PB is considered transitional. Google it, you'll find lots of interesting reading.

I like the overall look of PB tremendously but prefer curvier, better made furniture. I've not bought any of their furniture although I do like a table or chair occasionally.

I would say transitional too..or modern country. My house in Pennsylvania has a lot of PB stuff in it. I have had my kitchen table and chairs for 8 years and with a set of twin boys, a 2 year old and big husband it still looks great. Not dated and very solid furniture.

I am about to put the Farmhouse bedroom suite in my house in Florida.

I like RH too but after the nightmare I had with my bathroom vanities from them, not sure I would buy from them again.

HTH.

I always think of it as young urban for some reason. When I was 20something I coveted the look and wished to be able to afford every item I saw. When I was thirtysomething I could afford to buy items and did and then was disappointed by two major things;1 not great quality or comfort and 2 everyone and their sister had the look too.
Now in my 40s I am very over it and I will only look for ideas to emulate perhaps.

OH MY - I thought I would move away from my many years of traditional decorating and move onto transitional.

I certainly hope that I can be transitional w/o my home having PB style furniture!

I think it looks Country - with a more updated modern twist. Or French Country.. I thought tranistional is the blending of traditional and contemporary furnishings.

Maybe I'm getting older, but I feel like both PB and RH have changed from what I used to consider more contemporary / transitional to something different. I'm not an expert at decor or architecture, but PB seems to be veering more towards cottage / rustic and RH seems to be veering more toward vintage French maybe? I still enjoy some of the products from both, but they seem to be moving away from the styles that I like to something that seems more currently on trend.

canadianmiss - Do you have a post that I can read about your bathroom vanity problems with RH? I am currently experiencing a problem with a bathroom vanity from them. They initially seemed responsive, but since having submitted pictures of the problem, they have not again contacted me.

Pricklypearcactus..oh yes! If you type in HUGE headaches with Restoration Hardware you can read what I went through. It was ridiculous.

That being said, its months later now and I do love the vanities but was it worth the time and stress? Hmmm..

I agree, modern country describes the look, overall, but they have ventured into French country, 1930s "banker" style, Italian, Spanish, etc..

Roarah summed up my thoughts well. I'm over buying new furniture, in general, unless it is solid wood. I enjoy the Pottery Barn catalog for decorating ideas, but I'm sick to death of "cheap" furniture (even if it's not all that "cheap" to buy.) I'm at an age where I am beginning to get nice antiques passed down to me, and I am mixing them with newer solid wood items (like 1950s/1960s) in traditional styles which I strip (if need be) and give new hardware. This might sound kind of nutty or cliched, but I am at a point where I want "authentic" stuff - stuff which has history and meaning to me, or at least stuff which is well-made and which I truly like. I no longer want to, say, copy a living room which everyone else can have. I like to have unique pieces, and that can actually be much less expensive than furnishing with Pottery Barn, Crate and Barrel, etc.. Part of that is probably because I grew up in an old house in New England which was filled with antiques and books and musical instruments and quirky items. I'm not used to the cookie cutter (even if upscale cookie cutter) look which is what, to me, Pottery Barn is selling. That's not to say Pottery Barn is bad - for awhile, I dreamed of having that look. Now that I am in my mid-30s and appreciate my upbringing, it just doesn't feel good to me.

I agree with a lot of what lizzie and rorah said; with the exception being the bedding and linens. I like many of the different fabrics that PB uses for their bedding and, in particular, their pillows. My main dislike is all of the beach themed items that they had over the summer. My feeling is that while it would look great in a beach cottage, it would look out of place and silly in my home. It seems odd to me to create a beach themed bedroom or living room (bathroom maybe) if you don't live on the beach or a lake!

I do also like many of their rugs and can see incorporating them into my home, though have never purchased one. PB teen can be a wonderful resource for decorating kids' rooms. I like also that they include the paint colors so can be used for inspiration in showing children who may have difficulty invisioning the end result. As far as furniture, however, I much prefer antique, vintage and repurposed items.

With the exception of some of the dining sets, I am put off by the bulk of RH these days. I was in the store recently and felt that it was difficult to even get a decent look at their merchandize between the dark walls and all the mood lighting.

Val, I love PB linens, especially their bedding and pillows.

Jeannie, I always throw away my PB catalog. But I love looking at their website, even their children's store.

I'm still fuming they got rid of their children's/babies clothing department! They had THE best sales on top notch clothes.

Big Surprise...I like PB's sister--West Elm.

I feel that the PB furniture is too heavy and "round" for me. I like the angular lines I find at WE now. I know WE isn't heirloom quality but I like to use a piece here and there.

I love my pottery barn catalogs for ideas, but I actually buy very little from there. To me, it's very trendy. Transitional makes sense but there is alot of country/beachy there too. I have seen some of the upholstered pieces in homes and I think you can find better quality - probably for no more money.

I agree with Val re the beach items. I am so over that.

tina

I don't like all that beach stuff either. If I had a beach house, maybe different, but agree it looks out of place everywhere else.

I don't mind places not near water having a beachy feel just as long as it isn't done so literally with shells and beach signs.

Agreed with htnspz - but I also don't like places that ARE near the beach being done so literally, either. It's one thing to have actually collected shells on the beach and to display them, but I find it tacky when people have their beach houses filled with beach-themed and nautical stuff from a mass retail shops like Pottery Barn, HomeGoods, Christmas Tree Shops, etc.. (HG and CTS might only be in New England, not sure.) I say this as someone from Maine with lots of experience with beach houses. Then again, being from New England, I also like history, so I don't like the idea of "instant beach house" - someone buys a house and goes out and buys a bunch of impersonal beach-themed decorations. I guess my attitude is the same whether it's a beach house or a regular house... I like things collected over time (or at the very least that look like they were collected over time.)

I think a lot of PB's appeal is for style and ideas and not to actually buy all the stuff or take the look literally.
I like a collected over time look too.
The beach look got too themey.

I do like looking at the PB pictures/color combo's - but I always end up tossing too.

LIZZIE NH - Even though I have orderd a new dining set from Arhaus - I am still teetering with having my old 1980's Thomasville set, refinished from fruitwood color - too a blackish/brown and adding new hardware. It's not the money, and gez it could cost a lot to refinish, my parents bougth the set for me and I guess I've held on to it for sentimental reasons.
When I ordered the new set - I told myself I deserved it and it would give my home a newer/fresher/transitional look rather than my traditional look.

Back to PB - I can't imagine ordering a sofa/chair etc. w/o sitting in it. I only have 1 PB store and it's an hour away. No West Elm stores, so what if you don't like th comfort, your stuck w/it....

I think they have the I-just-graduated-college(and/or bought my first home)-and-want-to-buy-"nice"-stuff demographic targeted. Mid to late 20s. I read DIY design blogs a lot last year and was always impressed that PB's buyers were completely on top of what was trendy with them. Shortly after something was becoming popular in those blogs, it showed up in the PB catalogs in my mailbox.

There is a whole lot of mixing in vintage elements and repurposing in those blogs, right? PB has a lot of vintage pieces and antique/traditional-looking pieces currently. That, and cottage, beachy, rustic, farmhouse, country, shabby-chic... as stated.

This piece is certainly not transitional, right? It's just modeled after an antique...

Vintage Apothecary Modular Storage

Anyway, I like the antique look of a lot of the pieces, but the furniture quality is mostly garbage. I am with the poster that thought PB was super cool until she could afford to buy nice furniture. I would also rather find the real antique piece that is unique, has endured time and has some history. (What I would buy from Pottery Barn and/or have bought recently: drapery for a huge set of doors, lighting, a daybed cover.)

I love the country/cottage, traditional designs PB offers in their linens. Difficult to find this look elsewhere. It is similar to some of Lauren's bedding, if he still offers it : comforters, quilts and duvets, shams, etc. Also, their cotton rugs.

I love PB pillows and bedding and for the most part only ever buy PB throw pillow covers. They wash up great, zippers and seams always hold well and that's what I need w/ all of the kids and pets in the house. I was tired of throwing my money out the window on decorative pillows before!

As for their catalogs and style. I find them to be hit or miss. I still referance the PB Fall catalog from 1 or 2 yrs. ago and pretty much tossed this yrs. Fall catalog.

I like a lot of the PB rustic pieces in furniture and accessories and it's fairly easy to find a fair amt. of 'look-alikes'. I can't ever realy see myself buying a piece of their furniture though just because I don't have a need.

Rustic Traditional? A lot of their looks look like something that came from a turn-of-the-century Americana.

lol

I don't really shop there or receive their catalogs. I do look forward to their holiday catalogs. I really enjoy those.

I am going to apologize in advance for sounding snarky or offending anyone. After all this is just my opinion. And you all know what they say about opinions..they're like armpits; everyone has two and they all stink. PB/RH/CB blahblahblah have kind of become my pet peeve. I equate them to what Abercrombie did for fashion. Just like Abercrombie teaches the gullible youth of America what is 'cool' to wear, despite shoddy quality of overseas goods, PB/RH/etc teaches first time home-makers what their place ought to look like despite the shoddy quality of their overpriced imported goods. PB couches are garbage with a PB tag somewhere on it. That little tag costs a lot of money. The way I see it, if you can shell out the kind of money that a PB/RH sofa demands, spend a little bit more and get an heirloom piece by Stickley, Baker, or from Room and Board (one of the few 'trendy' homestyle retailers that supports domestic workmanship and historic design). PB is pumping out a generation whose design aesthetic is void of all individuality. Rather than letting people explore what environments they find pleasing, they're selling a crappy cookie-cutter style. So, here comes the jerk inside. They style you ask us to define? Cookie cutter. And I don't mean this to be mean. Look around the furniture and design forums on this website. There are links to places all over the internet that offer great goods. Okay. I'm done. Again, all apologies to those I have offended. I look forward to hearing other opinions, and what others think about my perhaps not-so-humble opinion.

As for the quality of the furniture, I agree. But most of the mid-priced( and more) stuff is not worthy, when compared to older pieces. I'll gladly refinish or paint or reupholster for the quality of a bygone era. Older is much better, usually. I stick by my above opinion re PB linens.

The PB beach look does not fit in my midwestern land-locked house at all.

I used to love PB but I find lately that their look is too bland. I like subtle color so I am not really sure where that puts me decor-wise.

I don't like RH at all. Their paint colors are OK but I wouldn't buy any of their furniture. Way too ornate for me.

The only thing I've bought from potterybarn in a long, long time is dining room chairs and I'm very happy with them. We had a gift card and they weren't that expensive and feel pretty solid. My dining table however is made from salvaged teak from an Indian dock. We bought it from a local English furniture shop. Potterybarn does have nice bedding, pillows, and window panels. I think they have nice fabrics and I like their color combination.

Unfortunately, I've bought waaaay too much stuff from restoration hardware. I do enjoy buying antiques, and enjoy hunting for just the right pieces, but that does require quite a bit of time and effort. The internet has great stuff, but I'm always hesitant to buy something without seeing it. We moved into a new home and there were just some pieces I needed right away. I do cringe every time I buy something from crate and barrel, pottery barn or restoration hardware. But we are lucky to have alot of orginal art as MIL was a painter, and we have quite a bit in Indian decor (wall hangings, rugs, knick knacks). Hopefully that mixed in with a few antiques creates a unique enough decor that it doesn't look too cookie cutter.