MyThy H.
Yelp
Yay! Michigan finally gets a West Elm! No need to drive to Chicago or Columbus or scour Craigslist for Mid-Century Modern Furniture! +1
-Big, clean layout +1
-Feel free to touch, sit, lay, open/close all the furniture that you've been vying over online but in-store +1
-Aggressive sales people following you if not encountering them at every turn of furniture -2
We bought a house and though its been 2 months, we had to wait for West Elm. First we heard they were opening the end of Dec so we said forget it we'll road trip to Chicago or Columbus. But then their social media rep (@westelmmaplerd) on Instagram said 10/3 so I had to be there!
We're aiming for a more contemporary Mid-Century Modern style with clean, crisp lines and sharp, geometric shapes & trust me, we've been "researching" Craigslist and Estates.Net for that right piece. Brasilia, Broyhill, Eames done with the style of Arne Jacobsen, Eero Saarinen and Charles and Ray Eames.
This location is across the street from Shain Park in Downtown Bham w/ parking behind the store. Almost always filled so you gotta find street parking. Its a bitch, I know. Once in side you hear angel's sing and greeted by a sales rep. I've been back 3 times since grand opening to make sure I liked what I saw b/c I'm not gonna drop $4k on crappy Art Van sh*t. One sales rep (the guy with the south African accent, super nice) was all smiles, told me about the West Elm rewards Credit card, took down the bedside dresser that was 7 ft high on display, etc.
I moved from bedding to bathroom & greeted by a female sales rep & again told about their rewards c/c and the whole store is additional 15% off! Nice!
Moved on to bedroom furniture and as I opened each dresser and examined if they were dove tailed drawer, looked at the price tag for any indication of wood materials used (which mentions none), I was again approached by a diff sales rep! I quickly shut her down regarding the reward b/c this is my 3rd time hearing it but rather, "Can you tell me what kind of wood this is?" Blank stares....crickets. "Oh let me search our website and see what it is." In the corner are 4 large computers opened to West Elm's homepage allowing you to search their online store in case what you want isn't on the floor. I'll give her credit for looking that up but I have to admit the build construction is not that of what it was circa 1950 (I'm an '80s child but I know Ikea quality vs solid build). I was a little hesitant but I still love all the style.
Next up was Dining furniture as we're still eating in front of the TV using the coffee table as or dining table. I sat in each style of chair despite knowing the one I wanted just in case I changed my mind. The first sales rep came back & joked with me that I'm examining every detail and furniture. Uh yeah, your chairs are $299 each and "DO YOU KNOW WHO MY FIANCE IS? AN ENGINEER. THE END."
Next up new coffee & end tables. Loved the marble top tables with angled wood legs. The table top felt like marble: cold, smooth, heavy with proper marbling style. Until I looked underneath the table (as I did with every thing). Gasp! Its an all white surface and rather this isn't real marble! It's man-made marble! Bummer. Still nice but if I'm paying $499 for a coffee table, I want the real deal. We're still 50/50 on that.
Onto kitchen Islands. This is where I wanted to KICK THE FEMALE SALES REP. They need to understand and listen to their customers that odds are if you come in, you know West Elm or you don't. It's like Ikea, you've heard or been there or not. On display was an island w/o drawers while online they sell a kitchen island with drawers. I wanted to see if the dimensions were the same. She goes to said computers and looks it up & can't find it. I told her to look under kitchen carts & islands under the Furniture tab. Instead she hovers over the "Search" Prompt and types in "Kitchen tables." We get a slew of dining tables. Eh, fail. She says, "I don't see what you're talking about." I say, "I know, I don't remember what the piece was called {b/c you know how designers like to name their furniture. Turns out its called "Rustic Kitchen Island with Drawers!" How plain compared to some unpronounceable Ikea name!} but if you click on the furniture tab and go to Kitchen Islands, it'll pop up." Nope, she continues to go to Furniture and clicks on dining tables taking us back to where were were.
WTF? Finally the 3rd try she does what I ask. Dedicated fiance saw how agitated I was getting b/c mind you, the women in West Elm are all snobbish bham ladies whereas the Men are super metrosexual nice. What's up with that? So you got schooled on the website that YOU should know about but she was condescending nose-stuck in the air type. In the end we went home and are still deciding what pieces we should buy.
The entire store 15% Grand Opening sale runs till 10/19 and you can have items shipped to the store and you can pick up or delivered for a cost.