Wall to Wall Retro

If you have a thing for kidney-​shaped coffee tables, kitscky kitchen goods and ashtrays the size of your head, you will love this place! Specializing in the vintage goods of the 1940s-​70s, this shop occupies several storefronts, plus the basement! There is some truly amazing furniture in additon to all the littles. Staff was very friendly. I couldn’t stay long today but definitely want to go back when I have more time to browse! Wall to Wall is a wonder!

This place has tons of mid-​century pieces big and small– unfortunately, the vibe here sucks and the owner is more of a hoarder than a seller.
I shop a lot of curated stores like this in the city, and while they’re not as large, the prices are much better. Here even heavily damaged items are priced higher than most other places.
I’ve made offers on a yarn picture both times I came in, about six months apart, and the owner was not interested in selling. Seems like they just keep adding rooms instead of moving merchandise.
Owner is really unpleasant in general, the conversations she has in person or on the phone are very negative and off-​putting.
It can also be very smoky in the store, which shows how well they take care of their over-​priced pieces.

Your reply as a business owner only further goes to show people your character and what kind of business you run. When a customer leaves a bad review on your business, most business owners would reach out to find out what exactly happened and try to rectify the situation. Good business owners want their customers to be happy and to return. «I NEVER ask anyone what they’re going to buy» — yes, you certainly do and you certainly did as people were leaving your store. Maybe you don’t even realize it. But now you can be aware and make sure you don’t say that to customers anymore. Use it as a learning experience.
«You don’t buy anything anyways.» Umm, wrong! As a matter of fact, the first time me and my aunt were in your store (the 7÷13÷14 review), we both did indeed buy something. I bought some vintage Peanuts glassware and my aunt bought a retro ashtray.
«I read a lot of your reviews and frankly, nothing makes you happy». Funny, you must not have read all my reviews or seen the statistics for them, because I have plenty of good reviews. Perhaps you missed those and only focused on the negative. Being treated well as a customer makes me plenty happy — and not just me, but every shopper out there. Think of it this way: if YOU were a customer walking into your store (which IS nicely laid out and has cool stuff, BTW), how would you like to be treated? That is how you should treat your customers. And again, re. your basement area, I have NEVER been in a store where I was escorted downstairs and not free to go on my own. That is so insulting to customers and a huge turn-​off. Would you want to be treated like in a store — like a potential thief? Like I said at the beginning of this note to you, why don’t you take all these negative reviews on your business (I see I’m far from the only one) and try to turn your business around for the good? Install security cameras in the basement if you are worried about theft! By saying «if you can’t respect that, then we really don’t want you in here» says it all. You are shooting yourself in the foot. Hopefully, with some positive changes on your part as a business owner, you will have more positive reviews and success as a business owner for 2016. I wish you nothing but the best.
«Comment from Lisa M. of Wall to Wall Retro
Business Owner
½/​2016 Reading your reviews makes me wonder if you just have a problem with me personally. I NEVER ask anyone what they’re going to buy, I ask if people have found anything fun. That’s it. We told you when you walked in to please let us know if you want to see the basement and we will take you down. if you can’t respect that then we really don’t want you in here. You don’t buy anything anyways. I read a lot of your reviews and frankly, nothing makes you happy.’»

This tore is terrific! I stopped in from out of town and Lisa the owner was awesome and very helpful. We will be back again and again as we are always in town.

I loved this place! Today was my first time coming here & I can’t wait to come back!
I don’t feel like the staff was lurking around at all… Both ladies working were more than friendly and trusting.
I picked up a set of cat salt and pepper shakers that will look so nice in my house.
I recommend checking this place out. Don’t let the other reviews scare you. I was friendly and they were friendly back… Gasp! Imagine that.

Thirteen years of living in Chicago and breadbox sized apartments and fine dining off of coffee tables. I’ve long dreamt for a dining room and not just a dining room but a dining table and chairs. Having recently moved into a new apt. with such a room– I’ve been searching high and low for «The Table». I wasn’t going to settle for just any table –It had to be «the one».
Little did I know such a dream would come true all in one day!
I could not be happier with my experience with Wall to Wall Retro. I contacted Lisa early in the day after eyeing «The Table» on her website. She promptly contacted me back and shortly thereafter we were talking on the phone. She could not have been lovelier. I know making major purchases sight unseen can be risky for both buyer and seller. Lisa was cautiously understanding and honest. I had full confidence after speaking with her that I was not only getting an amazing dining set but a great deal.
I was anxious that delivery to Chicago from Elgin was even possible. When Lisa mentioned she’d have to check with her Father (who does the deliveries), I thought we were setting something up for delivery later in the week. Nope! They were on their way TODAY! I was through the moon! Within 2 hrs., Fred and Michael showed up. They were great and so helpful. I fought the urge to hug them. My dining set had been carefully packed for the trip.
The dining set (MY dining set) is a thing of beauty and so well maintained. After years of searching and hoping, Lisa and the staff at Wall to Wall Retro have made my dream come true. I will definitely look to them for future purchases (I can’t wait to check out the shop) and highly recommend them to friends.

This place is just chock full of memories of my youth! Lisa’s got a knack for color and kitsch which is pleasing to the eye, and renders such pleasure I’d love to come in more often just to escape! And for all the nasty reviews about this store I’d like to challenge you to be an owner of a small business in these days! It is not easy, good help is hard to find, and if you can find cool, old stuff at better prices go ahead. There are no retro places like this out in the suburbs. Give this girl some credit!

Interesting, but not awe inspiring, collection of items for sale. The establishment staffed by several people with very little command of social and hospitality skills. The staff were lurking, punitive and distrusting. It was one of the most bizarre retail shopping experiences I have endured and that says a lot considering some of the places I have been in the past. Needless to say it was not worth the drive and was a overall disappointing experience. I would recommend that the staff relax and allow people to wander the shop and browse. Uninterrupted browsing leads to sales. Trust me. We are not in there with the sole intent of cramming as many retro tchotchkes, taffeta dresses and whatnot under our jackets as we can and running out the door without paying for them. And if this *is* a problem in your location then move or install security cameras. It is no use treating every customer like a potential criminal. The staffs uptight attitude was a joy kill and I left without purchasing anything based on the weird & unsettling vibe I experienced. I won’t be going back.

Worst experience EVER. What a creepy store.
Rude woman behind counter. Watched us like a hawk. We were reprimamded by some younger woman when we attempted to shop in their downstairs section… when only 30 seconds before, the older woman behind the counter suggested we head downstairs to have a look see.
She said something to the effect… «next time you want to go downstairs, contact me beforehand.» She was very punative in tone. So odd to be treated like this. I am not a child in a dime store, stealing penny candy. I felt like I was tossed in to some evil coven. What bad vibes. So… we were looking to outfit our home with some vintage flair but I will gladly spend my $$ elsewhere. Boo! Your store sucks.

Wow! What a wide variety of review experiences.
Here’s mine– I went when THEY WERE CLOSED. And I guess I looked really sad cause the young woman (not owner) let me in!
I explained I came all the way from the west burbs and could I please look? I did get a WEIRD lecture they they were a VINTAGE store, not a ANTIQUE store.
Really? Old shit is old shit. Vintage and antique are pretty much the same thing… please. First time in 40 yrs of antique stores I ever got that lecture.
Anyway, the store is nicely laid out with lots of everything mid century. The Franciscan star burst and the crazy lamps those mid century people are always going on about. Some nice libbey glasses and other china.
I left with a small fish tresurecraft pottery and I would definitely stop back to browse for treaures.

My fiancée and I stopped by during a street fair and chatted with the owner and her staff. The store selections are great for all things vintage. Plus the prices can’t be beat, especially compared to prices in Chicago.
The owner was lovely and she really gave us a really good deal on a beautiful vintage lamp that we love.
I highly recommend this store!

My husband and I stopped in here on a Saturday. We collect 30’s — 50’s s things. This store was very heavily 60 – 70’s. We did not see much that was 50’s in there — some but not much on that particular day. As we were ready to leave I stopped by the desk and told the owner? that her shop was nice and my kids would really like the 70’s stuff and that we collect more in the 50’s. She rudely told me that she has tons of 50’s items. Really? It must have been hiding that day. If you are into 60’s — 70’s this store is great — but anything older than that — nope. Also the lady needs to lighten up and not insult potential future customers.

We made the hour trip to Elgin from Chicago just because we’d heard that this store was a «hidden gem.» Well, you’d think they had actually been hiding gems in there and were afraid we were going to take them. This was the single most uncomfortable shopping experience of my life.
We entered the store and a man came in behind us. He stood at the counter and the lady behind the counter asked us if we had ever been there before. We said no, so she gave us a (somewhat lengthy) overview of the place: don’t take things off shelves, ask before touching something that looked breakable, etc. She offered to open the basement for us since the man who had entered after us offered to go down there and cover for her while she stayed upstairs. We thanked them politely and then attempted to shop.
I say «attempted» because we didn’t get far. I felt like a kid with baggy jeans in a convenience store: one of the two employees were there constantly, literally standing in front of us, blocking access to different parts of the store, asking if we needed any help. Nope, really just want to look and discuss with each other. I couldn’t tell if it was theft prevention or just a hard sell: every time we’d touch something, the guy would talk a blue streak about the designer and history and the neverending who/​what/​where of that particular piece. Out of politeness we would stand there and listen and nod, because there’s only so many times you can say «Just browsing, thanks. Just browsing.» Here’s a tip, shopkeep: that means «please leave us alone.» He didn’t get the tip. We would stop to chat about a piece and he would interrupt one of us to tell us something about it. This really surprises me because according to other reviews, our experience was the exact opposite from the usual experience. I wonder what it was about us?
What they didn’t know about us is that we’re MCM collectors. For the most part, we know what we’re looking at, and one of us is in the furniture design business. We don’t need a lot of shopping assistance. I was especially turned off when browsing the antique Pyrex (of which I have obtained a large collection and would have liked to add to it). I looked up at a high shelf (LOOKED. Just LOOKED. As in «tilted my head to shift my gaze toward the shelf») and the man, who seemed to be constantly within 4 feet of me, said «If you need something, let me get it for you, okay?» I said «OK.» He continued, «Because some people just start grabbing things and it’s like AAGH!» So I said OK again and thought, screw it. This place is ridiculous. If you’re not going to even let me look at something without re-​explaining the Store Rules, I’ll go somewhere else.
We would have really been interested in spending some money here, but every single time I touched a piece of furniture (delicately: I’m no ham-​fisted oaf), I felt like I was shooed away so that one of the ever-​present staff members could do it for me. At one point, I attempted to open the door of a hutch and the man said «OH no no that’s a sliding door!» He then tried for a few moments to slide it before realizing that no, I was correct: it was a hinge door. At that point, my skin was crawling and we gave each other a look and hightailed it out of there. If you need me to sign a binding legal agreement saying that I will not attempt to touch anything, or that I will pay for any damage I cause, if you want to have security do a pat-​down on me before we leave, then bloody well do it, and leave me alone to enjoy looking at the antiques you are selling. If not, take the OPEN sign off the door and run your shop invite-​only. Sheesh.

Great selection. The two young ladies that run the place are friendly and will leave you to browse unless you ask for help. Some people don’t like it, I personally much prefer that to being shadowed at all times. Lots of atomic, MCM, tiki, pre-​war, all sorts of stuff. The store is packed to the gills with only grade B and A items. Go down to the basement to find a small area full of vintage tools and industrial items, and metric tons of vintage clothing.
The prices are high and negotiable to a small degree. I’ve found that the more stuff I buy, the more leverage I have to haggle price. Welcome to capitalism. I’ve read some other reviews complaining about the prices — obviously these people haven’t stepped into a Wicker Park or Roscoe Village antique shop in the last decade or so.
Prices seem too steep? Go find it somewhere else. It’s a seller’s market for this kind of kitsch right now.
Obviously, there are some people reviewing here who are used to paying garage sale price for vintage housewares. Yes, sometimes you get lucky and find Stiffel pole lamps in dumpsters, or that perfect mid-​century coffee table at some random yard sale for $ 25, but here’s a news flash: This store is here to save you the time that it takes to find this stuff. Time is money. You want it now, and you want it nice? You pay.
You’re paying for the time that someone else has spent digging though abandoned, asbestos-​contaminated old houses and surfing garage sales in sketchy neighborhoods FOR YOU. If paying for that service is out of your price range, best be headed over to Ikea.
I have spent money here and will continue to. The inventory is constantly selling and being updated and replenished. Every time I walk in I see new, nice things, and it’s worth your time to walk in as well.

Totally cool shop with great service and nice people! When you go in, the owner or staff ask if you need help, but do not bug you if you want to just look. Prices were great, much less expensive than other shops in the Chicago area. We have been to the shop multiple times and always find something cool to look at.
This place is a definite destination for our out of town guests. We would highly recommend this shop to anyone interested in mid century modern furniture and retro dishes, decoration, etc.
Not only that, but they have weekend-​only available area of vintage clothing and accessories. Very, very nice — clean, interesting and well displayed.

I really wanted to like this place and I really tried. The inventory was fun to look at, yet, the staff was some of the most incompetent people I have ever met.
When we walked in, the girl was nice, but it was pretty awkward in there as it was super quiet.
My husband and I are really into mid-​century items and have a large tiki collection so I was happy to see a small tiki area– however, the pricing was insane. It was like they had no idea how common some of the items they had were.
Nonetheless, I found half of a Kon Tiki salt and pepper set and was all set to buy it so I made my way up to the counter to make my purchase. That’s when things got really weird. The girl working there told me she didn’t know how to ring me up. Seriously. This really happened. She told me the owner had just left and tried to call her to «learn how to do it», but there was no answer. I offered to come back in few minutes so she could track her down and left. When I came back around 20 minutes later, my husband and I stood ALONE in the store for a good three minutes and never saw a soul working. That is when we decided this place was not worth our time.
Note to the owner– don’t leave the shop unsupervised if you do not have anyone trained to ring up customers. You are better off closing up shop for a few minutes if you need to run an errand than get customer’s hopes up only to be let down. We probably will not be going back.

The goods are fresh and clean and the service is smart and friendly.
Great selection. mid century, kitsch, atomic, furniture, barware, clothing, art, tiki (!!) awesome lighting, little bit of everything.
We picked up some nearly new gray suede Adidas gazelles tagged at a price I liked a lot, and a sweet vintage tray, saw tons cool stuff.
We’ll be back!

Love this shop! Welcoming & informative staff made me feel right at home. Fabulous selection of vintage items, 3 big rooms and all items are beautifully presented — such a treat to shop here. Prices are low, especially amazing with such a well curated collection. If you love Mid-​century modern, vintage, atomic — look no further! You’ll find smalls, art, barware as well as larger furniture pieces — and BONUS!!! the basement (Stella’s Basement) is full of vintage fashion & fashion accessories. Everywhere you look, there’s something that you =must= have — and all at incredibly reasonable prices. Stock is updated regularly, too, with fresh, exciting vintage finds. There is always something new-​to-​me in store, and that keeps me coming back. Highly recommended!

Incompetent & Overpriced
This outfit also runs Estate Sales in the Elgin area as well. I attend many estates sales in the area (1 – 2 each week) and this firm is by far the worst run. Their prices seem to have to rhyme or reason. They need to either get educated on what they are selling or get realistic with the pricing.
$ 5 for a Craftsman Screwdriver… really?
$ 38 for a gas can?
$ 400 for a retro lawn chair? Sure it is cool, maybe at $ 100!!! Get real!
$ 20 for a glass advertising jar (worth $ 5 tops on eBay)
Also, if the home you are running an Estate Sale in smells try lighting a candle or potpourri!!!
On top of that it is 10 degrees outside and you advertise the sale at 9 but it is 9:05 outside and the door is closed. Then when you go to buy something they cannot figure out how to use the computer they are trying to ring you up with… brutal.
I would never waste my time again attending one of their sales. From my experience they will not be around long anyway.

I love Retro-​a-​GoGo! We noticed this place opened not too long ago and finally had a free afternoon to pay a visit. Wow! The owner, Lisa, truly has an eye for presentation & displays. This place is clean & so well organized — not an easy task when it’s packed with retro-​goodness! And it’s a big place with a couple different rooms & a basement. The basement is dedicated to vintage clothing, accessories & as Lisa affectionately called them, «Mancessories.»
They have plenty of cool retro furniture, home décor & kitchen/​serving items — and everything is is darn good shape, too! I wish this place had been around when we were scrounging flea markets for cool finds & deals while decorating our home. We don’t really have any decorating left to do but we scored a groovy magazine rack to go in our living room. Now I want to move into a bigger place just to fit more of their great stuff! I also found the pricing to be very reasonable, especially considering the quality & good condition of the items.
There are plenty of neat stores & restaurants to check out in downtown Elgin (and an amazing library), along with some lovely parks, the Fox River Trail & the historic homes district — so if you are looking for a new place to visit for the day or afternoon, or haven’t been to Elgin in a while come take a look! My hubby & I live in Elgin & they have been putting a lot of effort into the downtown revitalization efforts… there’s a lot more to Elgin than just the riverboat casino!