I'd be irritable, too, if I had to move around furniture like a jigsaw puzzle all day. I'm actually impressed that for being basically a warehouse with an ever rotating stock, the staff know all the pieces there and where you can find them.

My only criticism is that I have seen a few cracked pieces here and there. I'm not sure if this happens in transit or when rearranging the stock. But, it is disappointing because some of the cracked pieces have been things I would have purchased. The only thing I can say about that is that while I wouldn't necessarily buy a cracked piece, if you don't mind the crack, you're still getting a good deal. And, if you really think the crack is problematic but you really want the piece, negotiate...

After wasting seven hours at Crate & Barrel, I cancelled most of my order after finding Nadeau.

The staff at Nadeau are welcoming, friendly, and helpful without being pushy. (Some reviews mentioned pushy staff, but I interacted with three people and all were lovely - shout outs to Anna and Isaiah.) It's great that they have tape measures and notepads readily on hand to use.

I ended up buying a dining table, six chairs, media console-ish drawer unit, desk + chair, and a dresser. And I want to go back for more!

The pieces seem to be of decent quality and I think the prices are reasonable. At stores like C&B you're paying for design; the quality is like IKEA+ for most of their case pieces. I like that at Nadeau, what you see is what you get. And you can get it quickly!

I picked out furniture on Saturday and Sunday, and everything was delivered the following Monday. Amazing. Their delivery partner, Darryl, is also terrific. He packed everything securely and his rates are good.

One small area of improvement: If Nadeau had dusted everything off prior to delivery, I would have appreciated it. No biggie, though.

If you're looking for basic wood furniture and wanting to level up from IKEA-ish stuff, I highly recommend Nadeau. Don't be tempted by the branding of big box stores like C&B, Pottery Barn, West Elm etc. Most of Nadeau's pieces are designed simply, but there are several pieces with more character if that's your vibe.

Tip: If you see something you like, don't wait too long. I was eying a desk and then found that someone else had snatched it up. Measure your space before you go shopping so you can buy confidently. They do not put things on hold.

Another reviewer had complained that the store is disorganized. Meh. If you're looking for something specific, ask the staff to point you in the right direction. Otherwise, I thought it was fun to walk the aisles and see what they have. The store is big but it's not THAT big. You could easily peruse and get a sense of their stock in less...

Be cautious with this store. I purchased an expensive table here after being assured by two salespeople that their third-party delivery partner was excellent and that delivery to my location would be around $140, as they had done before. I was also told that all sales are final.

After completing the purchase, I contacted the delivery partner and was shocked to receive a much higher delivery quote—so high that it felt unjustifiable. I even checked alternative delivery options, and they were equally expensive.

The entire experience feels misleading and like a trap: a strict no-return policy combined with delivery costs that are not accurately disclosed upfront. On top of that, both salespeople provided poor customer service, acting as if assisting customers was an inconvenience.

I would strongly recommend investigating all costs before purchasing...