Armand’s Drapery, Shutters & Upholstery

I have a story to tell. My wife and I went to a Major Chain store thinking they would have great sales prices and a good selection, boy were we WRONG. Ordered and started installation and had to FIGHT with the store to take everything back, nothing fit right.
So we decided to go to a family run business, but I told my wife we are going to probably spend more MONEY. Well we went to ARMAND’s in Lafayette, which was the best decision we could have made. Vern came out to the house, made design suggestions, measured every window at least twice (17+ Windows), every can back with a factory sample to ensure the housing would fit under our Valances. Vern promised a 6 week turn around since the order was so big. They beat there promise and delivered in 4 weeks. Bob the owners son did the installation (a perfectionist). Now we get to the best part of the experience, EVERYTHING WAS INSTALLED PERFECT AND LOOKS EXACTLY AS WE HAD EXPECTED. VERN and his entire crew are Wonderful. House looks great. One last thing the COST, was within a couple of hundred buck of the Major Chain Store. So don’t make the same mistake we did, GO TO ARMAND’S FIRST AND SAVE YOURSELF TIME AND FRUSTRATION.
Thank you. Mike G from Moraga Ca

We have done a lot of business with Armand’s over the years and yet, when we needed two large window coverings — which we had purchases from the company — taken down in the middle of a painting project, Vern charged us a $ 90 «travel fee» (to come to Moraga from Lafayette) and $ 125 for each blind. A total of $ 340 for about 30 minutes work, with which I had to help him! We will never do business with this greedy SOB again.

My wife and I had our entire home done with custom draperies, wood blinds, and Hunter Douglas blinds. Vern was great to work with, and we have referred him several times. Great company to work with.

I had shutters installed by this company and the install was great. However the color of the shutters was not what I expected. I looked at the samples offered and also received a consensus that the sample color blended well with my existing wood frames. The shutter stain color did not blend well, at all. I should have had them take the shutters back but I would have lost a lot of money. I believe they should have offered suggestions on how to make them blend or a refund. As a customer you should be warned that samples may be old and faded or that newly stained shutters color can be very strong.

Vern (owner) was extremely helpful, both in choosing the material and style of drapes, but also in coordinating with Hunter Douglas. They back up their products and services and are very friendly and competent. I recommend them highly.

If you want low quality workmanship along with unprofessional and rude treatment then go right ahead and use this place. Brought a sofa here to be reupholstered and it looked terrible!!! Lots of gaps and crooked seams and the owner had to admit that it was poorly done. Brought my sofa elsewhere and when it was pulled apart there were 2 pliers found inside the arms!!! Real low caliber business in my opinion.

Vern was awesome. He’s a really nice older guy that is personable and obviously takes pride in his work. We had them install custom interior shutters and they did a great job. They actually arrived a week before I expected. I also got three quotes and Vern came in significantly lower for the same Hunter Douglas product. On the day of the installation, another guy– Steve, was the one installing everything. He was very polite and explained everything he was going to be doing, which was appreciated. I highly recommend these guys.

This is the second time I’ve used Armand’s — the first to make slipcovers for some very nice, but white silk and linen-​covered sofas. These sofas are high-​quality pieces that although more than 20 years old, are classic, well-​made and should last many more years. The covers Armand’s made were beautiful, fit perfectly and could be removed to be cleaned. Fast forward 13 years, 2 cats and 2 dogs later and the poor slipcovers had been used as a cat scratching post without our noticing until the damage was done. We had the sofas recovered this time (no point in salvaging the orginal, badly scarred upholstery) and again, the workmanship was perfect. Customer service by Kim was great. These look and feel like brand new sofas that would easily cost $ 10,000 or more. The cost of reupholstering wasn’t cheap at around $ 3,500, but now that there are no more cats in our lives, should last the next 30 years, and maybe beyond.

Wow, poor business tact and poor professionalism. Referred a client for repairs. Vern left me a stinky message. I could not believe the message he left me without knowing anything. Never will recommend. If you need shutter repair, call Marvin Frederick in Oakalnd.

Simply said, Armand’s delivered on every single one of their promises. The entire process was very straight forward; there were no «unknowns» or surprises at any point. We discussed products, installation and expectations very openly with Vern, one of the owners. He even came back to our house for re-​measurement to ensure the squareness of the window, since the mounting we chose left very little room for error. The shutters were installed within the time frame discussed and they look great! If you like supporting good old fashioned, LOCAL companies who stand behind their work, Armand’s is the place to go.

3 Years ago, I had roman shades made and installed by Armands. They were beautiful. My only regret was I didn’t go with blackout lining. Several months ago, I noticed that the shades scalloping. I called Armands and they sent Vern out to look at them. He had never seen anything like it. He discussed with owners and they said to take pictures so they could see. They had never seen anything like it either. No questions asked they offered to replace all the shades without any charge to me. I asked if I could pay for the upgrade/​change to blackout lining. They threw that in for free as well. Bottom-​line, lots of places may make pretty shades but not all stand behind their work. they are the best and I highly recommend them!

Armand’s also cleans window coverings! I have some fancy, read that as EXPENSIVE coverings that needed some help! Vern to the rescue… that guy knows what he is doing, as I have had these Hunter coverings cleaned before and they never looked like they do now!!!
I will be going to Armand’s for my next window project, without exception. What a delight to do business with a family run business with old fashioned customer service!

This family run business does a great job. Vern is very knowlegable on shutters and fabrics. They offer old fashion service.

If I had gone to Armand’s first, I would have saved a lot of time, but on the other hand, I wouldn’t have known just how great they are! After false starts with two other window treatment businesses, I found Armand’s and made the trip over to Lafayette before they closed for the day, and met Tracy.
Tracy professionally and politely guided us through the process of selecting fabric for our unconventional window /​sliding door situation. For someone uninitiated in interior design terminology and methods, it was refreshing to have someone like Tracy to calmly and kindly explain all of the options and the steps it takes to put the requirements together in a way that will work for your particular situation.
Another reason we chose Armand’s after our initial discussions with them was because Tracy also worked with us to find a solution that would work for our budget! Very important.
Once we chose our fabrics and hardware, verified the measurements, and placed the order, Tracy regularly followed-​up with me to provide status updates and educate me about the next steps (some of these things may seem basic, but as I had discovered, having an actual experience that includes them is not as «basic» as one might assume!).
Finally, the installation process went smoothly: the installers were prompt, considerate, professional, and did a fine, thorough job to ensure that everything functioned properly, and fit the space perfectly.
The drapes and shades we chose are beautiful works of art. I definitely recommend Armand’s!