Target Furniture vs Pottery Barn / Ethan Allen type

[disneyofcourse]

We are in the process of picking out a new home and I'm already thinking about furnishing I've looked online at the Target furniture and mostly the decoration type items. I love what they have including some of the dining room furniture and end tables/coffee tables. But how well do these things hold up. Would you rate the durability the same as PB or EA? I mean I love PB and Ethan allen. But the prices are on the steep side. We've gone to quite a few furniture stores and havn't found anything we both like. We found we agree on basically everything PB carries lol! I guess if I do go with Pottery barn basics such as a couch, chair, tv unit. (Possibly bedroom furniture) I'd get one of those Pb cards. Does anyone know if they offer something like no interest for six months on the credit cards? Then again I wonder if Targets card offers a no interest period??

 

[delmar411]

hmm, pottery barn/ethan allen....high quaility top of the line , built to last a lifetime...

target ~ cheap, you put it together, meant to last the season.
Sorry but everything I've ever bought form Target, furniture wise, has been junk.

 

[momof3littlelilos]

What the previous poster wrote.
In my experience Target makes stuff that might last a college year. Not good quality. I wouldn't buy furniture from them unless I was desperate for something NOW until I could get better.

 

[CarolA]

I purchased an entertainment center from Target. I have bedroom furniture from Ethan Allen. In terms of quality there is no comparison. The Ethan Allen stuff is MUCH MUCH nicer.

That said, the Target stuff isn't that bad for the price. However, I am single, no kids, no pets etc so there is not a lot of abuse. My piece looks just fine three years later.

(My decision was based on Target had the ONLY model I could find that fit the space I wanted the way I wanted!)

 

[disneyofcourse]

This is exactly the kind of stuff I wanted to hear( Personal honest opinions!) Like all I've heard from other people are things like "Oh target stuff is ok" But I didn't know if they meant the quality, selection, design etc.. it sounds like I should really consider buying the main stuff from Pb/EA and accesories from target. Since when I think about it, spending $1300-1600 on a sofa that will last 8+ years isn't a bad deal. But spending $400-600 on a sofa from target every two years and it not being the exact style I like doesn't seem worth it.

 

[iggbees]

i have to say, i've bought 2 pieces of furniture from target and i love them both. i bought an office desk chair for 150$ and have had no problems with it. i can totally say it was worth the money and it looks more expensive than what i paid! we also bought our tv stand, which looks great and is made of all wood. my parents bought a kitchen table and chairs from target and it's great looking. it's also made of all wood. i think that's the key. if you buy cheap looking stuff, you'll get what you paid for. i would never buy anything made of particle board, which a lot of the target furniture is made of. i actually read the box to make sure it's all wood or i don't buy it (even if that means paying 100$ more for it).

eta. i bought the chair online, the tv stand in the store.

 

[java]

Personally I like Crate and Barrel furniture better than PB- but probably both similar in quality. EA is a step up from both of those. imho
I have hit or miss with PB furniture- my daughter's THOMAS bed is fantastic! The armoire I bought not so much.
In furniture in generaly you get what you pay for.

 

[DisneyMomJen]

I love and have furnished most of my house with Ethan Allen. Two years ago I purchased Stanley furniture for 2 of my DD's and Pottery Barn for DS and other DD. The Pottery Barn is fine, but the Stanley is not holding up well. I told DH that I should have bought Ethan Allen for our 2 DD's. My lesson was to only buy high quality and it can be done at a reasonable price. All of the Pottery Barn furniture for the 2 bedrooms was bought at the Pottery Barn outlet in Lancaster. Two years ago, I went two weeks in a row and both times came home with two minvans full (I really mean full!). It was exactly this time of the year and they had just started an extra 25% off all their furniture. Three years ago I decided to redo my Dining and Living rooms. I bought my Dining Room table and chairs from Ethan Allen from the Country French Line. I purchased the matching china cabinet off of Ebay for about $2000 cheaper than the store and they even delivered. I bought the buffet off of Ebay and had to pick it up in PA which was about 1 1/2 hours away. When we got there, I walked into the house and thought 'I want that and that and that and that'. This house was full of Ethan Allen Country French! A few weeks later they listed the other items on Ebay which furnished my living room. I would like new bedroom furniture for myself, but will wait for another Ethan Allen deal.
My advice is to go with the Pottery Barn or Ethan Allen, but see if you can find any deals. There are always 10% off Pottery Barn coupons on Ebay which can help out. Good Luck!!!

 

[jel0511]

I've actually had all 3 in my house at one point or another. EA is hands and above better than PB, just like PB is much better than Taget. DH and I debated this when we first got married and decided to go the EA route. Our bedroom set we bough when we got married (13 years old ) is still in EXCELLENT shape and it's now in our guest room, we upgraded to a king 4 years ago. Now, the PB stuff was in the kitchen, so it took a beating, it lasted 8 years before I finally had to ditch it. The Target stuff, was a computer desk, and it took 2 years before we had to get rid of it.

 

[pixiewings71]

I've got a desk/hutch from Target along with 2 bookcases and a DVD stand from Target, they look nice and have held up great for 2 years now. I've got 2 cats, 2 dogs and 2 kids and the furniture has been great for us. The bookcases are full and each one has a small Nano Cube fish tank on it, full of water, sand and rocks. They do wobble a bit if pushed on but it would take major impact to knock them over.

Our bedroom furniture is from Scandanavian Designs, hand crafted from solid wood. There is a huge difference....you can really tell that the SD furniture is much higher quality.

I've also got furniture from IKEA. Our coffee table and the kids rooms are furnished with IKEA. Good quality and I'd buy it again but it won't last forever.

Places like Target and IKEA and Wal Mart have decent furniture but it's not built to last, those are the biggest differences I've found.

 

[problemchild718]

You can't compare Target to EA! EA is heirloom furn. meant to be passed down. My parents bought the EA complete dining set 20+ years ago and it looks like new. PB is ok and Target stuff is disposable. With furn you get what you pay for and EA has free interior decorating service!

 

[eyeheartgoofy]

My daughters both have white bookshelves in their rooms - I purchased one from Target and one from Pottery Barn. They both have the white finish chipping off them ... so, my one experience with PB hasn't impressed me all that much. I would have to guess that solid wood Ethan Allen furniture might be much better than either.

 

[kbkids]

We just finished building our house in June, and we needed a houseful of furniture, with the exception of the bedrooms. We went to Ashley Furniture the day after Thanksgiving (Black Friday) last year and we got 20% off everything. We bought a GORGEOUS dining room table, china cabinet, 8 chairs, kitchen table with 4 chairs, matching baker's rack, 2 matching bar stools, huge leather reclining sectional, coffee table, end tables, Computer hutch with l-shaped desk, leather office chair, and 3 office cabinets with glass cabinets on top - all for about $7000. We saved around $2000 off the regular prices.

I was thrilled with the savings, but was very pleased with their regular prices as well. We've been in the house over 6 months now, and we still get tons of comments on the furniture.

I LOVE Ethan Allen furniture, but I just can't stomach the prices. Pottery Barn looks nice too - but we don't have one locally, and I'm not buying furniture I can't see and touch first.

I've bought some of the "you build it" type of furniture that Target sells, and no, don't expect it to hold up under everyday use. It's just not made for that. We've used pieces like that for temporary furniture before, but I wouldn't depend on it to last for years by no means.

 

[monorailsilver]

I don't have any EA furniture but my sister does & god forbid you have a crumb of food near it they go ape XXXX.

We bought most of our furniture from Raymore & Flannigan & some of it is 8 years old & still going strong, some stuff is newer.

We have also bought furniture from other local non chain shops too.

I do have 1 Target piece (that I can think of) & it is an entry way bench. It has a cushion. Below the seat part there are 2 cabinets to throw in the shoes & another little shelf in the middle.

I want to say it is at least 2 years old if not older. I got it on sale for around $100 ish dollars. It still is in great condition.

I have 3 kids all under 6 & I have a MIL who is on the Pooh size, well put 2 or 3 Poohs together & you can be close. She has sat on it & didn't break it.

So I say depending on what you are buying the stuff can last.

 

[newtodcl]

I second trying to find a PB/ Williams Sonoma outlet nearby to score some great deals....if not, you can set up a registry for housewarming, birthday etc a few days/weeks in the future and after the date passes you will get 10% off any items on the registry ( a store employee told us to do this when we set up our baby registry) this is the only known discount I am aware of...

 

[TAEMom]

Okay, I realize that I'm in the minority here, but we paid a small fortune for a cherry dining room suite from EA and the quality is not at all impressive. Yes, the wood is gorgeous, but we have had them out to repair the armchairs multiple times - and the chairs are only used about twice a year b/c my DR is never used! And each time that I have called for repair, I swear they are condescending toward me and act as though someone purposely pulled on the arms to loosen them! Because of that, I have vowed never to buy from them again.

OTOH, last month we just bought a round wooden pedestal table and four chairs from Target for our basement and the set is extremely sturdy! Now, it is not as inexpensive as some Target furniture. I think we paid ~$450 for it total. However, I probably would not buy upholstered furniture from them and would stick with brand names. We have had a lot of Bassett furniture over the years, and it has always been high quality and is less expensive than EA and PB.

 

[Ciao Mickey]

You can't compare Target to EA! EA is heirloom furn. meant to be passed down. My parents bought the EA complete dining set 20+ years ago and it looks like new. PB is ok and Target stuff is disposable. With furn you get what you pay for and EA has free interior decorating service!

What she said.

Do you have any high-end consignment stores where you live? Maybe you could pick up some pieces from there.

With furniture, you get what you pay for.

You can order furniture directly from stores in NC.

 

[Green Tea]

I have 2 PB bedside tables. The structure is very sturdy. The finish on the edges has chipped off a bit. On table top, it is fine, just the edges.

 

[java]

Oh and on EA I forgot to mention what we have from there and how it has held up. We have a bedroom set and a dining room set from 17 years ago! And it still looks great. It has held up through 4 kids and 2 dogs. I joke about the chairs because I have wanted to get them recovered but they are in such great shape I can't justify it. At the time we Scotch guarded them and they look like the day we got them after many red wine spills.

So my point is get the best you can afford. It will last and save you money in the long run. If this is going to be transitional furniture that will be replaced in 2 years than go with the cheap stuff.

 

[crisi]

I have Ethan Allen and I don't consider it heirloom. Its WAY better quality than the Target stuff - but EA stopped being heirloom quality 30 years ago - they made a concious decision to lower quality to be able to get in at a lower price point.

Its still good furniture, it just hasn't been GREAT furniture for years.

But on the Target/EA thing - the real question is what is your budget. I'd be temped to do most of the house in Target (or something else cheap) and slowly by quality furniture over time. A house full of Ethan Allen (even at their "new" lower price point) will cost as much as the house - collect it a peice (or a room) at a time.