apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I use to live in Minneapolis and just love Room and Board where it is based. I live in the New York City area and believe its headed to Soho soon. I still buy their items online. You will love it. The furniture is great - very similar but less expensive than Design within Reach. Great place for staples and again the prices are resonable - not out of reach.

why does totty get two posts?

totty dotty we like ta party...

I guess they overextended themselves when they opened their SoHo store. I have problems with my Ella bed from Room & Board. After waiting 5-1/2 months, it arrived damaged. My sister has had a delivery problem with her chairs, and a neighbor's sofa came with the wood split. I'm sure there are a lot of people with good experiences, but 3 out of 3 people I know who ordered had problems.

In the Globe & Mail there was a write about day beds and your company was mentioned. I would like to know what you have available and cost. I am in Vancouver, so how do I go about purchasing one.

Ordered the 40x40 Portica, and the 30x20 side table, and the cool 18' sq. Leather Bench.


Well when you hear it clanging as it rolls down the hallway of your building its not a good sign.

I was somewhat shocked to see two guys show up with the frames of the these "brushed finish" steel tables taped together. And what happens when you tape two piece of brushed steel together with no padding or bubble wrap or even newspaper.
Well it gets scratched. And thats what happened.
Further the spiel in their catalog that they partner with some artisan family that handcrafts these, and sands, grinds, the hot metal....its a crock. The table was welded crudely, had scorch and black burn marks, and grease, and was pock marked with nicks and imperfections.....all for $600

Ok, now onto the next side table, well its scratched too (where it rubbed with other table).

Now on to that bench; 3 dig marks; probably the fingernails of the delivery guys or warehouse guy.

OK, I have orderer up high from Knoll and down low from Target, Walmart and JC Penny. Room & Board is hands down the worst. How do you deliver stuff with no packing. A ride down a NYC street in a limo causes everything to bump around.....and in a 2 ton truck from Jersey? C'mon. I get $50 stuff in the mail that has enough bubble wrap to suffocate with.

For now looks like Room & Board spent all their money on that slick catalog/'site and is clueless what big-city consumers want for their money.


Conclusion: Room & Board is Crate & Pottery knock off, that may even be below Pier 1. Stay in Minneapolis!

Weird, I have been to their SoHo store a ton of times, and ordered a bunch of shelves, my bed, my dresser, sofa etc. from them, and had not a single issue with their craftsmanship or delivery!

Bought one sofa and chair. After two months, the 'give' of the cushions flattened and sloped forward; if you tried to lie on the sofa, you fell towards the floor. Not nice for napping or company. Looked awful, not worth the almost $2000 shelled I out for it.

Called, complained, and product returned (without any sort of compensation for the awful craftmanship--free delivery? discount? None. And I'm not one to milk it for a freebie). Decided to go to sofa and chair #2.

Arrived in my home, delivery associate slid the chair across the cement floor outside--thought it strange, but didn't think much more about it. Delivery associate comes into my home, steps on two floor lamps I had intentionally pushed into a corner to avoid damage and he found a way to crush the floor shades. The best was his non-chalant, hand-in-the-cookie-jar, don't look me in the eye posture he took. I just stared, asked for his name so I could contact HQ and he pitched a fit. At this point, I let them leave. Enough was enough, at least a got my replacement sofa.

As I was shifting the sofa around, moving chairs and rugs, I see the 'cement-floor slide' he performed earlier tore the back corner of the sofa. Call, complain, return number 2 the same day. This time, they weren't accomodating for a return as they were the first time. And again, they wouldn't compensate for the damaged floor lamps, shipping, nothing.

Sofa and chair number 3 arrive. Seems OK. I'm thinking the drama is over. Two months later, the sofa frame splits. Mind you, I am home and awake sitting on this sofa MAYBE 3 hours a week. At this point, I've given up. Not worth the aggravation.

Please spend your money elsewhere. If you decide to purchase, remember: stow away every last belonging you have, clear the floors, pad the cement and cross your fingers.

Like Raine, I find the bad experiences "weird". I have been shopping with Room & Board for over 10 years and have had nothing but great results. I know they really stand behind their products and work pretty hard to get it right if something doesn't work out. I highly recommend them.

Also the quality is far superior to Crate or PB. Much of their stuff is made here in the U.S. by small funiture manufacturers - not too many people can say that anymore.

Any other experiences with R&B? Vladimir Kagan has designed the Hahn sofa for R&B, and I'm feeling an itchy trigger finger.

I just bought a custom Jasper from R&B -- and it's great. Delivery was fine but not above and beyond fantastic. I did, however, send them a note about the non-fantastic delivery service and forwarded them this thread -- hoping they improve in the NYC area. I love my couch and I'd order again.

Maybe it took them some time to work the kinks out, but my experience has been great. My DA is fantastic @ the Soho store, I have furnished my entire apt with R & B. Each time I had the same delivery guys, courteous and helpful. Anything I ordered that I didn't like, I was able to exchange, and one of the tables I ordered, I even returned after a month (decided it was too big) and they worked with me to choose something else. And the girls in customer service remember me when I order, ask about my baby, and help me with any requests I need. I am a faithful R & B customer and definitely recommend them.

I purchased the Imagine Duo bunkbed about a year ago, from the Soho store. Delivery/set-up was problem free. The bed is very solid and a year in, we have no complaints about it at all. Excellent quality. Every time I've called or gone in, I've received great customer service as well.

I work for the company that builds the ella and domain beds for room and board. the frames are mostly cardboard, and what wood there is tends to split rather easily, I'd avoid these products if I were a customer. Then again, as long as there are people dumb enough to buy them there are people dumb enough to pay be to build them.

I work with Blatantrefusal in the North Carolina plant that builds the Domain and Ella beds for Room and Board also the frames are very very cheap mostly out of particle board yes you read right particle board, but yet they don't the cunsumer that, there is probably 20 dollars that go into the fram building, the fabric that is mostly used Spykid Flannel and Spykid Fog are usually full of defects which were told to leave..so take it from 2 of the people that build and assemble these beds, save your money and get them from somewhere else

the funniest thing is Precedent Furniture 828-465-0844 found out we posted how crappy their product is that they fired us..simply put don't buy from Room and Board..

Although I, too, eagerly jumped on the Room and Board bandwagon when relocating to Chicago from Kansas city and needed to purchase new furniture, I have been disappointed with the poor quality of their furniture. Simply stated, it does not last nor was it built to last.

Perhaps I should preface my experience with a reassurance that I don't have much, but value and take care of what I do have. Only 7 months after purchasing my R&B furniture, these are the problems I have encountered:

71" Jasper Sofa in Drama: seat cushions no longer firm and require constant readjusting; also fabric has faded considerably and inconsistently

Portica table with solid cherry top: numerous unsightly scratches show through the very thin finish

Sequel Cherry veneer file: broken PLASTIC drawer rollers on 2 of the drawers rendering those drawers cumbersome to use and the veneer facing actually detached from one side... perhaps they should have used stronger glue?

2 Radius cherry veneer bar stools: veneer has chipped off of both stools in places

Firm memory foam mattress: permanent impressions of me sleeping do not make for a very comfortable sleep. At 140 lbs, the durability of this mattress has been abysmal at best.

For the moderate pricetag, I assumed I was investing in furniture that would last me a decade at least. Sadly, I was mistaken. Please carefully inspect the floor models (especially drawers and pieces with wood veneer). I certainly wish I had done so...

-Mike the med student

Does anyone have any experience with the new Hutton sofa?

Having looked high and low for furniture that was above Ikea quality but not quite in the rarified air of places like Restoration, where I can't even afford to walk in the door, let me just say that having gone to Room & Board today to check out their stuff, my comment has to be that I'm not sure what people expect for the money they spend, but they're not going to do much better than what they get there.

The stuff is "substantial" - it isn't flimsy and doesn't seem half made of particle board like MANY other places - and there's quite a lot of variety. Does furniture chip or sometimes break? Yeah - it does.

But having gone to a LOT of places like Bo Concept, Apt., etc., Room & Board was leaps and bounds beyond. The store might also be the biggest non-department store in the entire city (seriously - it is absurd).

Have I bought anything yet? No. But I definitely will be. And if I change my mind, I'll come back to the board and say so - I can admit when I am wrong. But having gone and touched the stuff with my own hands, given it a good shake, jumped on it, punched, kicked, etc. (they did look at me weirdly, but whatever...) - it is far more solid than a lot else out there, looks very nice and is not cheap but is in that rare middle ground that doesn't break the bank either.

I felt it was important to say all this because every time I look for a store on this site, I find almost exclusively negative comments. I'll let you know if things change after delivery...

I have purchased 8 pieces from Room and Board. I have had most of them for about a year and have 2 kids that use them daily. All of my pieces look just as good now as they did a year ago. I bought from R & B because of the style, colors and pricing but, the thing that I cound not believe was the great customer service and the delivery. I was shocked when the delivery guys came into my home and placed my new furniture ( sofa, tables, lamps, chairs ) in the exact place where I wanted them ( after putting felt on the bottom of everything ) and then when they were complete they reviewed the care instructions for each item. This should not be "shocking" but, I have never seen delivery people do such a great job. Maybe the delivery issues in the "City" are not so good but, I live in Southern California and have had nothing but great experiences.

our experience:
bought one of the 'comfort sleeper' sofas, which are made by american leather. was specifically looking for this make of couch, and the price was far less than either DWR, jensen-lewis, bloomies, and macy's, with more options. check for yourself. sales people all the way around were great (the anti-dept store quote in an earlier post is right-on).

had issues with initial delivery: they were on time, and professional, but said they couldn't fit the sofa in the elevator(it's very deep). turns out they could have but never tried to take the back off. after a lot of back and forth on whether the original sofa would fit with back off and a free 'fit call' from R&B , they returned with a slightly smaller version (queen vs. queen plus) with the back off, fit fine and delivery was great. i felt the orig sofa could have probably fit with the back off, and R&B offered to try it for no additional charge, but since we were prob overreaching with the bigger one to begin with, didn't mind and stood pat. R&B cust svc was great throughout the process and tried very hard to get it right. i give them high marks overall, as they repeatedly emailed and reached out until we were ok.

our couch has been great and as advertised. the sleep mechanism stuck slightly when opening (needed spray) and they sent someone out right away. have a little one that tries her best to ruin it, but the stain guard is great.

i also agree with earlier comments that the stuff there is better quality than most if not all of the chains, generally reasonably priced (but not cheap), and like the designs more. there are some veneer on mdf pieces (copenhagen line, etc.) but if you're worried about mdf, don't buy it. no place does a great job with it, and you shouldn't expect to have it for 10 years through 4 moves.

overall R&B is sort of a nicer crate and barrel you feel better about buying from - better designs, doesn't feel as corporate. would buy more stuff in the future. considering a Linear Office purchase, but is $$$$.

Was just (less than 5 minutes ago) outside - Room and Board Furniture arrived (Anders 9 drawer dresser).. 5,000 dollars.

The back was ripped off the dresser, the legs were completely scratched and destroyed - the front however looked decent.

The item was boxed on the truck - so the only way this could have happened is if R&B decided to either A send me a dresser that was already returned once - or B sent me a display model.

I called service and they apologized - I told them I wouldn't take delivery - but they indicated the item isn't in stock and wouldn't be till sometime in April. That would make 14 weeks to get a 5000 dollar dresser.

Anyone recommend a comparable dresser with a shorter delivery time than end April?

MY 2 MONTH OLD DOMAIN PLATFORM BED BROKE

And I swear, I was just getting out of bed. No funny business was going on. My boyfriend nearly had a heart attack, and i weigh 100 lbs and he weighs prob 160 lbs at most.

Kinda ridiculous that i had to fight tooth and nail for them to fix it the same day. The wooden bar supporting the steel slats gave way, but could hv been wrse, like my foot could have been underneath or my laptop was under my bed?? The bar that fell had nails sticking out of it - could hv been a disaster.

And the guy who came to fix it said "there was excessive force placed on that side of the bed?" WTF is excessive - 260lbs???

I am going to complain tmr, as i was seriously going to buy more furniture from R&B - let's see how their post sale service is like... will keep you posted.

Have bought many things from Room & Board. Most of them are of of very good quality and are stylish and well-priced. The lighting products are great--good prices and good quality. However, many of the "wood" products are a little cheesy-looking, in a Pottery Barn-quality sort of way. Overall, I have been very satisfied with my purchases from this store but I would highly recommend visiting a store in-person before purchasing to examine the pieces first.

We have the same cherry Portica table as "Mike the med student" and we have the same unsightly scratches despite handling all our furniture with kid gloves. I have never seen a finish so thin. The table also gets little pockmarks everywhere. We use a cushioned tablecloth every time we have guests, yet the next day there is always more damage that looks like it was caused by sharp blades and blunt objects! I have never been so disappointed in a piece of furniture.

Does anyone have any experience with the Encore Sofa?

Thanks

Anyone looking at Room and Board products should be made aware that a large percent of their "new" product are items that have been delivered then returned at a later date. They inspect the peices and if they decide they look new they re-deliver to new customers. Also beware they will charge you for a custom piece even if it is in stock due to someone elses cancelled order. This company puts a front like they care but the reality is your better off shopping else where

gotchya--

Elsewhere... like where? For that price point/style, seriously... where else?

I LOVE Room & Board and have NEVER had a problem.

As a design snob and mid-century furniture enthusiast I recently fell in love with the Reese sectional with chaise at R&B. The shocking part was how much we loved the Congac LEATHER one, whereas we're not normally prone to going with leather.

The couch sells for $4300!!! That's about 2k more than I would like to pay.

Anyone have any experience with R&B's leather furniture? I feel safe with leather knowing it'll stand up over fabric for eons, but my worry are the cushions inside, will they get super flat and lifeless? Can I replace the foam if so?

Help a design snob out, please.

We have bought a lot of furniture from Room and Board, and are disappointed with almost all of it. Customer service reps have been friendly, but haven't really fixed the issue. I mean, they have offered to have furniture repaired, but the same issues keep occurring. And, it's not exactly convenient to send your furniture away every few months for repairs. Surprisingly, the furniture we have purchased from Crate and Barrel has been much more durable and well-made.
I like the idea of Room and Board using local craftsman and "real" wood, etc., but I'm beginning to wonder how much of that is just hype.

(1) Sanna Chairs--these are basically "show pieces" in our home. We maybe sit in them for 1-2 hours/week. We don't have kids. The chairs are covered in dings, scratches, and dents. The cushions are flat and even sound cheap when sitting on them. The frames are currently being "fixed" by a local furniture repair man, but the problem will just occur again. Super frustrating to pay >$700 for a chair that looks like it came from Ikea.

(2) Adams Round Table and Portica Natural Cherry Console Table in Natural Cherry--"enb 14" and "Mike the Med Student" said it all.

(3) Form Coffee Table (no longer available)--again, dented and scratched with minimal and very careful use. When called to complain, they offered to refinish, but the problem will just re-occur.

(4) Have been satisfied with Ansel dining chairs and portica leather bench, although neither have received any use yet.

Will never buy from Room and Board again.