Everything I Know About Medley Furniture After Reviewing Its Top Sellers

The word “sustainability” brings a few things to mind right away (think: reusable bags to the grocery store, investing in a compost bin, and hitting thrift stores). But in home design, eco-friendly production may be harder to come by — from lighter paint options to flooring and rugs, demystifying safer choices can feel like a full-time job.

But the market for sustainable home decor is only growing larger, especially as consumers want to avoid the pitfalls of “fast” furniture. They also want to know that the products they’re shopping are safe and healthy to use. 

Medley is a brand that’s aiming to be a part of the solution. 

Medley is a direct-to-consumer furniture brand looking to shake up the home decor industry with safe, quality pieces as stylish as they are sustainable. Their designs have a quiet elegance, a timelessness that ensures your best pieces will stay working and looking great, even as your style and taste evolve.

The brand’s main focus is creating comfortable bedrooms, living rooms, and dining rooms through a sustainable lens. Their best-selling products include mattresses, sectionals, side chairs and dining tables, and all appear in a fits-with-everything mid-century modern or contemporary style. 

The foundations of Medley began in 2005 as a side project for brothers Travis Nagle and Ryan Schultz, who grew up in Sacramento with parents who were interested in protecting the environment. (They call it a “hippie household,” which is a lovingly joking way to say that their parents were ahead of the curve.) They started by building and selling furniture from their L.A., post-college home — and as they learned about the chemicals and toxins that are part of the process in a worldwide industry, they felt even more compelled to do things differently. The ultimate goal? Their company would be cleaner but still provide pieces that last. 

Pieces are made-to-order to avoid wasting materials and prevent unsold pieces from piling up in landfills. 

The brand’s wood, wool, fabrics, and finishes have all received various certifications needed to prove their low impact on the environment, from wood sourced from locally protected forests to organic textiles. Wood pieces, as well as ones made with natural latex and wool upholstery, are constructed in Los Angeles, mattresses are made in Illinois, and anything having to do with poly-foam furniture finds its way from North Carolina. 

Most of Medley’s furniture arrives assembled, but you will still have to do some simple tasks on a few items to finish things off. Don’t worry, it shouldn’t take more than an hour to do so, and that’s being generous. 

White-glove delivery service comes standard with Medley for large purchases like a sofa or a mattress, and is accomplished with a third-party delivery service that will schedule a drop-off with each customer directly. The deliverers will bring the order through your door and remove the packaging, but assembly is up to you.

That being said, you aren’t required to have this white-glove service come with your order if you’re not interested. When the delivery service calls, just let them know that they can drop it by your front door and you’ll take it from there.

The only items that don’t get the white-glove service are ottomans, poufs, and throw pillows.

While there’s no way to shop for Medley furniture in person because it is entirely online, the company does have a 30-day trial in place for its entire catalog as soon as the order arrives. As far as warranties go, the company is impressively confident. It has a lifetime warranty on frames, a 20-year warranty on mattresses, a decade-long warranty on fillings, and a five-year warranty on upholstery. 

Medley has sales throughout the year — particularly on the most-beloved sale day of the year, Black Friday — but there’s a way to get discounts whenever the time is right for you. Medley has a “ready to ship” section on its site that features discounts on returned items, with the hope that purchasing these ready-made furnishings will lower their environmental impact (rather than just languishing in a warehouse). If you don’t mind scrolling through the designs for major discounts, then this could be a worthwhile route for stylish and sustainable finds. 

Yes, because Medley contends that its furniture is made to last, you may be more than willing to invest in its pieces. And in doing so, you’re investing in the peace of mind that is knowing your furniture was made sustainably and safely.

But don’t just take my word for it; the sheer number of positive reviews say it all. “[My new Medley sofa] is very well made and designed. It looks great in our space. Well worth the price and wait time to get it,” says one reviewer. “It’s nice that there are still companies like Medley who still care about craftsmanship and take the time to build furniture.” 

Medley’s furniture selection is ever-growing and offers pieces for just about any space at this point. But here are a few of my top picks for living room and dining room furniture from Medley.