apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I know I've seen a lot of negative reviews of Ballard furniture in the home decorating forum of That Home Site. I don't have any first-hand experience, though.

I ordered a carpet from Ballard based only on the web site picture because they said it was from a subcontractor and they couldn't provide a swatch (dumb idea, I know). 12 weeks later, with no communication from them in the interim, the carpet arrived, and it wasn't even the one in the picture. I was so discouraged by the whole experience that I told them to take it back and credit my account for the price and the shipping. It took about two days to come pick up the carpet, and another week before the money was back in my account. I'm not too keen on Ballard's since then.

Forget about quality, I can't possibly imagine why you would want something designed to mimic your great grandmother's boudoir; unless you are a great grandmother. In that case, quality and longevity probably won't be a big concern anyway so more power to you.

I think here, like most everywhere, if you buy it all from one place, you're not going to be happy.

So yes, you can get a granny vibe from Ballard, OR you can carefully pick from among some of the interesting accent pieces they have to offer.

I've ordered things from Ballards for clients and find that their COM items are great value. Upholstering items your own fabric can alleviate most of the dreaded "nana" factor. Also, they tend to have smaller scale upholstered pieces - unlike PBarn - which is good for apartments.

I've been pretty happy with things from Ballard once they got there.

I had the folks at Ballard make up a pair of their file storage ottomans (ottomen?) for me with my own fabric, which was this very thin dark grey metallic vinyl. They didn't want to use it because they didn't think it was durable enough, but once I convinced them that I had no children, and that I'm pretty careful, they did make them for me and I love them. I found them to be very responsible and competent, and cautious in a good. I love the pieces, themselves.

While helping a friend of mine outfit his apartment in a Brooklyn brownstone, I convinced him that a computer armoire is a wonderful thing, and we ordered an ENORMOUS one from Ballard; I think it was called the Charleston, but I think they've changed the design or the scale a little since then. Anyway ... although we measured, etc., you'd be surprised how hard it can be to get something like up a flight of steps in those narrow staircases that brownstones have!

The "white glove delivery" guys were kind of a mixed bag, in that ... we took off a day of work waiting for them to show up, calling the dispatcher every half-hour, and when they did arrive they said that they didn't have enough men to do it.

When they arrived again, there were four enormous men, and it took about what? 2 hours? 4 hours? to get it up the stairs, because once it was almost all the way up, we realized that the doors needed to be removed before it could make it's way around the finial at the top of the stairs. Oy!

Anyway, the thing got a little bit scratched up in the process, but my friend didn't care. It looks great, and he loves it like life itself.

We also got him a tray that can be removed from this little stand thing. It was pretty, but since they were working a shabby chic look, it didn't have any polyurethane. So we put some, because we thought it should have some.

Next time I do such a long post as that, maybe I should call it David Copperfield, and begin, "Chapter 1 -- I am Born." Didn't mean to be such a windbag!

Stay away from the textiles at Ballard and you'll be okay. Their wooden furniture is fine.

The fake flowers/plants are very good quality for a good price. Their accents, carefully chosen, can spark a room.

I bought my computer desk from Ballard Designs, it was delivered on time & it is of good quality. My advice is look for the good deals, they do have some.

My difficulty with Ballard is their awful delivery service. I ordered a corner desk a few weeks ago. Ballard told me the delivery service would call and arrange a "mutually convenient" delivery date. Well, the delivery people called last night after 5, told me it was being delivered today, and that they'd call after 9:30 this morning to let me know which 4-hour window they'd be delivering in. When I told them today was not good for delivery, they told me they'd contact me "when they'd be back in the area." Some "mutually convenient" delivery! I called Ballard to complain that the delivery was not as represented, and they told me "that's all the delivery service will agree to do."

Unless you have a very flexible schedule, or work close to home, I'd recommend against buying anything at Ballard.

Melissa from New Jersey

I got a set of their Parsons chairs in white duck w/ casters and slipcovers. One chair arrived damaged but they sent a replacemnt caster and all was well. Great chairs. Just what I wanted.
But the delivery service was sucky. That has put me off from ordering from them again.

my sister is an interior desinger. for certain rooms she has insisted on top quality break-the-bank pieces (the living room sofa and coffee table). for other rooms she recommends ballard designs for base pieces. its the same quality and better price than PB. her point: "why do you want to spend $5000 on a side board to store stuff in?" i ordered the console/sideboard and have been very happy with the product. i work from home so the delivery was not a problem.

There is a desk that they used to carry last year that is "no longer available" and they won't tell me which vendor they got it from. Did anyone get the small computer desk that looks like a 30 inch tall cabinet but you can take the top and swivel/convert it for use as a desk? I would like to know the makers name. Thanks, JR

jr, I think you're talking about the Beadboard Foldaway Desk. HomeDecorators.com has a photo of the open desk. There's a photo of the closed desk in the Home Decorators Autumn 2006 print catalog on page 116.

I am interested in the Tuscan bookcases that are in the current Ballard catalog. Any information on quality would be appreciated.

Hi,
I'm contemplating getting the Ballard Designs "Office Designs" modular corner desk group. Does anyone have any information about the material and quality in general? It looks very similar to the modular desk set at Pottery Barn, but it's a little cheaper. Ballard also claims that they were the first to invent the modular concept 10 years ago.

I had my order delivered to a business address
so delivery was not an issue. I was amazed however
at how quickly it arrived , and the quality of the items that I purchased . I bought 3 ceiling lights , the wrought iron leafy ones with crystals, and they are beautiful!!couldn't find
anything half decent anywhere and I couldn't
believe the price of these 129.00-a steal.
I am a happy shopper so far and I will definitely
try ballards again!!!

Ballard designs has a great return policy. No questions asked and a pleasure to do business with. I have been using them for years. I ordered 2 lamps and one broke after 2 months. When I called they sent me 2 more and said do what ever with the others! We fixed them and use them...

Any thoughts on the chianni trestle table and bench? We were thinking of pairing it with some chairs from the avignon collection. We are concerned about heavy use because we will be using it in the kitchen.

I purchased a beautiful table from Ballard and within a year the finish just wasn't looking too good. Well, I called and they REPLACED it, no questions with no delivery/exchange cost to me and the delivery guys were wonderful. They were just a shipping company unafilliated with Ballard and told me they had found Ballard to have great products (furniture) and that their customer service was far superior to Horchow, Restoration etc. Great shopping experience for me!!

For Chris posting on 9/4/06.
The Table I purchased is the Chianni Trestle table and while it is beautiful and very sturdy I have found out the hard way that pine is a very soft wood. My daughter did her math homework at the table with nothing under the paper and now the top is forever indented with numbers and what ever else she scribbled down. I was advised to put a glass top on it for protection so I would say not a good table for heavy use unless covered.
Hope this helps you decide. But the table is beautiful and very expensive looking!!

I have been looking to order a slipcovered couch and love seat and like the look and price of the ones at Ballard. However I hate to order without being able to sit on it and check for comfort. I like my furniture soft and comfy. I realize for the price I will not get something super long lasting but with 3 kids and pets we only get a few years out of our stuff anywho. Also I was wondering about the washability of the slipcovers. Any Advice? Casey

I just purchased a cake plate from Ballard Designs. When I was at Walmart this weekend I was disappointed to see the very same cake plate, same brand for much less. Be careful what you purchase at Ballard, it appears that they carry some of the same brands as you can buy at Walmart.

A couple of years ago I had the chance to visit the Ballard Design outlet store in Georgia and was able to see a lot of the merchandise in the catalog in person. I was incredibly impressed by the quality - especially of the wood and slipcovered furniture pieces. I have been ordering from them ever since and have never been disappointed.

Bought rug from Ballard that cost $2000. Rug showed up and was of very poor quality. The threads of wool are uneven across much of the rug. Other areas the threads are coming out when we vacuum. We asked for another rug which showed-up smelling so strongly of some chemical that it had to be left in our garage. Bad quality rug still in living room and toxic replacement still in garage four months later because of Ballard's inability to coordinate pick-up of this 10'X 14' rug. In the meantime Ballard has repeatedly threatened to charge our credit card for the replacement which they still have not picked-up. Customer service is very apologetic, but manages to do nothing.
Never under any circumstances would I buy anything from this company. High priced and low quality.

I am interested in purchasing the Chadwick Media Armoire that I found in a Jan 2006 catalog. It is a large TV armoire (about 80" tall) with dentil moulding along the top. I have been told it is no longer available (although they still make the similar Chadwick Office Armoire ) and they would not disclose the maker/vendor. If anyone has this piece and could tell me the maker or any other company that carries this piece, I'd be so grateful.

thanks.

Stephanie R.,
I called Ballard re: the Chadwick office armoire and they told me the vendor is Bright Asian Winner. I couldn't find it on Google. I'm trying to figure out if this piece is of good quality. They told me that even though the description states "Simple Assembly," only the feet need to be put on and this is done by the delivery people.

Cristina

Has anyone ever purchased any of Ballards office units? Do their drawers open nice, how are the gliders on their file cabinates?

I know the quality of PotternBarn, but because of the molding on the small pieces, they have large gaps between them when you stack them next to each other and I don't want to lose that space.

What to do?....

I'm also considering the Ballard Designs Office Designs furniture. Any experience with the company and that particular office furniture is appreciated.

Also, how does the quality compare with that of Pottery Barn or Crate and Barrel?

Does the furniture last?