Eastern Classics

I adore this shop. It’s the kind of place in which I could poke around for hours. I had the good fortune of stumbling upon their shop on Etsy or maybe a Craigslist ad (don’t remember which), and their furniture is every bit as wonderful as the pictures — no, better! I bought a beautiful tansu cabinet. Very reasonably priced, excellent quality with dovetail joinery. Everyone was super helpful at the store. The lady even wiped dust off the cabinet, then they wrapped it up in protective material before we put it in the car. The weekend I went, they were having a 20% off sale, so I got my cabinet at a fantastic price.
They have nice lanterns, wood tea canisters, fountains, salt and pepper shakers, and other smaller items that I want to go back and purchase someday. Lots of great housewarming or wedding gifts.
A few days after I made my purchase, I decided that I also wanted to buy the metal stand, so I called that in. They charged my card and allowed a friend of mine to pick up the stand for me so I didn’t have to go all the way back to Berkeley for it.
One thing to note is that returns are not allowed. Double check measurements and be sure you want what you buy. I knew exactly what I wanted, so I had no problem, but I wanted to mention the no return policy since it could be a deal breaker for some people.
Every time I see my tansu, I smile. Keep up the great work, Eastern Classics!

Choba dansu (Japanese merchant chest) that looks amazing with many styles of décor.
My husband and I found this delightful family-​run business in Oakland, CA, as we were passing through on our way to the airport flying home to NYC. We quickly determined that the quality of craftsmanship was excellent and we could select one of a number of new tansus in the showroom, order one of the set designs in choice of wood, or even customize the design. When we returned home we were very comfortable working with Jay Yin re: the details of our furniture piece. He showed very good design sense and his renderings were invariably accurate for every detail we requested. Also, his responses were so quick that we never felt that the job lagged. And the price was so affordable we will be going back for more.
Even if you are wary about purchasing furniture pieces online, you might want to consider a purchase from this very unusual business as the commitment to quality and professionalism is quite remarkable.
I’ll try to post photos of the piece so you can see the finished product.

We just received our custom made step tansu and are thrilled with it! Jay was so patient and helpful when we described what we would like to have done. It took awhile but seeing it here in our living room today it is a combination of majestic and magnificent beauty! Thank you Eastern Classics for a fantastic piece of art!
Nancy & David L

It’s a secretly hidden home décor business and they do RETAIL! Ever since I found out this place, I keep going back to buy house warming gifts for all my friends.
Jay is very helpful and knowledgeable on his products. Although I think their main focus is on tansu, cabinets, etc those big japanese furnitures, (which are all amazing!) they also carry lots of small home decorations, beautifully made (and that’s why I keep going back to shop for gifts).
Hopefully when I’m ready to decorate my own place, Jay will give me a good discount for return customer.

Eastern Classics is truly an amazing find — I found the store online, and after several phone calls to Jay, I ordered two custom bathroom vanities. Simply put, I could not be happier. Jay (the main salesperson) was really patient, helpful, flexible, and personable. And the quality of the craftsmanship of these two tansu cabinets is indescribable — they’re made of solid wood, with beautiful iron work, and drawers that slide smoothly and fit perfectly. The prices are quite reasonable, especially for the quality of the furniture, and shipping costs to LA weren’t bad either. Of course, if you buy custom furniture from them, you have to be willing to wait a few months for delivery, but it’s worth it. Again, i could NOT be happier, and hope to go back for more. The store has lots of antiques and newly made furniture — very enjoyable to explore.

This was my first time getting custom furniture and Jay made the whole process go smoothly and my tansu is better than I hoped for! Jay knows his stuff and went through the steps with me to decide upon the proper measurements and treatment of the kiri wood (I mentioned that the tansu would be slightly covering a floor vent, so he made sure to use a veneer to prevent warping and cracking). He was prompt with email replies and the delivery was free, since I live so close to the show room. I’m pinching pennies for a nightstand next!

First heard about Eastern Classics from a friend, who knew we were shopping around for a Japanese tansu. When I emailed to ask about a certain piece, I was pleasantly surprised by the quick response and competitive pricing.
The store is small, but has many beautiful pieces and inspirational ideas! Jay was incredibly helpful & friendly. We even chatted about a custom piece, which he sketched up for us the following day. Knowing we were from out of town, he graciously offered to meet us on Sunday (they’re closed) so we wouldn’t have to spend the weekend driving around town with a tansu in our car.
We are excited to purchase more pieces from Eastern Classics, as well as to refer anyone and everyone to this gem. Places like this are hard to find, but hopefully will thrive and continue to provide customers with a wonderful shopping experience like we had!

I had seen the ads for eastern classics several times on craigslist while looking for Japanese tansus and had always admired the photos. When I was finally in the market for a ‘tansu-​style’ bed, I finally contacted them. Jay at Eastern Classics was incredibly helpful. I wanted a king-​sized bed to match my existing futon tansu. He was able to promptly give me a ballpark cost estimate over email and invited me to come by the showroom to talk about details.
Jay and his dad were extremely friendly and eager to hear about what I wanted for my bed. From a photo and a door and a drawer from my futon tansu, they were able to identify the type of wood that would match exactly and they even knew that they could match the drawer handles. We went over ideas of what would be best… drawers and/​or sliding doors, slats or a platform top, and best dimensions… and came up with a design.
I left the showroom feeling confident that Jay and his dad understood exactly what I wanted and that they had even made great suggested improvements on my original ideas. Jay followed up with CAD drawings with exact measurements and I knew these guys totally knew what they were doing.
A few weeks later, Jay sent me photos of the bed from the manufacturing studio and I was absolutely thrilled. It was even better than what I’d pictured in my head. When it came time for delivery, Jay was again super cool and courteous. He set up a convenient time, was totally punctual & was totally respectful of my home (took off his shoes when he came in, was careful to protect the wood floors, etc).
I have been totally happy with my custom tansu-​style bed. Not only does everything completely match, the drawer pulls are actually of better quality than on my existing futon tansu. The price of the bed was completely reasonable for a quality bed, let alone one of high quality material and craftsmanship that is custom designed to match my futon tansu.
If you are looking for real furniture — real wood, not MDF; quality craftsmanship, not something you put together yourself with dowels and cam locks — check out what they have at Eastern Classics. These are true classics — furniture that you will keep forever. And so much more reasonably priced than say, Berkeley Mills (is it just me or does everything a Berkeley Mills cost more than my car?)
I would definitely buy from Eastern Classics again. Their entertainment center, storage tansus, and shoe bench are on my wish list. Jay and his dad are really very nice people to work with. They even have a nice dog at the showroom.

The wife and I purchased a nice tansu with a teak finish here. The salesperson was friendly and knowledgeable when we first visited the store. He was also very friendly when we emailed him asking about a particular style of tansu.
They modified the tansu to meet our specifications for free, were incredibly fast about making the modification (1 hr), and were very flexible with their delivery options for a cheap price (even though we ended up just fitting it in our car. It was a decent price and solid wood.
I felt like this was a family business (a son who sells and a dad who is the woodworker) worth supporting. The tansu was a perfect fit for what we were looking for, and I would definitely return if I needed something with Asian flair.

Curses! I deliberately had NOT written a review for this place, which I discovered on my way to REI back in July — because I am a selfish woman, and wanted to keep this treasure trove to myself!!! No — seriously — I’m that selfish; I really am.
They feature an amazing selection of tansu chests and cabinets (custom orders available with about 2 months lead time), lighting elements, fountains, vases, noren and just about everything else you’d want or need to give your environment some very affordable, quality Eastern Flava!
Obviously, this is very important to me, since I grew up in a house filled with sensible furniture from Sears that was completely devoid of the «Asian» esthetic. I am making it up for it now… that’s for sure.
There are some original, older pieces, as well as reproduction prints, posters and scrolls… Basically, it’s one of those places that you should visit — often… Unless you want to be my friend, in which case: you should stay completely away from this place.