apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Completely agree. I don't make it a habit to go into C&B (except that they have a great bathroom) and I fought tooth and nail to not register there, but C&B is one of the first places we check if we are looking for a "certain" piece.

Love the Crate.
Recently paid homage at the Chicago mother ship.

I think the company also gets kudos for the unique and attrractive architecture of their free-standing stores.

WOW. I love the French collection. Crate and Barrel has great customer service reps in their stores and because of their affordable shipping and prices, I have my comfy Huntley sofa. (I am collecting the down alternative feathers in a jelly jar daily.)

We registered there too, though once we started making the rounds with the gun we realized we didn't want most of what was there.

We do have a sleeper sofa from C&B, which I've had since 2002. It's extremely solid and comfortable, but the cat has been working hard at claiming it as her own (ie clawing it) and I'm sad that the fabric is also fading from sun exposure. I suppose that I can get a new cover made at some point. Does C&B sell replacement covers? I have the feeling that our sofa has been discontinued and the cover would therefore not be available.

I worked there for about six months and I really enjoyed it. I also learned a lot about why they're so good for a lot of the 'basics'. When I got married we registered there for all the simple necessities. Partly because I knew a lot about the products by then, and partly also because they are conveniently national and their website is great, which made shopping easier on our spread out guests! For basic wine glasses and dishes, I think they're the best!

It's a nice store, they have lots of nice, innovative things, but I am frequently dismayed by the prices and construction quality of their casegoods. It is simply unethical to charge $2000 for a chest whose drawers lack dovetail joints.

Maxwell and p(too), how would you compare their furniture (upholstered and otherwise) to Restoration Hardware? My impression is that RH is at least a bit pricier (but better?).

We registered there and got great dishes and housewares. But this weekend we went to both a regular CB and one of the furniture stores to look for a coffee table, and we were shocked by how the quality seemed to have dropped. A lot of stuff had such thin veneer that it chipped off if you so much as scraped it with a fingernail. I was so sad, because I always thought of CB as having better quality, but this weekend Pottery Barn had by far the nicer stuff. More expensive, though, and we still didn't dig it. Back to antique mall browsing for us...

I totally agree with John H.

RH's casegoods seem much higher in quality and when there's a sale, RH's prices are in the same range as C&B's. Alas, RH doesn't carry a contemporary line. My search for contemporary *and* well made casegoods that don't cost $6 a piece continues....sigh

My parents have restoration hardware bedroom furniture that is of beautiful quality. Dovetail joints, cedar drawers.. Althought mostly not my style, I'd prefer them to CB for quality.

Crate and Barrel is coming to the Cherry Hill Mall in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. I'm not sure when they'll open but they had an ad in the Sunday paper looking for help. So I'm guessing it's soon.

Crate and Barrel is great for accessories. They are my frist stop for great, affordable baskets. They also have well designed glasses, dishes and odds and ends for the kitchen.

I heard there was a CB2 opening up in Soho this fall... how does the CB2 quality compare to Crate & Barrel (1)?

C&B has the BEST customer service. They are always so helpful and gracious.

We are looking at the Huntley couch. Anyone else have feedback on the quality of the furniture, namely this piece?

We love the style and the fabric, but are unsure of the quality and if we are over paying for something that may not last as long as we hope.

Thanks!!

Huntley is great. Great value. 2 things you should know. 1. Yes, the feathers will come out. There are like a million feathers. Losing 100 feathers a year will not make a difference. Until the quills start coming off of the ducks dull at the ends, the feathers will poke out. To decrease this, move the cushions around to distribute the feathers evenly. 2. You will probably need to replace the inserts in about 5-7 years. That will cost about $200. This is solely based on care though. If its not mistreated and the cushions are fluffed and rotated, you may never have to replace. Other than that, after being there for almost 6 years, I would buy the Huntley tomorrow if I needed a sofa.

I walked into the CB store and sbsolutely loved the City sectional. But I am feeling guilty about loving something thats too mainstream.

Does anyone have any reviews on CB sofas? I know they look 'cool' but I am interested in the dirty details.