Urban Essentials

Beautiful stylish furniture and Wilson gave great service. I would highly recommend shopping there specially if you have a new condo in the area

Customer service, friendly staff, & pricing incredible. I’ve been shopping here 15 years & can always find something from home furnishings to great art & incredible lighting!

This place is a hoax! The order items from China and then claim that they are from Italy! They are so nice at the store and yet, when it comes to the delivery, they say its on back order or delayed. Just order online or from somewhere else and save the tax. They have the worst customer service and are so rude! DO NOT EVER ORDER FROM HERE! IT IS A DISASTER! THEY ARE MEAN, RUDE AND MONEY HUNGRY! TRUST ME — - DAVID IS KNOWLEDGEABLE AND NOT NICE AT ALL! PLEASE… PLEASE. PLEASE– GO SOMEWHERE ELSE. THEY NEVER ANSWERED MY QUESTIONS, BUT RATHER QUESTIONED MY INTENTIONS!
These people are thieves and cannot guarantee the price they advertice.
Just order online !!!

Zero idea where the negativity is coming from — oh, you mean a salesperson didn’t hound you the second you walked in the door? That doesn’t mean they are snobbish — it means they aren’t commission hungry like a few other big box stores.
I’ve found David and Wilson to be incredibly helpful, thoughtful, and engaging, despite shopping for small add on items and not doing a major rehaul. Really impressed with their sourcing abilities and design taste. They pulled a lot of great options for me based on the specific need I had, and then when I liked something similar to a much more expensive piece (lookin’ at you M+G…) they found the exact twin for less, no doubt produced by the same factory. Full disclosure, I ended up not getting the piece, but they have won me over.
Would go to these guys in any situation — for full house decorating to supplementary pieces.

They are thieves! They claim to give you a discount, but really the stuff they sell is all over the Internet. They are slow in getting items to you and do not take into consideration the taxes and shipping they charge. The guys are nice abs you will want to give them the business like I did, but truly, they are over priced and will give you a longer wait time compared to online. GO ELSEWHERE! THEY ARE CORRUPT AND UNRELIABLE

Unless you want a store that takes your money and then ignores you, I can’t recommend shopping here.
I visited Urban Essentials at the recommendation of a friend of mine, who was a satisfied customer. I found some great living room furniture and thought this could end up being a place I would shop frequently.
I purchased a few pieces, including a $ 2,000 chair (the most I’ve ever spent on a chair), and while I received a nice discount, I still expected a certain level of service and accuracy. Unfortunately, that would turn out not to be the case. The chair arrived with the wrong finish, and it took multiple emails to get a response from the store. This didn’t bother me, because I know people are busy. Was told a new base would be sent and I would be contacted about swapping them out. However, while the replacement base eventually arrived, there was no follow-​up from the store and I had to email again to find out next steps. At that point I was told it was that manufacturer’s problem to solve, not the store’s. I have no relationship with the manufacturer, nor a direct line to them. To make matters worse, I travel extensively and do not have the time to be chasing down answers. Needless to say, the manufacturer never contacted me.
It has now been 8 MONTHS and I still have a mismatched chair and a spare base sitting in the corner. One of these days, between my work travels I will get around to buying the tools needed to do this myself.
Super disappointing, and I’ve let the referring friend know about it, in the hope that she doesn’t send any more business to this establishment.

To buy a mattress I went this place and it seems me as the awesome to me and the surprising to the fact that the owner of this place in the lovely people and I have become happy to chat with them. The facilities of the delivery is the fantastic way. Here the cheap and the nice people you can meet.

I would give this place 0 stars if one were an option. First, I co-​sign the reviews that describe the customer service and owner as RUDE. I stopped in for the second time with this time with a friend of mine. The first time, while the owner or person with authority (older gentleman white hair mustache) was stand offish there was a young African American woman who was helpful. Unfortunately every time she tried to sell us some thing he would undermine the sale (really weird approach to salesmanship). Anyway the chandelier my friend was interested in we were told (by mean salesman) had already been sold… cut to today. We walk in and see the same chandelier. Personally I was looking for a couch, but the guy was so uninterested I lost all desire to shop there. On the other hand my friend foolishly asked about the sans chandelier — he spoke to her so rudely that I said“let’s go this guy is an asshole“
And we walked out. I don’t typically write a review unless the experience was 5 star or less than 0, and my experience at UE was less than 0. Would never go back

Stopped in at Urban Essentials while walking on 14^th Street NW
HL and I are doing some major remodeling in our home and are always on the lookout for unique and quality furniture as well as lighting and accent pieces to buy.
We slowly made our way through the showroom and were never greeted or approached by either the middle aged man or lady sitting at a work desk.
We actually found a large leather couch set we loved and it would have been really nice if these two owner/​manager or employees had made an effort to approach us and offer to help us.
We took some of the literature laying out and left without a peep out of those two RUDE persons. No thank you for stopping by etc…
We will NEVER return!!!
Some other caring customer service oriented furniture store that carries the Astoria leather line will definitely get our business!

I used to walk by this place all the time and now that we’ve bought a new home, I was excited to check it out as a serious customer. Instead, I just had the most awkward experience and slinked out of the store feeling like I wasn’t welcome and didn’t belong. There was literally *nobody else* in the entire store when I walked in, and there were two employees by the register, just looking off into the distance. Not a single one said hello or asked if I needed help (which I actually did and was waiting for one of them to approach me).
I don’t know if the people who run this place are assholes or totally socially unaware, but if I’m going to spend thousands of dollars on furniture, I don’t need to be treated like I’m invisible during the process. Not sure how they’ve been around this long — looks like other reviewers had similar experiences.

i am thrilled about the service at Urban Essentials — not to mention the quality of the furniture. This was, by far, the best furniture experience I’ve had since moving to my own place 3 decades. Brad was informative, helpful and did an excellent job at unveiling our taste and matching furniture accordingly. He was SPOT on. Plus, this was the first time time a couch was delivered on-​time as promised and set up by a competent crew. And, the prices were more than competitive. Our experience was so positive that we returned last week to buy a much-​needed sofa bed. And the owner takes special pride in discovering and providing a wide array of interesting, unique furniture covering the gamut of contemporary design. Quality, competence, and price? No need to shop anywhere else.

This store sells some wonderful merchandise. The most expensive piece of furniture I have ever purchased came from this store. However, they have the ABSOLUTE WORST customer service I have ever encountered. Bill is the worst culprit here. Utterly indifferent to me as a customer, made every question I had feel like I was asking something stupid, and made me dread having to go back into the store for any follow-​up issues.
I would not patronize this business in the future. If you see something you like here, I would highly recommend locating another retailer that carries the same merchandise.
Post script: I was contacted by the store owner several months after I wrote this review, and he apologized on behalf of the employee referenced above, who was let go (I was told). Though I have not been back in the store yet, I appreciated the apology, and the recognition that there was definitely a problem that needed to be solved.

I cannot say enough wonderful things about the customer service at Urban Essentials. David literally spent hours with me trying to figure what sofa and fabric would work for my space, color scheme, pet situation, and budget. Given that I was leaning towards buying one of the least expensive couches they sell, I would have never expected to get so much personal attention, but he talked me through all kinds of options and ultimately helped me find a couch I love that meets my long list of requirements. In addition to the amazing customer service, they have high quality furniture at very competitive prices. I will definitely go back.

After having moved to a new APT in DC I realized my old furniture did not work well in the new space.
Bill (designer) and David (owner– designer) were super helpful.
Bill came to my apt took notes and made suggestion based on my lifestyle.
I also think this store has good competitive pricing. I ordered a few custom pieces and everything arrived in the time framed promised.
The delivery company set up and placed everything as promised.
*I did have a problem with 2 of the bar stools and the situation was rectified immediately.
My experience has been great and I continue to shop here.

Downsizing from a large row house to a small condo requires more knowledge than I expected. The people at Urban Essentials were great at helping me understand what furniture would work or not in my new, small place. It saved me a lot if time, money, & frustration.

I’ve bought from this store in the past and it seems they will never change. Very bad customer service. They have nice furniture but terrible customer service. I’m done with this store. Don’t waste your time you can get just as nice furniture from up the street or online and you have good customer service.

I’m amending my earlier no show complaint. There was an oversight, but it was explained and given an employees recent health crisis I can see how it might happen.

I bought 2 Casper chairs, however when I got home and checked the website I noticed the price at the store was a bit higher than what I paid– I called back the next day– Julie the sales rep. was extremely helpful– she did a price match! So I paid the web price+ I had the opportunity to try it out– Great collection of furniture and great prices! I will be going back for sure!

The people who work here are really insanely rude. I have no idea why they think the way they act is socially acceptable in any context, let alone one in which someone is buying overpriced ugly furniture from you. Seriously, there are better places to go.

So I’m in Urban Essentials buying a couple of thousand dollars worth of furniture and accessories for a home I recently purchased. I’m standing at the counter while my sales associate looks up information on the items being ordered, when a group of rowdy young women walk up. One of these is hot to buy a $ 200.00 mirror, a display model, and the sales associate recognizes her as one of the stars of «Real Housewives of Atlanta. And so what does he do? Does he ask her to wait while he finishes with my order? Nope, he tells me that I will have to wait because, after all, she’s a star.
And I’m thinking… «You’re going to inconvenience a local buyer, who’s likely to spend thousands more in your store, for a minor celebrity with more money than sense?» Well guess what? That was the last time I was in Urban Essentials.
I will say though that the couch I purchased from them is damn near the most comfortable thing I’ve ever sat on.