Design Within Reach — Local services in Portland

I’m a firm believer in shopping local brick and mortar, not only so I can see and touch in person, but I LIKE stores and want them to stick round. End of speech. Came by here on 04-19-19 to see in person a dining table that had caught my eye online and first of all, the store is huge and gorgeous and what a treat to see so many beautifully designed pieces in the flesh—so to speak. I was warmly greeted as soon as I walked in and I told the gentleman (Joshua) the table I was interested in and he took me up to go see it. Once I saw the table I decided it was the one I wanted and told him I wanted to buy it, but one of the advantages of dealing with a real life human is he told me if I was not in a big hurry, Herman Miller was having a sale beginning at the start of the following month and he could literally put my order in midnight from home the day the sale begins to get it to the beginning of the shipping line and get it 7 to 10 days later. And save 15% and waive the $299 white glove delivery in the process. I wouldn’t have known that if the transaction happened on line. All in all, the transaction was quick and easy with the added bonus of getting a very nice savings in the process. I’m actually not a big shopper and I’m a big fan of relaxed, informed and quick transactions like today. Couple that with a truly beautiful show room that has so many gorgeous pieces you can actually see and touch and I give Design Within Reach high marks all around! Josh gets five stars too! I'll definitely be back when I'm ready to purchase some...

The staff are very friendly, and the showroom is nice, but unfortunately competence is not in large supply here.

I put in an order, was told it would take 16 weeks and that they would follow up with a DocuSign. One month, didn't hear from them. I wrote back, was told "the person who originally helped you is out sick. I can't help you because everything is tied to their account." I don't have a problem with delays because people get sick, but it's also not cool to have processes as simple as new orders blocked by one person/tied to one person. Also, were they just recently sick? (Then what about the preceding month?) We're they sick long term? (Then why didn't someone else take over their account?) But I pressed on. When the sick person was back, they finally sent over the document, two months after that, I called to confirm my order was progress, was told that it was. It's now been 6 months since that last contact. Pretty unconscionable how they jerk us...

We’ve purchased many things from DWR over the years. 14 years ago we bought the flight recliner and it was a family favorite. When it became very worn we decided to purchase another. The new one is not the same chair! Having them side by side, our new chair is very light weight, doesn’t begin to have the heft of the original. The upholstery is much cheaper. The original is very taut, with seams on either side of the arm rest and a seam down the back, nice detail stitching. The new chair has upholstery that wraps over the arm rest in a traditional way. No longer a cool and interesting piece, the detail work is gone and it’s already clear this chair will not hold up the way the last one did.Very disappointed. We are now reupholstering the original and finding another home for...