West Elm

West Elm is a fun store. There are a lot or cool bits to accent your home. I also was rather fond of the service. It was quick, friendly, and knowledgeable.
What put me off was the cost to manufacturing ratio. There was a set of 4 wooden coaster for $ 50CDN. In the clearance section a throw pillow cover was $ 49CDN!
I do need to add I expected much more locally made or Fair Trade products. For a Seattle based company I was applauded that most fabrics were made in India. We all know what the working conditions in India are.
Well the products were pretty and the staff was nice but the price and manufacturing turned me off.

This is one of those stores where if you buy anything you are most likely paying 30% more than you should. They are constantly sending me emails with «30% Off» and «Free Shipping». I really don’t like this game or to shop/​buy in this type of store for that reason alone. My first time here, I went looking for a specific coffee table I saw online. The quality looked a bit shabby so I wanted to see more and find matching end tables. It was next to impossible to get assistance. I was told several times that someone would come back to help me and I was left waiting for at least 30 minutes while the sales staff ran around helping people buy trinkets. I’ve never understood store policy that says ignore the big sales, it happens a lot in Toronto. Some of the same staff that said they would help me passed by me numerous times avoiding making eye contact with me. Finally when someone tried to help me they were not familiar with any of the available inventory. I arrived expecting to spend a couple thousand dollars and I ended up leaving empty handed. This is the type of store you just don’t feel good about supporting.
I found what I wanted at Bo Concept the next day. Bo Concept Best selection of coffee tables.

West elm products are stunning and the store is just as captivating. I could stay for hours and look at the furniture and imagine how it would look when I bring it home. The furniture is expensive but it does look like us good quality. I love the modern clean look of the store and the furniture. So why the 2 stars? The service is terrible. No one bothered once to ask if we needed help even though we came specifically to look at a particular coffee table and had been there quite some time. When we needed help there was no one to ask. Finally we asked one person for help who indicated she lost her voice and was unable to help and just pointed in the direction of another associate. That associate was apparently busy but would get to us when she could. Finally a gentleman came to assist us but really had very little information. Before I left I wanted to grab an espresso from their in store coffee counter. The barista? The same sales associate that had very little information on the coffee table we inquired about. Hmmmm… I won’t shop here for the customer service. Maybe because the products are truly stunning. But not for the service.

Love their furniture, HATE the horrible customer service. Their employees love to say no.
They rarely have items in stock, and don’t carry the same items as in the US stores, and NO they can’t order those items in. So the customer has to order from the U.S. Website but only IF west elm will deliver those particular items (certain items are deemed too big to deliver).
Here is the procedure when you want an item that is not in store and it IS available to sell in Canada: put your name on the wait list (can easily take a month) and then they will call you when the item is «available for order». That could take another 4 – 8 weeks.
NO they can’t hold items for longer than a week so you can coordinate delivery of several items together.
Cb2 has way better service! Go there!

Great furniture store. Every item here is very funky and modern. It’s a little bit on the expensive side but the quality of the products is very good and will last you a very long time. Very nice location in the heart of liberty village.

A few months ago, I swear I would have been categorized (against my will, don’t put me in a box, man) as a hipster. I’ve had a few major milestones lately, but it appears that furnishing my new home is the thing that finally toppled me into yuppie-​hood.
So why fight it? Off to West Elm I trotted. I was looking for shelves, but they didn’t have anything that was online, so mostly we just looked at bar carts and desks and other things we didn’t need (ugh, because we already recently purchased. I know, I know).
Then we found the As Is section, and there it was. A crazy beautiful 50% off coffee table. This price was cheaper than the antiques we’d been eyeing, and there appeared to be nothing wrong with it. We looked at it from every angle, and finally I asked a nearby sales associate «What gives. What’s wrong with this piece?» He pointed out a scratch. Granted, I now see the scratch because I know of it, but contacts in in bright daylight, we hadn’t noticed the darn thing. Good enough for us! And kudos to their staff for being so honest and helpful, great folks at this location.
We walked out of there with our coffee table happily, and threw in some coasters and candles because, well, we’re yuppies?

Useless, dimwit sales staff (on top of it WAYYYYYY overstaffed).
Called store if they had 4 products that were on the US website, they said we have half of them, so I figure why not get the half then order the rest online.
By the time I get to the store they say «sorry we sold out of them… you should have called before you came in» and I said «yes… I should have» and walked away and the sales woman just looked at me like I was inconveniencing her.
So I order all 4 products on the website, and the products are more expensive to buy from the US than what they would be to buy from the Canadian store which is just fucked up.
And to add insult to injury, they charge you instate sales tax to have it shipped to a different state (which I don’t even think is legal).
TERRIBLE COMPANY ALL AROUND

The place to go in the gta for unique home décor items. They carry brands not seen elsewhere and are a shopping point for the design community. Place was busy as liberty villagers stroll about on Sunday afternoon for home stuff.

Urban and hip, West Elm is a store I can’t help but feel happy walking into — the colors and styles inspire a combination of energy and harmony. This review, however, is simply about this particular West Elm store. I live in the USA and have ordered a number of things from their online store and had no issues with it – deliver and quality were both fabulous.
This West Elm is a big store and laid out without much order, except that the living room stuff is in the front, the kitchen and lighting in the middle, and the bedroom in the back. The place is simply buzzing on the weekends and, while the displays are quite clear and self-​explanatory, the sales people are rather unorganized. It took a little while to track down one of them to buy the lights and tables we wanted, and once he confirmed that they were in stock in the store, he ran off. Uh, ok. So then we had to find another salesperson to place the actual order. Weird.
Overall though, the purchasing experience was smooth, and the storeroom helped us to pack everything into our car without issues. We had coincidentally parked in front of the customer pick-​up area, however, it’s clear that if you didn’t have that good fortune or foresight, the pick-​up process could be really irritating, with passing traffic crowding you in as you load your car.
Even if you’re not looking to buy, check out this West Elm. It’s a beautiful store to browse.

Amazing service. I was ready to spend 200 $ on a area rug but told the guy that the main use of it was for my dog to lay in it. He found me one from last season. Same thing different color a fraction of the price. Just good service.

West Elm sells hip and stylish furniture and home décor items at a moderate price, the showroom is big, and the sales associates are always helpful. The quality of the furniture is excellent and is crafted with detail.
However, the Toronto store doesn’t carry a lot of the items that you see on the website. They can’t order items from the website and have them shipped to the store either so you’re limited to whatever is available in the showroom. The website limits what it can ship to Canada as well.
The two times I’ve been here to purchase furniture, I’ve had to compromise on what I wanted because the pieces I liked online weren’t available in Canada. The ones that I did like and purchased had limited stock (i.e. one left). If you bring it home and there’s something wrong with it, then you have to wait another 3 – 4 weeks for a new batch to be shipped in and that’s if they’re even getting a new shipment in.
I hope that West Elm opens a warehouse in Toronto in the near future. I love buying from here, but it’s frustrating to come in and find out that the items you want aren’t either available in Canada or in stock locally.

After nothing but frustration with this store, I’ve decided that my most recent purchase will be my last. I can’t support this store anymore. I love the style of décor that they carry. But they are just plain impossible to deal with.
Items routinely go on sale after they vow that «it will never go on sale»… and even if it goes on sale just days after you’ve purchased it, they make price adjustments impossible.
Want to buy some of the lights that you saw in their catalogue or on their website? Too bad, they don’t carry them in Canada. Buying an upholstered headboard that comes in various different fabrics? Nope, in Canada, only one fabric is offered. Cute little wall hooks? Nope, only available in the U.S. Ryder rocking chair? Lots left in the U.S., but can’t bring them to Canada.
Want to buy something from the U.S. website? Sure, but don’t count on using Canadian gift cards, and you most certainly can’t return the item to the Toronto store if you receive it and don’t love it. And if an item is too big, they just won’t ship it at all. WHY?
I find this place so frustrating. Their in-​store stock is just a fraction of what is available from their website. If you are going to carry different items in Canada, then PLEASE create a Canadian website. It’s a tease forcing us to your U.S. website, and then telling us we can’t have anything.
Brutal, brutal, brutal.
Oh, and we just bought a Christmas tree skirt and immediately after found out that the gift recipient already had one. Can we return it, just hours later? Nope, final sale. No rule bending at this store. No customer service.
Thanks West Elm, I’m done with you.

I love west elm online then I go into the store and the piece either doesn’t look nearly as nice, or they don’t have it. That being said, they do have lots of nice things. They recently opened up the back to expand the store and have added a ‘Market’ and what looked like a café at the front. I have mostly just purchased accent things here as we had already bought our furniture before they opened in Canada, so I can’t comment on how well it lasts, but some of the pieces are quite nicely designed and as other have commented they have some great decorating ideas. That being said, no children’s furniture here and the Canadian store is more limiting then the American counterparts. Oh one final thought — the sales staff are quite helpful here and very friendly. I have been finding retail assistance recently to be lacking so this was a very pleasant surprise.

I have given up on this store.
I have gone in at least three times ready to make a purchase and every time I walk in the store manages to find a way to reject my business.
The sales associates are genuinely helpful but the managers seem to be there only to tell you how the store can’t give you what you want, and do not suggest any solutions to help meet your needs. I am frankly surprised how this store is still in business in Toronto if they turn away paying customers as frequently as they reject me. I’ve heard it all: can’t sell you this one in particular (when identical items in other colours exist), half of this is missing, we have no stock, this item isn’t available, can’t give you a date, sometime in the next few months… The excuses are quite abundant, and have gotten to an unprofessional level as they’re not even consistent; sometimes they’ll readily sell you floor models (since stocking seems to be their major issue), others they’ll turn you away even tho they have two units of the same item on the floor.
The store has interestingly designed objects and seem pretty interesting– just don’t go in with high hopes and be ready to leave empty handed.

Easily accessible via the King streetcar, this West Elm store is full of great furniture and accessories for the home.
The showroom here is huge, so we got to see tons of couches, tables, dressers, beds, rugs, and more… very useful, as I’m terrible at judging how much I like a piece of furniture by looking at it in a catalogue or online.
The furniture was… well, it was my style, so I’m biased, but I thought it was consistently great. Bonus: my boyfriend, who tends to do that «glazed-​over boyfriend» thing in stores like Pottery Barn, actually really enjoyed the experience as well. I guess it wasn’t as cluttered with accessories as a lot of places? Anyway, that was a great feature :)
Some of the furniture was way over our budget, but a lot of very nice things were in our price range. I didn’t pick anything up on this trip, but we will be back!

The story is really «hip» and the floor staff are kinda iffy. They disappear, don’t seem too interested in you if you look a certain way etc. But overall the manager (?) of the store is awesome.
We ordered a table that was on sale + we got a discount because I am a university student (bring your university card). So from $ 900 it went down a bit. Then we had the table delivered. Delivery was fast and the drivers/​movers weren’t rude or rushed (thank you!). But on assembling our table I noticed a few aesthetic problems. I called the store and they asked me to send in pictures of the damage. I did and received a response very promptly about how I could send the table back and get a new one. That was too much of a hassle and the imperfections were pretty minor, but a hassle considering the cash we dropped to get it, so I asked for a discount. Assuming we’d get a small percentage back, I was surprised at what the manager (?) quoted he’d return to us. It was a big amount. It was credited to our account very fast on giving him our info weeks later (we procrastinated a lot).
Thank you West Elm, we’ll definitely look at your store first on all our future furniture purchases.

This place is huge and I didn’t realize how big it was till I walked in.
I had previewed what they carried online and knew exactly what I wanted as I was planning a quick cash and carry dash but after seeing the setup ended up spending more time here.
There are only two store of this chain based out of US in Canada (checking out their website made me realize their parent company own pottery barn and Williams and Sonoma)
The feel is more open and seems to be targeted towards eco frendly stuff (whatever that means after you start counting the carbon foot print!) Some interesting items that would entice you make spur of the moment purchase.
The service kind of surprised me initially as I couldn’t find any associates in the area I was making my purchase at. I mean they are selling somewhat luxury items here and thus being pampered is part and parcel of the experience.
Things did improve when I was at the cashier as I wanted to check the item I bought before taking it home. There was a mix up of sort and the cashier left the spot and assisted me by walking all the way to the area where my item was located and spent quite a bit of time getting me the item I wanted. She was knowledgeable of the stuff they were selling and helped me quite a bit.
There was a steady flow customer and they seemed to have hit the sweet spot for the eco conscience and well heeled.
There are quite a few interesting items here folks and if you are looking for an alternate to your regular lifestyle store I think this one is worth a look.
3.5 Stars.

Just an update… after suffering a 3 months inattentive response from West elm, I finally got the table exchanged about one and a half months ago with no extra delivery cost. The table is all fine with no more popping noises and wood cracking this time. Thank god!
My very bad shopping experience would not have happended if West elm has a better customer or after-​sale service. Honestly, their services are sucks and unprofessional.
Another furniture store, Casalife, located in Liberty Village as well, is way better in terms of furniture style, quality, customer service and after-​sale service! Highly recommending Casalife!

Personally, I’m surprised that anyone is comparing this place to Ikea. Wtf? I went today for the first time and was expecting cheap Ikea shit with higher prices (based on other reviews).
Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised. Very cool furniture and home décor knick knacks. Definitely more upscale quality-​wise than Ikea, but still very budget friendly. I had gift certificates to redeem and a managed to snag the following for $ 170.00: salad bowls, cereal bowls, a kitshy salt & pepper shaker set, some serving bowls, 1 very large picture frame, 2 smaller ones, 2 side cushions for my couch and a couple other small décor items.
The only thing that didn’t impress me was their staff — they had a LOT of staff at hand, but 8 – 10 people seemed to be pissing around behind the cash and none were actually placed throughout the shop. We spent a good ten minutes rooting around boxes looking for a particular picture frame without being offered any assistance from staff, despite the store being very non-​busy.
I’ll be back to buy more stuff for shizzzzzzzzzzle!

I always liked West Elm when I was living in the U.S. and very excited to hear that West Elm (along with Crate & Barrel, etc.) opened a location in T.O.
They offer nice contemporary furniture and accessories, and current trends (whether you like it or not), at reasonable prices. I would think of West Elm as a step up from IKEA (similar to EQ3 and Structube).
Unfortunately I have found the stuff at West Elm is not as affordable as in the U.S. — probably due to our taxes and duties.
I must admit that their larger pieces of furniture are not of the best quality (particle board or MDF construction), so I would only stick to their smaller pieces of furniture (chairs and side/​coffee tables) or their great selection of accessories (lighting, mirrors, linens, kitchen wares, etc.).
Like what another reviewer mentioned, it’s pretty funny to see the hoardes of yuppies shopping there armed with their Starbucks latté in hand.
For more substantial pieces of furniture I would stick to Crate & Barrel or StyleGarage.