It must be company policy to be incredibly dry and unapproachable. There's just absolutely no way you walk in, lock eyes with someone then be actively ignored the entire time you are in the store. Not a single acknowledgment, not a nod, not a hello, nothing. Mind you the employees were all laughing and conversing amongst each other. Furnishing my entire home and was excited to visit. Will not be doing so here. So disappointing. read more

Sales staff ignore the customers! Four sales staff, 8-10 customers. 0 interaction I was ready to buy and could not get help. Ordering on line! read more

Design within reach is one of my favorite go to stores while I'm shopping in the Berkeley area. Yes, this is an upscale Store, but even as the name of the store implies many things are definitely within reach! As a Hermann miller, faced store, you know right off the bat that anything you purchase is going to be of superior quality, not to mention having a great warranty to go along with it. The staff is always so very welcoming and friendly, and my recent shopping excursion was no exception. If you're not familiar with the work of Herman Miller, I implore you to explore each and every piece. The Eames lounge chair is my favorite! Plus, I love the fact that this chair is also made for taller people such as myself. When you sit in this chair, it's like sitting on a cloud. You'll feel absolutely warm and fuzzy. They also offer a variety of sit and stand desks that with a push of a button, can be adjusted for practically any height. This is absolutely spectacular, especially with so many people working from home these days. You definitely should consider this desk for your home office needs . A big thank you to Lisa and her staff for helping us out recently with our purchase. We greatly appreciate you answering all of our questions, and for bringing your knowledge and expertise to the conversation in order to help us make a decision. read more

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I love this location and DWR! The store is very inviting but not smothering, you're greeted warmly and allowed to browse around without feeling any pressure. Vernon is simply a doll, professional, extremely helpful and playful all in one. He was great with helping me purchase the Panthella Portable Lamp in Moss the color is exclusive to DWR and I adore it! 10 Stars all around. Thank you for a lovely experience. read more

My favorite store on Fourth Street and my go-to place for home furnishings. This is a great place to visit if you want to put together the coolest home office, by the way. I've outfitted several rooms with DWR stuff over the years and it is absolutely top-quality. Beautiful products. The people are eager to help and very nice and friendly. Vernon has great taste, knows everything, and clearly wants his customers to be happy. Highly recommended! read more

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Vernon at Design Within Reach is the go to person for fantastic service. My wife and left the Berkeley store without our receipt. Vernon saw that our car was still out front and tract found us at another store way down the block. This is not the first time he helped us with a purchase either. He is the best. read more

Buyer beware - 10% restocking fee. I put in an order for a Herman Miller chair. I wanted the sales person to earn commission so I put in the order over the phone after seeing the chair in person. Their delivery service delivered the chair about three months later. The team just dropped off the box and did not allow me to fully open and inspect the chair. I found the chair had sagging leather and was not worth the nearly $3,000 price (Design _within_ reach, really?). I called the next day to set up a return- the sales person says- "Oh your sales person is back next week, she'll call you then." Great customer service! I insisted on processing the return with someone else who explained the restocking fee. I told them that I refused to pay their fee and that I was not informed of it when I placed my order. Her retort, "Our policy is all over our website!" Very helpful on a phone order! This store does not care about customer service in the least, take your business elsewhere. (I returned the chair and did not pay their ridiculous restocking fee on a defective item thanks to my credit card's excellent buyer protections). Lesson learned - "Design Within Reach" should really be called "Design out of touch." read more

Design Within Reach - Furniture Stores Near Me - Berkeley, California

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I couldn't tell you anything about this store. My wife and I went there to try out a few herman miller office chairs. No one paid attention to us. After waiting for a while, we left. We ended up buying office chairs from steelcase . read more

Terrible customer service, especially after you've purchased something. Seems to be a consistent theme amongst most reviewers. Considering how expensive everything is here, you'd expect better. I'd suggest treating this place like a show room, and then buying online from another distributor. Research prices thoroughly before buying, and beware of their constant sales and promos right now - they won't honor price adjustments even though it is clearly stated in their company policies. read more

When we moved into our new house, I ordered several furniture here. Bianca was fantastic, she was very knowledgeable, friendly, answered quickly my emails and always had a solution. I would always recommend them! read more

I usually say that this store is "so NOT within reach." The prices are quite exorbitant. But most modern furniture pieces usually are... that is if you are looking for HIGH QUALITY designer stuff. Otherwise, go to IKEA. Lately, I've had my mind on this little black designer number... *clicky!* http://www.dwr.com/product/pg/kartell/louis-ghost-armchair.do?search=basic&keyword=ghost+chair&sortby=ourPicks&page=1 No... it's not a designer dress, nor is it lingerie ... it's simply A PLASTIC CHAIR However, it's made of high quality polycarbonate (a fancy word for PLASTIC) and it's made in Italy. It's also a very expensive chair for that matter and who the hell would be crazy enough to pay this much for one single chair!?!?!?!!! WHO THE HELL??!!??!!! Ummm... me. Or Santa... that is if he doesn't want blue balls for a year. Kidding! No I'm not. Yes, I am... Anyway... so this last weekend I was on the Fourth Street strip and popped in for a quickie to sit on the lap of my current crush and realized how incredibly comfortable this chair is. One of the sales guy was so friendly (and oh so cute, ladies!) that we bonded over the beauty and comfort of this chair. He kept me company, without being overbearing hoping to make a sale, as I bounced around the store like I was Goldilocks trying to decide between the black/transparent or the white chair and soon enough we were both moving chairs around to get an idea how each different color looks like next to a table. 4 stars for a DYNAMITE sales guy! Unfortunately for DWR, Santa already knows that he can find this chair for less on Ebay. read more

Design Within Reach - Furniture Stores Near Me - Berkeley, California

Love how they shortened the name of this store. It used to be: Design Within Reach If You Have Mucho Dollars And Are Into Modern Furniture. So if Saarinen, Eames and the like are your scene, then you'll like it here. Just make sure that you take the plastic with you. I have been lusting over the Philippe Starck Louis IV Ghost Chair http://www.bonluxat.com/cmsense/data/uploads/orig/Louis_Ghost_Philippe_Starck_30k.jpg which my husband found hideous. It retails for $410, so NOT within reach for me. read more

Beautiful store, great products expensive but worth it especially if you want authentic mid century furniture, THE REAL DEAL! But, you are going to have to wait for your item, not only do you have to wait for item to be produced you will need to wait additional time for it to be delivered. I ordered the Lina Swivel Chair on December 1st, 2021, received notification March 17, 2022 chair was shipped only to be told by delivery company chair wouldn't be delivered until April 21, 2022, they received chair on March 25th, that's almost a whole month my chair is left sitting in warehouse ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS!! I have quite a few items we bought over the years but rest assured I will think twice before I buy another item from DWR, I'll consider buying second hand before purchasing from them again. Covid has become a convenient excuse when will we get back to business as usual ‍ read more

They shipped our sectional with one incorrect piece, and then shipped the same incorrect piece a month later, then shipped the same incorrect piece two weeks after that but caught it when it was almost here. We were then told we'd have the correct item delivered within two weeks which never happened. We followed up and had to wait 3 days for a response to be given no timeline or eta. Not one time have we seen proactive customer service. We've never gotten a phone call, always have to call them. We only get emailed responses at nearly 6pm when it's impossible to get any follow up in on the same day. To say that I hate design within reach is an understatement, but dealing with Fox in particular has been miserable. Zero sense of urgency, treats us like this is on the bottom of his list and hostile on the phone. read more

CUSTOMERS BE AWARE! I bought a floor sample bedside lamp at DSW in Berkeley only to find out the USB port does not work. Of course, I knew it was a floor sample when I bought it. The only obvious flaw in the lamp when I made the purchase was that the product was chipped. If I had known that there was an electrical flaw, I would not have purchased it. The price was $167.00 DSW ANSWER: Unfortunately because this item is a floor sample marked at a major discounted price, we will not be able to offer you any guarantee or refund. Like you will see on your invoice it is a final sale, as is product. You may be able to go through Pablo (the manufacturer) directly to see if there is a way to fix the USB port. DSW, you can stand by your refusal to do anything about this. That is within DWR's legal right. My consumer right is to inform this is my first and last purchase with DWR. I shall tell all my family and friends to be careful when purchasing from your company. In this case, consumer rights are more powerful than legal rights. read more

Don't buy from here. A month later, I regret to post that not only did DWR NOT waive the $299 pick up fee for planters we needed to return because of a backorder issue, but they also emailed saying credits had been applied but initially without receipt or credit amounts. The credits were incorrect and did not include what they had committed to refunding. Several hundreds of dollars short. This company is not customer centric. Don't buy from here unless you are absolutely sure the product is in stock and that you will never want to return. Shipping and restock fees are a cost center for DWR. So disappointed especially after all this time and hassle.....and so much for DWR person t respond to my first post saying this is not how they operate - it most certainly is! read more

Wow, so many one star reviews how is this place still in business? We purchased a Flight recliner from here a few months ago and because their quality is the worst, we were unaware that a raw nail was sticking out of the chair leg, gouging and scratching up our hardwood floor that even after professional repair will never look the same. No-one cared enough to respond to this issue until we emailed the CEO (certainly not the store manager). This just ends the DWR experiment for us. Every single piece of furniture we have from them has either arrived with significant problems (a sofa with seats made way too small!), a lightly used armchair where the cushion broke down to a mush in just a few of years and now this. Oh and relayed this story to a friend who said 'yeah our office chair from DWR fell apart too'. Absolutely zero quality control. Avoid this over priced nonsense if you want a trouble free life. read more

This is to say thank you to Vernon Theiss who helped us with our purchase. He's super nice and very knowledgeable. We've visited the Berkeley store many times over the years and he's always greeted us and is very welcoming. We finally made a purchase and when things didn't go as we planned (not by any means Vernon's fault), he helped rectify everything for us. He jumped through a few hoops, made a few calls, spoke to the right people, and in the end got us to where we needed to be. Great customer service. Thanks! read more

I have been a DWR company client for a long time. This year, I received excellent service from Paul before he moved over to HAY, and later from Lisa. I live in SF and have never visited the store, I worked with them on the phone. They were helpful in every way, including returns for an item that didn't work out. I used to shop at DWR SF and had a very bad experience, bad advice, lazy and indifferent service, and refusal to correct, but Paul and Lisa made it right. Now, the SF store makes a good show room for me so I don't have to go out to Berkeley. All of my future DWR purchases will be placed with the Berkeley store. read more

Alan and I had lunch at Cafe M today and after lunch I walked over to Sur la Table to look for a kitchen gadget to replace the one I have that's grown old. They didn't have it, so while I was in the neighborhood I walked over to the Crate &Barrel outlet across the street to look for a decorative acrylic glass for the bathroom. I didn't like the one they had, so went across the street to CB2 at the recommendation of the saleswoman. They had nothing, so I decided to try Design Within Reach, since I was right there. I walked in and looked around. I had never been in before, so I was unfamiliar w/ the store. They have a lot of Mid Century Modern-like stuff, including Eames chairs, but I saw nothing resembling what I was looking for. I was greeted by a lovely young woman who had been helping another customer. She asked if I'd like a bottle of water, giving one to me and to the other woman. I told her what I was looking for and she said they didn't have that. She suggested checking Earthsake next door, then walked me over to look. It was completely wonderful service. Earthsake smelled and looked lovely, but they didn't have the kind of glasses I wanted, so we left and she returned to her store while I continued on my journey. read more

i bought a 2,000. dollar recliner from dwr, online, 12/17 , last month i started an online discussion with dwr the underpinings of the chair are falling apart. i sent pictures of the hardware which fell apart, even a video . at first , i was told they would fix it, then a turn around from kirsten in service, she told me it was out of warranty and i would have to fix it myself. so if you want very expensive furniture that falls apart in a year and a half ,avoid the place and buy your expensive furniture somewhere else. read more

Design Within Reach - springs coming apart underside of chair - Furniture Stores Near Me - Berkeley, California

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(Time to vent) I recently visited DWR for 'The Small Stakes' poster reception. Plenty of stuffy people milling about blocking every aisle (just move to the side people!). There was wine and snacks just like any other art reception. Why are those Trader Joe's brownies everywhere I go? On their email invite they didn't state cash only. Cash only??? Bahh. I only needed five more dollars, eh. So I asked the beret wearing guy in charge where the nearest ATM is. He gave me some great directions and I headed in that direction. Unfortunately the ATM flashes, "OUT OF SERVICE". What luck. I head back to the store asking for other recommendations. In return I get suggested bars and grocery stores. I walk four blocks to a bar just to get rejected. At DWR I tell my story and I'm just plain out of luck. Jason Munn who runs 'The Small Stakes' could care less. lol I head home empty handed. All I could do is repeat in my head, "Cash only? Cash only? Cash only?!" P.S. State, "Cash only", in your email. P.S.S. I've never liked DWR. Ikea is "design within reach". Let's see, buying a new Macbook or a $2,000 office chair? Easy decision. read more

I recently purchased an item here but will not do so again because 1. It was not shipped on time and I received no notice from the store when it would be shipped; 2. The return policy sucks; 3. Even though this was a sale item it was much cheaper on line. read more

Heard about this place from Pookie M., who knew I was looking for some nice furniture. She hipped me to their big warehouse sale they were having in the city. To do my homework, I went to this store to see what they had. Their stuff was very modern and nice, but definitely NOT within reach...more like "Design With Rich (people in mind)". At least the staff was nice. Fast forward to the warehouse sale...BEWARE sensitive yelpers...I'm about to keep it very real... I'm in there expecting some super come-ups, but even banged up sh*t in the warehouse was still expensive. Observation: Except for my family and 2 other people, there are no other black folks...shopping. My aunt overhears this lady saying "Damn, everybody is gonna be able to afford the stuff I have, even..." (my aunt looks at her at that exact moment and the lady doesn't finish her sentence). I managed to find a couple of really nice things which I could walk out with while not feeling screwed. I'm at the checkout table and this lady behind me is all up on my ass. She's so close, she might as well be reviewing my purchase order and paying for my stuff. On top of that, her kid is right next to me and grabbing stuff on the table. He almost grabs my lamp, but I speak up before he does and his mom grabs him. Side note: Am I only one who thinks its inconsiderate letting your kids run wild and not speaking up when they're causing trouble??? Its just common courtesy. Back to the story...I ask the woman NICELY if she could please back up a little. This broad literally moves back about 5 inches, but she's still so close she can see all my credit card info. At this point, I say to myself, do I be a nice guy and let it go, or do I say something AGAIN. Well with my CC info on the line and the fact this woman was not getting it, I felt I had to say something, out of general principle. Me: "Excuse me, I just asked you once to back up and you are STILL right behind me." Her: "I didn't realize it was much of a problem. Why are you getting so offended?" Me: "All of my credit card info is on the table and I'd like a little space". Her: "I wasn't looking at your info". Me: (I'm not having it) "It doesn't matter, I should be allowed to have some space to pay for my stuff, plus I asked you once already". The sales guy tries to step in, but at that point its over. I pay for my stuff and bounce. I hate to be the one to do stuff like that, really, but some people just are inconsiderate OR just don't get it, and they never will until, someone says something. 3 stars cuz their stuff is nice, -2 stars for the prices. If you want modern, without the price shakedown, go to EQ3. Ikea even makes stuff that looks a little DWR, but not as stylish. I suggest buying stuff here only if you know its original and you won't find it anywhere else. read more

DWR=Dogsh!t Within Reach. Bought a couch for $8K--had to return it didn't keep its shape (and we aren't fat asses). Worse, the cushions wouldn't stay in position, making the couch, and our living room, look very sloppy. To go with the couch, I bought: -A lamp for $3K. Had to return it since it didn't fit the room. Sales person should have asked for measurements. -A rug for $800. Very poor quality--doesn't hold its shape creates fur balls that make Bill the Cat freak out. Would have returned it but our dog pooped on it (perhaps doggie's opinion?). In fairness, we did buy blankets and a side table that were decent. But for big ticket items, I'd never trust the quality of the products. Never. Overall, I get the impression Dogsh!t Within Reach is more about marketing than providing quality. I will say that the return process was easy. But I caution anyone from doing any serious designs with products that are not built to last. We took our return money and went to Roche and that was a smart investment. read more

OK, they do have a lot of nice stuff-although mostly over priced. That is why I give them two stars-for the stuff only! Next time I need some pricey stuff I will definitely find another place to buy it. I have purchased two very nice items from them. Both times they were out of stock and had to be ordered. I get the impression that they are just the modern version of the catalogue store my Folks used to shop at back in the day. Both times, I place my order and the delivery day comes and goes but nobody calls to tell me about the problem-unlike the hand holding "keep you informed" promise I was given when I placed the orders. I could write the final chapter of Moby Dick here with all of the drama it would deserve but instead I will give you the Cliffs Notes version. Delivery promised and promise broken with absolutely zero follow-up. The latest episode saw two delivery dates come and go with zero, nada, no follow-up. You will have to call and hound them to get any type of delivery estimates. The final straw was the broken promise to refund the shipping charges to compensate for the aggravation, no follow-up and waiting an extra two months for delivery. They broke that promise too!!! I will not bother to call and ask why. read more

Just moved into a new place and needed a bunch of modern furniture. Walked around inside for 10 minutes and no one greeted me or asked if I needed help. Ended up spending over $5000 at CB2 next door instead. read more

I purchased a Flight recliner that I have had my eye on for several years. Upon receiving it, there was a small, hard lump under the leather on the seat back at mid-back height. I immediately let our sales rep know and the thing I most feared happened - the answer that "Leather is inherently irregular and we should accept some irregularities - these are not flaws." This was not leather irregularity, this was something sharp under the leather. Then I started hearing talk like "we'll send out a technician to take a look at it." Never once did we hear from them "Don't worry, we'll take care of it." After stressing about how long before a technician showed up, and how much time off work was this going to cost me, and did I even want someone dismantling my BRAND NEW Flight chair, I finally decided to just return it - something they could do just fine within three days. After this experience I took a closer look at their return policy. It says: "Risk of Loss All items purchased from Design Within Reach are made pursuant to a shipment contract. This means that the risk of loss and title for such items pass to you upon our delivery to the carrier." It looks to me like DWR washes their hands of all responsibility once they hand off the item to the shipper THEY chose and THEY hired. Maybe this is standard in the industry, I don't know, but it is a stupid policy. I should not have to take responsibility for an item damaged during shipping to my home. That is why I will not be purchasing another Flight recliner to replace the one I returned. I just don't trust DWR to take care of me - their client. In fact, during the recliner fiasco, they seemed like they had little power in their relationship with their supplier. I kept hearing: "Well our supplier says we have to do this and our supplier says we have to do that before you can return this (flawed) item." You know, I don't care what your supplier says. I paid YOU, not your supplier. If you can't work well with your suppliers, maybe you need new suppliers, but that shouldn't be MY problem. Our Artemide Tolomeo Lamp came with scratches on the locking mechanism. They did replace the part, but why am I having to accept damaged items straight out of the box? DWR, get your act together. Maybe customer service like this works for you, but it doesn't work for me and my returned $4000 recliner (RIP). read more

Design at a Price 60% classic modern reproductions and 40% new stuff. It seems like they have many of the famous furniture celebrities covered. And there are quite a few new items. There a quite a few of these stores popping up now, so this stuff isn't totally unique if that's what you're after. And there are a few things that some doober will say- "They have those at Ikea." Definitely take a look at Room and Board in SF (there's parking!) and Design Within Reach before deciding. Try to place your order in person instead of the web. This location is dying because of online orders. Some people say you can wheel and deal with the sales people. Do I have to show some skin? cuz I pay full price. (Note- I'm a straight guy, so don't put a TOO much faith in my design skills.) read more

DWR is one of those places that makes money from shipping and restocking fees. I've paid 299. for a delivery on two separate occasions. Today I tried purchasing a new rug and they want 10% of the value or the rug fo shipping charge, $150 to be exact. So if you have your heart set on one of two rugs that happen to be the same size, you will pay different shipping charges if one is more expensive than the other. In contrast, I just purchased an entire bedroom set for $5200. from Room and Board and they charge a flat $79 for in home delivery. I will avoid DWR going forward. Oh and if you want anything Herman Hiller, get it at Herman Miller. they have the same prices. read more

OK, this is a review way overdue!!! I purchased a loft in the Jack London Square area where the vibe is great and the area very entertaining. With that said, owning a loft in this area can be challenging especially when I needed to furnish it and using some of my own furniture & Pieces like a custom made purple couch. Well I lived there for approximately 1 month and every time I went "home" I would get depressed and frustrated with the way it looked "furnishings" The best decision I made was to go to DWR Berkley. Heres the best part, i met Mary Conley who was an associate there "Interior Designer" I unloaded all my frustration and explained my situation.. So with that said, she quickly gave me some hope and offered her services to come to my place and look for herself, which she did very quickly. Let me tell you, she walked in and loved the place assuring me that everything will be ok. So she looked over the space and took some measurements, recommended that some of the pieces be replaced and or moved to a different location within the space. She then explained that the purple couch can be fixed by toning it down with accent pieces OMG I can keep my purple couch!!! I was starting to see hope. She left and contacted me shortly with some ideas and or alternatives at which time I met her back at the Berkley DWR store showed me some pieces that would work in my space. It's been approximately 3 months now and the living room space is almost completed and looks spectacular thanks to Mary Conley We are now moving onto the bedroom space which is going to be incredible and am excited to get this space completed thanks to Mary's talent. Anyone needing to have their space designed or needing ideas need to visit DWR Berkley and see Mary Conley. i also want to mention that the entire staff there are incredible and welcoming. DWR is lucky to have Mary Conley a very, very talented designer!!! Thank You Mary Conley.. read more

This is one of the prettiest DWR stores around. Spacious, well designed (of course) showroom with great high ceilings and industrial character, which is warmed up nicely with color. The staff is approachable and knowledgeable. We needed some stools for our shop recently and Lisa Russell helped narrow our search, and include some options we had missed at first pass. She was right. Her advice was spot on, and she also placed our order and kept us up to date as to it's progress. I wish buying furniture was always this much fun! read more

The five stars are for Vernon Theiss - he's awesome! Went above and beyond with an issue I had with my Eames chair & ottoman. Thanks for all your help Vernon, your efforts made me a very happy customer! read more

Went in looking for a lounge chair and desk for my office and desk for my office. The staff is helpful and courteous. The shop itself has a nice contemporary layout. I'm quite happy with the stools I purchased here previously but design wise, the furniture selection could use some updating especially given the DWR price points. There is more interesting stuff out there for similar or lower price points with similar quality in build. read more

I picked out a chair, got very excited, then looked at the pricetag. Over $2k for a task chair. I cannot reach that. Beautiful stuff though, really. It's fun to look and sit on for a couple minutes. Salesguy Anthony was very nice. read more

I'm in the market for a new sofa. I came to DWR thinking there might be a nice piece I could invest in. Unfortunately there is zero customer service here. The designers were at there computers. Looked up to see customers with out acknowledgement. Good thing there are plenty of places to look for furniture nearby. read more

I am so happy that through DWR I could buy a "High Performance Seating Solution". Or something like that. But seriously, if you're like me, you spend a huge part of your waking hours on a chair. If you can, spend the bucks to get a really good chair -- much like you would with your mattress for your sleeping hours. Maybe go cheap on many other things in your life, but not your mattress or your office chair. That's 2/3 of your life. As for DWR, Margot Shetlens is awesome. No hard sell at all. She just works with you to see what work for you. read more

I've got a few pieces of furniture at DWR. No need to say that these are the best purchases. Just recently I've purchased a rug and recliner. Mary came to my house and helped me pick a rug to match colors with the rest of furniture in my living room. She was great! My purchase arrived while Mary was on maternity leave. Lisa was there to help me. I had to do one return, and Lisa made it go so smoothly. The best service ever! I would highly recommend Berkeley DWR. read more

Came in here while the bf and I were walking by because we were on a mission to buy new furniture. It looked cool enough from outside to lure us in. Hmm...no hellos or acknowledgement. Bad customer service will always trump a business, no matter how good the product-which btw, their stuff was way too expensive for what it was. read more

Ordered the Kelston sofa only for it to arrive with a damaged cushion. While waiting for the replacement, one of the other cushions begain ripping at the seem. Fast forward 6 months and they sent someone to replace the cushion only to find out the factory replacement was the wrong size. Now I'm waiting for 2 new cushions with resolution in sight. I thought I'd be getting a great product and great service when ordering from DWR but I was mistaken. read more