Ethan Allen: "New year, New Look" newsletter

We have to be honest, we've never really given Ethan Allen much thought. There are a bunch of them around where we live, but we've never really felt compelled to go in. It always appeared a bit too traditional for our decor tastes. So, we were surprised when we received the new "Inside Ethan Allen: new year, new look" newsletter. It was over-sized and printed on nice paper. The cover had a distinctly more urban/modern feel, not at all what we would have expected...

Throughout the newsletter they have these amusing pull-quotes with faux customer profiles like "He needed a place where he could relax with a book, and he felt most comfortable in an eclectic, modern environment..." One thing that we found strange was that they didn't list the individual prices for the pieces shown in the photos. Instead, they gave a financing price (ie. "$155 per month for 60 months") for the fourteen pieces featured in the image. It kind of reminded us of a car commercial. (Does anyone finance their furniture? Or rather, would anyone finance a room full of furniture?) They do list some of the prices, but not all. They divided the rest of the newsletter by topics, such as sofas, desks, beds, draperies, chairs, and a little blurb at the back about the craftsmanship of their products. Has anyone bought anything from Ethan Allen recently? Did anyone receive this newsletter in the mail? You can download a pdf of the newsletter and check it out for yourself. What is your take?

Comments (19)

I didn't get that particular newsletter, but I did get one a while ago - and I had the same thought. It was more attractive than my preconceived idea of what Ethan Allen was. I also remember I thought it was quite expensive - though I don't remember the financing - that's pretty weird. I would not buy furniture I had to pay off in installments!

Their television commecrcials have been touting this "new" look for about a year now.

I always hear of people buying new homes and then financing brand new furniture like its part of the mortgage.
I think it leads to a lot of people buying all their decor from the same line and having boring homes as a result. Less thought goes into choosing a piece if you don't have to pay for it upfront.

I've never been inside Ethan Allen, but from the tv commercials I remember since I was a kid, I gather that it very much is a "buy-all-the-furniture-in-your-living-room-dining-room-and-bedroom-at-one-time-and-just-finance-it" kind of place. It seems to be targeted at youngish to middle-aged suburban families who want to look like they have disposable income, and buy big new houses and need to "do" all the rooms over. There's a lot more of that out there than I like to think. No wonder so many people are in debt.

If you shop right, Ethan Allen is (and has always been) a fine source for a collected look, modern or traditional, financed or not.

The whole HGTV Dream Home is furnished in Ethan Allen furniture, and ain't nothing wrong with THAT.

And Lisa, I see nothing particularly MCM or "suburban" about that cover shot.

And ps, my Mom's Ethan Allen trestle dining table with bench and chairs is pushing 30 years of nearly-nightly dinners and Thanksgivings... and, at the time, yes, she financed.

P.S.

"I think it's evidence that the MCM look is becoming suburbanized." -

At one point in time it was suburbanized, hence the title "mid-century modern." It's just on an upswing again. All good design goes in and out of "fashion" but never ever really goes away.

Orangejuice,

I was going to say just that as you said, it began in the 'burbs back in the late 40's-early 50's but wasn't restrictive to just the suburban house, but to coffee shops and other residential and commercial establishments.

I think there's a bit of an Ethan Allen stigma floating around - that they're bland, boring, and (let's face it) a little too Martha. That's may be true for some of their offerings, but there are some truly beautiful pieces hidden in all that traditional fare.

And hey, I love clean lines and rosewood as much as the next girl, but I have wholly irrational fantasies about their Quincy bed. It shall be mine, oh yes.

I have dropped a small fortune on Ethan Allen furniture, in particular, their contemporary 1990's lines "Radius" and "American Impressions." They were not cheap, but I must admit that their stuff is SOLID. I have moved six times over the past ten years, and they have held up beautifully. Today my tastes are a bit more modern than EA, but quality never goes out of style.

I saw an Ethan Allen commercial on tv the other day and was floored. Couldn't believe it was them. They have changed...it's feel a lot less Americana meets Pennsylvania.

Carla--

Just cuz you added a chunk of change to your mortgage to finance furnishings, it doesn't mean you have to buy it all from one place. Some people just want to feel complete, moved in, and mortgage interest is a cheaper rate (typically) than other methods of credit purchase.

Re: "I've never been inside Ethan Allen, but from the tv commercials I remember since I was a kid..."

Um, how is it fair, based on that, to have any kind of opinion about their offerings, or the people who shop there, exactly?

I was really making more of a comment on their marketing. It's all about first impressions, is it not? And I do know people who shop at Ethan Allen for their furniture. Beautiful and high quality, no doubt. Do they finance it? Yes. That stereotype is something Ethan Allen clearly knows is out there and takes full advantage of.

Can someone explain what MCM means?

I own the Horizons Slat Queen bed, a Gibson sofa and a Madison armchair, all of which I love. They're all solid, well-constructed pieces of furniture and I expect to continue loving them for a long time - in fact, at the time I purchased them 5 or 6 years ago, Ethan Allen was the only place where I was able to find an attractive sofa that would fit into a smaller scale room.

SBDesign--MCM stands for Mid Century Modern!

Yeah ciddyguy,

I currently live in Rochester, NY (Ick!...I know. But it's temporary). Anyway, one of the first (if not THE first indoor malls) is here (It's about to be torn down for a new corporate office building center). I did a little research on the mall and saw old pictures from the 60's. They had probably 100 Bertoia chairs in the friggin food court. Oh to know where they all went would be nice but this is Rochester where just about ANY kind of design is not desired so they were probably given a dishonorable discharge long ago.

I went into a local Ethan Allen this past weekend - not really shopping but just browsing their couches and sectionals. The store was small and full of very traditional funiture - it reminded me of stuff my mother would love. I was on my way out when I was stopped by a store designer - all of their couches are custom. Sounded pricey, and I was right. A small sectional was between $3000-$4000 based on the fabric and fill content of the cushions. That might be reasonable to some - I guess I am jaded by all the low price Asian imported funiture on the market.