Williams-Sonoma

This place has a great selection of casual china, kitchen gadgets, bar tools, and specialty food items. The store is clean and well organized — a little over cluttered and cramped for those who love clean simplicity, FYI. I always feel like I’m going to knock over a carefully balanced display of seasonal food or china when I’m turning around.
Staff is extremely friendly, knowledgeable, and professional without being snobby. Some of the staff has been there for quite some time and know my shopping-​partner-​in-​crime by name. Also, the staff does a great job of up-​selling, but not being pushy. This is a HUGE plus! They listen to what you need, but back off if it’s not what you need or you just decide you don’t want something.
Parking can be tricky. It’s usually worth parking a block or two away and walking. While it does steady business, I’ve never felt like I had to elbow people to get around, so this is the place to go if you like some relative solitude.

The ONLY reason I dropped this rating to 4 is… PARKING on or around Washington Street STINKS to the highest level of stink-​tivity!
I love this particular WS because the staff is super friendly, it’s quaint and smaller than most WS. The selection is still great (don’t let the smaller size fool you) and the staff is knowledgable on most of the items they sell.
The place can get crazy around holidays, but most of the time, the staff has time to explain things to you and talk to you about items for sale.
I like this location because of the people that work there and it’s not a crowded/​crazy as some of the other locations in the area.

Went in about a week ago for Mother’s Day gifts. To echo earlier reviews, the staff here is fantastic. The ladies working up front were friendly and helpful, even wrapping my gifts for me! If you need something from W/​S, I’d recommend this store. Courteous, unpretentious staff and you can park right outside the door!

Not much of variety but nice and quiet and helpful. My favorite is Tyson’s but this one is very simple and very few people shopping. If you need any help… this is the place ! They have time to help and talk to you… No Craziness here!

If you need anything at all for the home or kitchen, I’d go here first! The employees are great — especially Mercedes and a woman with a French accent but I didnt catch her name. I went there to buy a registry gift and mercedes pulled what was left on the registry for me to see and choose from. They wrapped my gift and gave me a card for free.
And then offered me fresh pumpkin bread before i left. Too cool.

We all know Williams Sonoma has fantastic products, but this particular location is a hidden gem — particularly for you introvert types who like a quiet and non-​chaotic shopping environment.
The Washington Street Williams Sonoma may be a little bit smaller than the location in Tysons, but it is at least as large as the one at Pentagon City. It is well stocked and, even better, well-​staffed. Every single time I have visited this location, I have left having had a great experience. There is no sales pressure and the staff seem genuinely happy to help.
Two examples.
1. We were completing our wedding registry purchases online when I realized we were about to have an atrocious shipping bill. I wrote down all of the items we wanted and called the Washington Street location. They took the time to track down every single item and put it on hold for me to pick up later that day. The single item they didn’t have, they ordered and got me free shipping — no small favor on a cast iron pizza stone! When I arrived, everything was ready and my registry discount was included.
Oh — and while I did one last round in the shop and, unbeknownst to me, 4pm turned my parking spot into an HOV lane, a salesperson approached me and recommended I move my car. How considerate!
2. While I was there, a mother came in with a double wide stroller carrying her twin toddlers. Another salesperson spent a solid ten minutes helping her identify an age appropriate cooking project. Then, as the woman left, her double wide stroller nearly got jammed between two recently moved displays. The staff rushed to assist her and took the time to make sure the displays were rearranged to allow room for (even double wide) strollers to manouever around.
The staff at Williams Sonoma on Washington clearly like their jobs and offer a level of customer service I will happily go out of my way to enjoy.