I have a dozen pieces of furniture from Ethan Allen both wood and upholstered. I bought a new house about 6 years ago and needed a lot of new pieces. I chose EA because they had many fabrics to pick from, different styles of furniture and price to value seemed reasonable. The upholstered pieces are holding up well. I will mention that I do not have small children or pets. I also have custom pieces and much more expensive wood pieces. If EA has the style you want and fabric you like I say go with them. Maybe add a special coffee table from somewhere else. That's what I did and I have received many compliments on my furniture. Have fun!

Thank you, good to hear, we don't have kids or pets either. I was more concerned about complaints of shoddy workmanship and bad customer service. It is one service that I am considering

We just bought an entire bedroom suite from EA ... It was delivered just after Thanksgiving. Within a few weeks 2 handles have come off. One on the large dresser (the screws werent long enough) and the other on a side table (the handle completely broke into pieces). The draws were empty when the handles fell off, so there was not a huge amount of force needed to open the drawers. The people have been happy to help us replace them, but here it is the middle of January and I have no clue where our handles are and I called yesterday.
While we love the furniture, my husband and I are hesitant to return to buy other furniture in fear this may happen again.

Good luck with whatever you choose. Also, you can always copy the designers suggestions for a much lower cost. The lamps the lady wanted us to buy were $500 a piece....for a lamp!

I've had good experiences with them. I had already purchased most pieces for our family room from a variety of places, just needed to tie it all together. We got one upholstered chair from EA, and had them make silk drapes as well as throw pillows. The room looked OK before, but now it's a total wow. The drapery work was very well done (I sew, so I was VERY particular about this), and the chair is holding up well. We also purchased a small chest for the front hall and have had no problems with either drawers or hardware, and that's been in almost daily use for 5 years.

One thing to note about upholstered pieces, whether from them or anyone else:
I had to have new cushion inserts made for my (only 4 year old) sofa - not from EA because they compressed completely when you sat on them. The upholsterer I used said that many manufacturers lately have been using inexpensive foam from China to make their cushions, and that it doesn't hold up very well. Wherever you end up going, make them tell you where the foam used in those pieces is from. If from China, either run in the opposite direction, or get them to put in writing that they will replace the inserts if they compress too quickly.

Forgot to mention - My sister still has the EA dressers we had as kids. Daily use for almost 50 years and still going strong!

If you choose their Design Service, keep in mind the decorator is working for them, not you. Also, ask for her design credentials.

I think Ethan Allen is just okay. Your house will look like their showroom.

You must have something in mind. I just took at peak at your ideabook. Which living room is your favorite?

Annmarie2, regarding the cushion inserts, I went with a high end U.S. leather manufacturer when I bought my sectional. One reason I did is they offer replacement inserts for free to original owners.
The quality is amazing...but it was also twice as much as a leather sectional from EA, Thomasville, PB, etc. But, I feel it was worth the premium. I got a classic piece that will last a few decades.

mmilos - had I but known when I bought the sofa :) I knew it wasn't top quality (I have a 6yo boy and this is for the TV room), but I didn't expect to have to crawl out of it 4 years later! I won't buy upholstered stuff from C&B again, and hopefully I'll have a child I can trust in another 8-10 years!

I as well have older pieces of EA furniture from when my parents married in 1972. Those pieces still look great...I'm not sure why we've had issues with the handles.

^ My brother bought a sofa set from JCPenney...you can already feel the springs through the cushions after just 4 years of use. The arms have cardboard under the upholstery. The key to good long lasting furniture is a hardwood frame and quality springs.

EA quality has slipped since their earlier days. The furniture industry is brutally competitive and the cost structure/business model has changed.

I have EA furniture from 40 years ago and the quality was great. Not so much now. It is sad to see the quality go down. A piece I bought a couple of years ago with drawers has terrible slides for the drawers. When I purchased the bureau after I put the deposit on it to be delivered I couldn't get the designer to call me back or respond to e-mails. I finally called the manager who of course apologized but a little late. They used to be quality and are still superior to Raymor and F. but it is good to shop around and not assume that they are high quality any more. When buying a sofa I have found that it is cheaper to buy an new one than to have even a good Stickley, old EA or such re upholstered. An educated consumer is still the best way to go.

I am planning to buy Ethan Allen Shelton sofa with linen fabric. I was told linen fabric will shed lint wondering if anyone has any experience with linen upholstery with Ethan Allen