Walter E Smithe Furniture + Design

I visited the store with a specific need in mind. The sales person was very friendly. I feel that she honestly wanted to help me. When I could not find what I wanted on the floor, I mentioned that I saw the piece in their online catalog. The sales person pulled it up. She went to get the fabrics that it was available in, which was about 6 choices. After narrowing it down to a best choice, she told me that the piece was not available in any of these choices– that someone had misaligned the fabrics. She told me that Smythe had «so many vendors» that they could not possibly have the fabrics for all of them. Her explanation was «That’s the way it works around here.». Since I was paying almost $ 4,500 for a custom piece, did not find that explanation satisfactory. Lucky for me, I just went down the road to Ethan Allen that had the piece and many choices of fabrics. I guess I dream it and Ethan Allen builds it. (For less money, after all that.)

My Smithe furniture is 4 yrs old. We thought this furniture would last forever-​sans updates. Sadly, Smithe furniture is GARBAGE! Couch cushions replaced 1x, 3x for the chairs! Upholstery is crap. Arm covers shredded on the 1^st wash! Cushion piping shredded-​cushions need replacing again. WALTER E SMITHE IS AWFUL. Don’t let goofy commercials sway you. These men are rich & have no problem taking your $. Ask anyone who has owned WES furniture for more than a few months.

I waited 6 months to make sure the furniture didn’t fall apart, and the verdict is the table and chairs we bought were outstanding. We have previous furniture from Value City and Dania, and the custom furniture made in the USA from Walter E Smith is of much higher quality. We had a patient designer come to our home and gave us some great feedback. I can’t wait until I buy a house and load my home with more furniture from Walter E Smith!

Our salesperson was Carol Owens and she was great! She was not only a salesperson but a designer!!! She came over and spent a lot of quality time helping us pick out furniture. We couldn’t afford that much, but she was okay with it. We went back this weekend to pick out some chairs and met another great deisgner named Adam. He also had an excellent eye for design.
The prices are fair for custom made furniture, but if you wait for sales its a bargain.

We had a really great experience with Walter E. Smithe recently. We were looking at leather sofas and sectionals. These things do get pricey, and since it was such a big purchase we needed to take our time. And we did. Our Designer, Adam, really helped us a lot to pick just thie right piece and to get exactly the size that was right for our space. The service was excellent. They kept us informed of the delivery progress, and got it to us early despite the fact it was made to order in Califorina. Great experience.

We wandered into this store about a year ago, and bought a media center for our TV. The sales person was really nice, and she did seem to pay attention to what we were looking for instead of trying to push us just to buy an expensive piece of furniture. We’re very happy with the media center and everyone that comes to our place likes it.
On the downside: the sales person did say that the piece we bought came with recessed lights in the shelves, but this turned out to be not true. I knew it did not came with lights when we bought it since I was looking at it in the store, so I didn’t care, but I was confused as to why she was adamant that it did.
The day before delivery they called to say that they were missing a couple of pieces for our furniture, but that they were going to deliver it anyway and bring the rest in two weeks. This was kind of annoying but they did make good on their promise and came back and completed the installation.
PS: I think it’s a little sketchy that there’s all these 5-​star reviews within the span of 5 days.

DO NOT WASTE YOUR $$$$. Problems throughout! I honestly can not say enough bad things about this place. From the sales staff to the warranty/​service. First the sofa came late with crooked legs. A ENTIRE NEW BASE had to be re-​ordered. Even then it was just OK. I expect more than OK for a $ 8000 sofa! They can’t even get a pillow right! I first got pillows (4) all coming unsewn on delivery! I guess they didn’t even bother to check them before hand. Then they were re-​delivered and the pillows corners do not match, 2 rounded and 2 box corners. I haved NEVER seen anything made so poorly! They can fix the pillows so the corners are all rounded but I will have to pay for more material, zippers etc. Are you kidding?! I made a better pillow in highschool sewing class. I would NOT recommend this Company if it were the last one on earth. Buyers beware!

Someone I know purchased a sleep sofa from this lovely store and after owning it a couple months, she complained about it. The mattress was wonderful, but the seating was not to her liking. The manager invited her to return to the store to choose a comparable couch to replace it, He handled the whole exchange so respectfully that she wrote the president of the firm to compliment him on his managment. When have you heard a story like that?
Smithe operates this beautiful store that is really separate from the rest of a small mall. Designer help is available for the asking, lovely floor samples are everywhere you look, and they have cultivated a reputation for pleasing customers. Once you select an upholstered piece, you will be asked to choose a fabric. Be prepared to wait at least a month, as everything is made to order. Pricing is reasonable.

I went to Walter E Smithe after 4 years of having a daybed and unwilling to make a decision on such a large purchase. I recently bought a condo in the city and was excited to buy something that would be a great piece that I would have forever. I went to the Skokie store and dealt with a fantastic salesperson, who helped me pick out just what I was looking for and some fantastic fabrics. That is when things went downhill. I waited a month without a call and called myself (after they told me that they would call ever 2 weeks with a progress report) only to find out that one of my fabrics for the 2 small accent pillows was discontinued and the manufacturer was not willing to start production without all fabrics chosen. I had to wait to go in, but when I finally did they told me that they would rush it through. 5 weeks later I was given a delivery date and when the day arrived the allotted delivery window passed with no sofa and no phone call. I then started calling everyone and finally got the word that my furniture was to be delivered 2 hours later. When they came, the delivery man checked out the pathways to get the sofa in, tried to cram it in the door distroying 2 walls and a doorframe, only to have it not fit and put it back in the truck. I have made several phone calls over the past few days, with no resolution yet. DONT SIGN THE WAIVER NO MATTER WHAT THEY SAY. I was misled by the delivery people who told me there would be a scratch on the wall but no further damage and it would fit fine but it did not. I then called and was told by the delivery organizer that I signed the waiver so therefore they had no liability, she then told me that if it did not fit into the home, in the contract I signed it stated that if it did not fit it was my problem.
I have had such a horrible time with with no communication, I would suggest NOT to go to Walter E Smithe.