ETHAN ALLEN GALLERIES INC

We ordered the valences on November 6, 2014 and were told they would take 8-12 weeks. We also ordered a sofa table and ottomans. Those were to be delivered in 6-8 weeks. The sofa table arrived within the 8 week timeframe, but the ottomans were an additional 2 weeks in coming. I had to reach out to our design coordinator to stay abreast of the order's status. It wasn't until a week before the valences were due to be delivered that we were told there would be a slight delay. A piece of fabric, we were told, was on backorder. Over the next several weeks, I had to contact Ethan Allen for updates. We finally had the valences delivered and installed on 4/1, almost 5 months (21 weeks) after ordering. Turns out the holdup was a piece of fabric was held up on customs. No one from Ethan Allen did anything to resolve the hold up. In addition, the valence that were delivered were not what the design consultant represented. Instead of having 5 rings supporting the fabric, there were only two, causing there to be 2 large bevels of fabric, instead of 4 smaller, more subtle ones. We called our design consultant and asked her to come and look at them. She said that they had to change the design because the window was too small and could not support the 5 rings. Not sure why it looks good in a drawing that's to scale, but won't look good in real life. She said we'd, "Have to go to war" if we wanted Ethan Allen to change anything. She did offer us a 5% discount on the valences. So, Ethan Allen made a change to our order without our approval, and we were told we had to accept the order. Ethan Allen failed to deliver on time, failed to track the materials to make sure there were no problems, made changes to the design and failed to get our approval before making the changes, and then, when we expressed dissatisfaction, they told us they wouldn't do anything to fix the problem they created. Finally, I wrote letters to all of the corporate offices at Ethan Allen. I included the rendering our design consultant produced of the valences and a picture of the actual valances. I expressed my extreme displease with the product and ask for their assistance in coming to a resolution. Those letters were mailed on April 13, 2015. Today is May 1st. I have not received a single reply. They obviously couldn't care less. Ethan Allen represents itself as a very high-end, "boutique" interior design store. They certainly are expensive and, based upon my recent experience, their level of service and commitment to the customer is close nothing. For the price, you would be better served going elsewhere.

While I love Ethan Allen furniture, having purchased two pieces in this line previously, this current experience is less than desired. I was called approximately one week after my purchase to schedule delivery. After a month of trying to get a hold of Peter, I was told that they needed a 12 hr delivery window. Unfortunately, I was not able to give such a window. I was able to give a six hour window, but not twelve. Since they only schedule deliveries a month at a time, I am now waiting to be called later this month to schedule for a potential May delivery. And, so, I am still waiting for delivery with little expectation that this will happen within the next three months given the limited days that I can offer a twelve hour delivery window. I am pretty disappointed with the lack of response from Peter (several calls not returned) and Frances (who called to tell me the dining room set was available for delivery but couldn't schedule the delivery). And, it seems a bit disheartening that I have to pay for delivery both in terms of a delivery fee to Ethan Allen and in terms of an annual leave day from work in order to get a dining room set delivered to my house. I seriously doubt that I will purchase from Ethan Allen again given this fiasco.

The purchase and service met our expectaions.

We spent about $1500 on a table with them, but when it started to have structural problems they claimed they didn’t know us. If you deal with them, you are running a risk. The table is sagging in the middle but they would not repair it or stand behind the warranty. The store is conveniently located and pretty, but I don’t care for their staff at all. I think they have too few staff members and they are rude. It will be a cold day in Hell before I use them again.

Before deciding on Ethan Allen, I did a lot of research on the cost of good quality upholstered pieces and the cost of using an interior designer. Compared to the type of homes I admire (those seen in decorating magazines) I was on a very tight budget. I felt Ethan Allen charges a fair price for furniture because it comes with design assistance, and that is worth something. The person who helped us was a very pleasant woman who came to our home. I had already prepared a floor plan, and identified what size sofa and chairs we needed. Her role was to help with fabric selection and color coordination. We had just moved into the home and I was not sure how to work with the colors in the existing ceramic tile floor, dark walnut colored wood floors and cherry cabinets in the nearby kitchen. She brought samples of fabrics to our home and we liked them and we bought them. She gave us specific color choices (Benjamin Moore and Sherwin Williams) for the walls, and even suggested we paint the ceiling in a dark shade (we never did that). The sofa and one chair arrived promptly, but the leather chair took forever - like 6 months. When you have paid in full, it can be annoying to wait so long. Whatever, no problem - the sofa and chairs are very nice quality. Here is why I would not use them again - I am in the midst of completely re-painting the whole downstairs because I cannot live with those colors any more. As time passed, I noticed that neutral colors have undertones. The existing "white" ceramic tile has pink undertones and it looks horrible with the olive green-ish understones of the fabrics and wall paint. I feel like she steered us wrong on that. Also, there is just too much of the same color in the room. The wing chair was covered in leather. It is a beautiful coppery chestnut color, which is the same color as the cherry furniture and cherry cabinets, so it is just too much of the same color. I am finally tackling a re-decoration project after living with it for 5 years. I could not justify changing it any sooner, after spending all that money. This time, I know that the color palette has to be right before anyone opens a can of paint. And I will probably need slip covers for the sofa and chair, in order to "make it work", as Tim Gunn would say. I think Ethan Allen is a good store with high quality products, but if you are picky about interior design, you may wish to get a 2nd opinion before making a commitment. Back then, I did not know how to find interior design advice. Now that Angie's List and home decor blogs exist, you don't have to put all your faith in one person. It is worth paying a couple hundred dollars fee to an interior designer to save you from living with an expensive living room that does not make you happy.