J.E. in Edmonton

Through word of mouth, I discovered that Henry's offered interior decorating services. After visiting the shop, I had realized that they shared a different design aesthetic than I was looking for and opted to not explore that further. I did appreciate the interior accessories.... Lots of quirky animal motifs and a french product, Lampe Berger. I'll be hooked on the shop simply for this and I credit this entirely to the owners' passion for product knowledge (and for giving me an in store demo). Lovely owners, nice shop.

There's only one role that Ikea can fill: interim, disposable furniture. Yes, I bought a lack side table and Billy bookcase, but it's simply because my custom order bookcase won't be available for 12 more weeks. I I don't feel guilty about buying IKEA furniture, with full intentions of donating it to the local salvation army when my real furniture shows up. The showroom itself is gigantic, with little chance that you'll get help from an employee on a Saturday afternoon. We didn't need help, so no lost points there. The check out process was long drawn, with approximately 10 people in our line, however, the cashier was unexpectedly cheerful (given the circumstances). In summary, I wouldn't recommend this store to my mother, she has far too much disposable income to rely on this store. Instead, I'd recommend it to my younger cousin who just started college. IKEA is totally dormitory chic.

We were in need of some reasonably priced living room chairs and decided that Urban Barn had custom chairs for the right price. The salespeople were all very approachable and were willing to help with fabrics. The chairs arrived approximately a week after they were supposed to, but the chairs look good enough and that's all that really matters. My only critique was that the available styles were all very generic; not forward designed or anything special, but they work well enough for what we needed.

Expressions may not be as beautiful as other furniture showrooms, but the expertise of the employees easily makes up for it. The selection was great and the wallpaper arrived when it was supposed to.

I have nothing but good things to say about this locally owned company. So, I settled on a Vancouver made sofa, after two of the employees mulled over my condo pics, paint colours and floor samples. Neither was afraid to voice an opinion about the best fabric to match my condo - and I appreciate that. Then I find out the sofa might take 16 weeks to come in, but that's a "worst case scenario" 12 weeks later, my couch was in. It was beautiful, it came earlier than expected and the fabric was perfect. (Thanks A and D!!) Why just 9 out of 10? My mother isn't a taxidermy fan (but really HOMESTARS, come up with a better rating system).