I ordered some chairs from there, the Macau chair (looks like a knock off of the Jonathan Adler chairs you see everywhere). We'll they delivered them to the wrong address, and they were all damaged when I got them. I had to deny delivery to send them back without it costing me any money, which was difficult as these huge chairs were left on the front stoop of my door (the wrong home, they were supposed to go to my new place as I was moving). They refunded my money, but didn't have any other chairs to replace them so I was SOL on the design I was going for. They also refused to give me the same price on another color of chair.
Originally when I ordered them (4 chairs) my order went through, then they only had 2 left and shipped me 2 without notifying me (what am I going to do with only 2 dining chairs) that they were out of them.

So no I did not have a pleasant experience with them, but I know no one else that has ordered from them.

I haven't tried to order from them since.

I've never ordered furniture so this may not be particularly helpful. But I've ordered bathroom rugs. They were expensive but very good quality and have held up really well over time.

I've never ordered anything from them through the mail, but I do own a bookcase, a TV stand and some other items from Ballard Designs (either used or from the outlet store nearby) and they are solid pieces that have held up well over many years.

I ordered the corner upholstered sectionals from them. I would say the quality is pretty much what I expected. Not top quality, but pretty good. I've been happy with it. I don't think the quality is comparable to what I would expect from a place like Restoration Hardware.

I had a bad customer experience with them, too, back in 1995, and haven't ordered from them since. However, I do know that they source from a lot of the same places that other major retailers do. For example, I got my bedding (spread, duvet, shams, skirt, bolster) from Thomasville, but Ballard was carrying the exact same product. The set I wanted went on sale at Ballard and I was tempted to order it from them. I went into Thomasville when I found out they carried what I wanted so I could see swatches, feel the fabric, etc. Well, the set was on sale with T-ville, too, plus there was no shipping.
So in the end I ordered from T-Ville instead.

My point is not so much about Ballard quality, but to point out that they carry great stuff carried elsewhere, so I would see if you can sleuth out the manufacturer. There are often clues in the description, or you could always call and ask. If you trust who makes it, then I would order it, being prepared for mediocre service.

I think Room and Board has a similar table. EXCELLENT service there, by the way. They allowed me to return a rug 14 months after the purchase and even came to pick it up.

I haven't ordered any furniture, but the textiles I have from them are high quality and well-made. They communicated with me very well when something was on backorder.

I've ordered accessories, several rugs and one piece of furniture - the Sonoma bookcase. I'm really happy with the bookcase (which I had to assemble) and I think the quality is fine. Never had a problem with customer service and any returns were processed without a problem.
They run promotions pretty frequently (10-15% off, or free shipping) - I usually wait for a promo to come up before ordering.

Ballard has a fan page on Facebook - looks like they address lots of questions there and address any concerns people may have - worth a look.

My mother has ordered a ton of stuff from there and been totally happy. The price was right for her which she was taking advantage of my employee discount at the time. Now that I'm a home owner, I wish I had that discount... Either way I say ORDER AWAY!

They are a regular source for me with clients, and aside from the VERY odd way they have of scheduling over-sized deliveries, and a few things perpetually on backorder, I've had no complaints.

You get a lot of look for the money, but as any source, you have to curate carefully.

This past November I ordered on-line the Bourdonnais bookcase from Ballard. I was very happy with their communication and processing. The bookcase is of excellent quality for the money - extremely heavy and stable. It arrived in one piece with no assembly. It was an oversized item and special delivery was required. Based on previous comments, I think this is where experiences may differ dramatically. I believe they subcontract their special deliveries to various companies depending on your metro area. I live in the greater Chicago area and had a great delivery experience where they went beyond what was stated by Ballard. Took it out of the box, carried it upstairs, etc. etc. The delivery sealed the experience for me although I am still quite happy with the stand-alone product. Good luck - I hope it works out for you.

I've been disappointed with Ballard Design's customer service, but I haven't purchased any furniture. The quality of their products, in my opinion, is equivalent to Target, and that makes them quite overpriced.

I have the leopard large indoor/outdoor rug from BD. The delivery was a little strange -- they put it in our side porch (which is open to the elements) when we weren't home and didn't leave any kind of notice. We kind of stumbled upon it by accident a few days later.

That said, the quality of the rug is excellent, and I got a discount when I ordered by Googling for a promo code.

I would order from them again.

I also have the Bourdonnais bookcase (2 of them actually) and love it.

It might not be comparable to Restoration Hardware (I wouldn't know, RH is generally out of my price range), but it's solid, and certainly far superior to anything I've bought at Target. (But I thought Target only sold flimsy assembly-type furniture, not heavier solid wood stuff.)

I've been very happy with a number of purchases I've made from Ballard. I have a pair of upholstered ottomans that are very nicely done. I also have a modular credenza that looks very much like a Pottery Barn equivalent. In my opinion, it's of similar quality to the PB option for significantly less money.

i've never ordered furniture from there, but i DID order that table when i first saw it in the catalog. it's exactly what i've been looking for at the right price and size. i love the one at rh, but it's massive and this is for my bedroom. can't wait to get it, i think it's going to be a popular item for them.

Just received my table tonight! Looks good. Let me know if you need a photo or any info.

Michey that would be great!
my email is

a dot suarez 7 at umiami dot edu

thanks! looking forward to chatting

I ordered the Durham coffee table in Feb of this year and I love it. I get tons of compliments on it. I also wanted the Restoration Hardware coffee table but the pricetag and table size were too big. It was very easy to assemble and is a solid, heavy piece. It is lighter in color than the picture, but looks like a reclaimed top.

If anyone could email me a picture of the actual table it would be great. I have heard that it is not as dark and I would love an actual picture.
wesp15@gmail.com. Thanks.

**BEWARE** Ballard Design will sell items they can not stand by. They are not the manufacturer of the merchandise therefore they have no authorty on quality control and replacement of unsatisfactory goods. **BUYER BEWARE**

I just stumbled upon this post, as I am now very seriously thinking about buying this table. I am concerned about the color, though, since some posts talk about it being lighter.

If anyone could send me an actual picture, I would greatly appreciate it! donna@wittreich.org
Thanks.

I just got the Durham desk and I absolutely HATE it. The wood looks really cheap, like that 1960's fake wood paneling. The packaging was the biggest pain, and left tiny pieces of styrofoam all over my house. It took a while to put together. I wrote a review (with poor rating) to post on the Ballard website, and the company never posted it.

@Julie143 - we're so sorry you're disappointed with your Durham desk. Please send us an e-mail at socialsupport@ballarddesigns.net so that we can resolve this issue for you. We look forward to speaking with you!

I would never again trust Ballard Designs with an upholstery job. A few months ago I bought a cube and a recliner. The cube came much earlier than the recliner and it looks ridiculous. The padding on the cube is completely uneven and most of the time it just stays hidden in the corner of my living room with the worse side against the wall.

The recliner is ridiculously bad - the rest of the chair is fine but the main pillow/pad that you rest against is under stuffed and gets wrinkled the minute you sit down in it. I ever tried steaming it with a garment steamer and it still looks like a hot mess. I have to have a blanket thrown over the top of the chair because otherwise I would be completely embarrassed if someone saw it and new I paid $1100 for it.