The Shade Store

Pros: Made in the USA
Cons: Terrible customer service, limited options, cheap looking hardware
We are looking for shades for six rooms in our historic row house. I was thrilled to see the The Shade Store opened in Philly. I had walked by the one in NYC often but never had time to go in. Unfortunately, at the Philly store, the customer service was horrible. We wanted cordless shades and their were such limited options. Plus, the mounting hardware on all of their shades looked cheap and was highly visible compared to other options I have seen elsewhere. Even the pictures in their catalog look pretty bad when you check out the details of how they are hung.
The person who waited on us lacked so much product knowledge she had to traipse across the floor looking up answers online and calling supervisors for every single question we had. She would forget the kind of shade we were looking for and give us misinformation, walk us down a design path and then 15 minutes into planning tell us she was wrong and we could not do it. After an hour of dealing with this woman, she finally told us to just go online at home because she couldn’t figure out how to use their website and couldn’t answer any more of our questions about the shades we were going to order. My god, why have a brick and mortar store if you are just going to tell people to go online and use your website?
I got home, went online, and discovered that we were unable to purchase her suggested cordless roller shades in the size we need. I’m not sure why their are such stringent size limitations but they won’t make cordless roller shades under 35″ wide. I want cordless for aesthetic reasons, but many people want them for safety with children. These folks need to get with the program.
Instead of using The Shade Store, I went with Drapery Design in Paoli. Yes, it is far away, but they can come to your home for consultation and installation. Their shades and drapes are handmade to order and their range of fabrics is much more extensive. Plus, they had no problem working with my measurements. The shades now hanging in my home are more substantial and higher quality than The Shade Store, were a bit less expensive, and the woman who we worked with knew the industry and her products inside and out.
The Shade Store gets two stars because they are made in the USA, otherwise, this would be a one-​star review.

My short review: If you are in the market for shades and blinds, do not hesitate and look no further!
My longer review: I am extremely pleased by my experience and I do not hesitate to recommend The Shade Store to anyone. I very seldom write reviews (though I use them quite a bit so I probably should be contributing to Unilocal more!) but in this case, I had to take a moment to share my thoughts.
Amie, our consultant, is just amazing, fabulous and a joy to work with! It was clear from the get go that we shared many of the same values such as honesty, work ethic and an appreciation of quality products and design. Likewise, the rest of the staff was extremely professional and really good at what they do. I felt I was in great hands, not pressured and had all of my questions answered promptly and accurately.
As to the quality of the finished product we ordered for our living room (roller shades), let me just say that I could not be more pleased in every respect. The attention to detail, the craftsmanship and construction of the shades more than justify the price — in other words, you get what you pay for and then some with this company — truly a great investment for your home and décor. You will notice the difference immediately in going with the very best!
I also recommend the website which is very user friendly, fun to navigate and offers great ideas. Samples are plentiful either in the store or free online so definitely take advantage.
I look forward to returning in the next few weeks to complete our bedroom and office.
PS: My partner, who initially took no interest in this, was ultimately the one who made the decision on what we selected and was more enthusiastic about the experience than I was… definitely bring your significant other along (or friends/​family) — it will be a great experience!

After a terrible experience with shopping for roman shades at a suburban competitor, coming to the Shade shop on Chestnut Street was a pleasure. Eileen was easy to work with, knowledgeable and had an excellent sense of color. Staff worked well together. Being able to take samples home that same day expedited decisions. The order was efficiently placed and arrived exactly as promised. Donald, the measurer and installer was so professional that the whole process was seamless. Price point and quality were great

We were already Shade Store customers via mail order and have loved the high quality of their designs, the variety of available shade and curtain materials, and the excellent fit after custom orders. When we learned about the new Philly store, we were eager to stop in. Eileen and her colleagues were tremendously helpful in figuring out the best design for window curtains in a tricky room and sent us home with lots of great fabric options to check out. Eileen followed up regularly until we were ready to place the order, arranged for an installer to take measurements (given the tricky room), got us a discount even though the sale had ended a day earlier, and followed up after the delivery and installation. We expect to continue using the Shade Store and we’ll always start with Eileen and the Philly store to get the help we need.

The space of the store itself is lovely and inviting. Amie was a huge help as I navigated my way through options for my kitchen, family room and son’s bedroom. She gave me plenty of samples to bring home which allowed us time to make great design choices at our leisure. The cellular shades are perfect and were a breeze to install. I cannot wait for the rest of our order to arrive. We are already looking to dress the windows in other rooms! All in all a fantastic experience!

A one-​stop, swanky shop for all window treatments, which I happened to stroll by last week. Just a peek inside and you will forget the name Home Depot. They make buying window shades easy (or should i say easier) and relaxing, something I didn’t experience at the large stores. They also have the most up-​to-​date selection and handle everything for you including installation. They’re on the «new» retail strip that has been emerging on Chestnut Street, near Rittenhouse.