<p>I am about to do some decorating in my new house. I’ve basically exhausted most of the retail shops in my area and still haven’t found the right items. I have received some catalogs in the mail from several home furnishing companies. I am wondering if any of you have some reliable online suppliers whose products hold up, look like the photos, and are mailed reliably and intact.</p>
<p>There are some lovely things in the Ballard Designs catalog I just received. Anyone had experience with this company? Or have any other favorites?</p>
<p>There’s a Furniture Forum run by DRCoolie of the Keeping Room in VA. He does quite a bit of on-line orders because he only has his one shop in VA and quite a few followers and viewers, I have never used him yet, but am tempted. He has a lot of knowledge about furniture that he shares on his forum. He does have a showroom in VA as well.</p>
<p>I am in a similar situation as I’m not happy with the furniture stores on our island and am starting to look in CA and further afield. Will see how it goes. One of the issues about buying had shipping is potential damage while shipping and delivering the furniture, especially if it’s larger and heavier. Just more to consider and add to the price of acuiring the pieces.</p>
<p>I have bought furniture from Pompanoosuc Mills and Thos. Moser. I’ve been to showrooms for both manufacturers and know that I can depend on the quality. Most recently we bought a leather recliner from Pompy. For that we made the trek to a showroom so that we could actually sit in the chair and make sure it was comfortable. (DH, who is not tall, loves it.)</p>
<p>What is your taste? I get quite a few home furnishing catalogs; some places that have real stores, often offer merchandise through their websites that you won’t find in the store. Awe (a division of West End), Arhaus, Frontgate, Grandinroad, Home Decorators Collection, West End, Vivaterra are some of the catalogs I get that don’t have stores around here. Then there’s the usual Crate and Barrel, Restoration Hardware, Pottery Barn, Room and Board, etc.</p>
<p>^^^I’m going towards transitional. I used to have mostly Country French, and am trying to move away from that. I can’t do pure contemporary because I’d have to get rid of everything and start over, so it’s *sort of * contemporary that can mix in with some more traditional pieces. Pottery Barnish, but not MODERN.</p>
<p>I’m not just looking for furniture, but rugs, accessories, art, pillows, linens, etc. I’m familiar with Crate and Barrel, Pottery Barn, Restoration Hardware, as we have showrooms in Dallas. Room and Board not so much. I will look at some of the others you have mentioned, teriwtt.</p>
<p>. I love Room and Board as well as DWR. Though DWR might be too modern for you, they at least have classic, iconic mid century modern pieces that still look good as accent pieces in a more traditional setting. Expensive but very high quality. <a href=“http://www.dwr.com%5B/url%5D”>www.dwr.com</a></p>
<p>Try [Wayfair.com</a> - Online Home Store for Furniture, Decor, Outdoors & More | Wayfair](<a href=“http://www.wayfair.com%5DWayfair.com”>http://www.wayfair.com). They have variety. I bought a glass and nickel coffee table from them which I’m relatively pleased with. That said, there’s nothing like seeing the piece in person to really know what you’re getting.</p>
<p>I ordered wood counter height stools from Ballard about 18 years ago. They are still in great shape. Only one is a bit wobbly, and that’s because a 350 lb. plus man sat on it one afternoon. They no longer sell this particular stool, but it was available for years.</p>
<p>i bought a dining room table from Ballard Design last summer. It is exactly as described in the catalog and is of very good quality. I will certainly order from Ballard again.</p>
<p>Another room and board fan here. We do have a store but I believe they do a booming online business. Quality is good – we’ve been very pleased with the several pieces we purchased. I did get a rug from rugsusa.com. It’s all wool and surprisingly thick and good quality even though it was on sale and I got it for a steal. Bought another rug from homedecorators.com and, after a year with admittedly heavy use, one of the edges is starting to fray. With just one piece purchased from these last two online stores, I’m not sure if it’s fair to generalize but that’s been my experience. Good luck!</p>
<p>Take a look at Wayfair.com. They have everything from furniture to luggage to lighting and plumbing fixtures and their shipping and customer service is first rate.
My daughter was so impressed with the things we bought for our new house last spring that she ordered her bedroom furniture from them when she moved to a large city for graduate school in August. Fed Ex made that delivery and for whatever reason, left the crates outside of her building rather (and they delivered 3 days early, so D wasn’t even there yet, although her flat mates were). When she checked online and saw that they had been delivered, she called Wayfair to inquire and since the items were missing, Wayfair immediately shipped ALL of the items again, and they were delivered within 48 hours, no extra charge!</p>
<p>Another vote for Ballards! Purchased a sofa a few years back from Ballards. It still looks brand new and I love it! Have also purchased decorative accessories from Ballards and have been please with those items as well.</p>
<p>Look at the Wayfair site but then look for the items elsewhere. I found their prices to be high. Better prices on other websites for the same products.</p>
<p>Ballards has nice things. They are based out of Atlanta and so they have outlets here as well as a retail store. Many of my friends have purchased things from them as I have. They have been around quite a while.</p>
<p>I just redid my den, living room, and dining room. I found several great pieces at a furniture (mid to high range) consignment store. I bought a mirror, lamps and a gorgeous chandelier. I am sure you have similar stores in Dallas as we have multiple ones in the Atlanta area. It wasn’t always about price, but mostly about finding what I liked when I couldn’t find it at the retail stores.</p>
<p>I found Lowes (the hardware store) actually had a small but nice selection of lamps that trended towards the contemporary side.</p>
<p>They have a store in the Atlanta area, but apparently not in TX. They have “fun” pieces at a fairly reasonable prices and the quality seems good enough. (My decorator is a fan.)</p>
<p>Another Ballard fan here. I’ve been a catalog customer for years…bookcases, kitchen stools, big and small area rugs, accessories, etc. Just yesterday, I ordered a coffee table from them for my mother. I’ve never had a problem with the quality or service.</p>
<p>Both my mom and I had great experiences with Home Gallery Stores [Dining</a> Room Table Sets, Bedroom Furniture, Curios, Sofas, Entertainment Centers, Home Bars | Home Gallery Stores | Lowest Prices on the Best Furniture Brands](<a href=“http://homegallerystores.com%5DDining”>http://homegallerystores.com)
Our purchases included delivery and assembly. They even vacuumed after assembling the occasional tables that I purchased, and they took all of the cardboard and other packaging away with them.</p>