I have been extremely happy with Pottery Barn.........Good quality and not as expensive as some other stores.....

Another vote for Pottery barn. I think their things are well made. However...I am the kind of person that has to sit on it and touch it in person. Won't buy shoes from a catalog either! :)

Thanks to all! I did think RH was terribly expensive. Thanks for the PB review. I love the look of their things. We do not have one locally -- nearest is a couple hours away. Maybe it's worth a trip to look in person. I did order barstools from them online and love them.

It is worth the trip for sure. See if there is a pottery barn outlet anywhere too! Also worth the trip!

I think the quality is good for tables and casegoods. I think the upholstery quality is not the best. RH upholstery used to be made in the US, now it's made in China but prices are the same. PB upholstery has also gotten mixed reviews - even though some of it is made in the US.

Adding PB's and RH's shipping and tax costs make things even more expensive.

Yes, the shipping charges are astronomical! I ordered a couple side chairs from RH and was lucky that shipping was free on those -- they were not heavy and were a very good price. However, on dining tables -- Yeow! I will try to plan a trip to the PB that is close. The nearest RH or WE is about 2.5 hours from here so unlikely I will travel that far. I don't want to buy junk but then again, I really have very very few dollars left after construction.
I've attached a picture of the view from foyer/dining to right/ living area straight ahead/ breakfast area to far right -- can't see kitchen but it is all open and all hardwood

Have a look at Room and Board.

I don't think you can beat the quality, value or price of Potterybarn. I have never had an issue with anything I have ordered online from PB. However I have noticed that they are now adding a 10% fee for processing online orders in addition to shipping, sad to say I will no longer order anything from them online.

Beautiful space, amandaala.

If you're looking for some expert opinion on furniture, check out myfurnitureforum.com.

How about World Market? They have similar Trestle style tables as well as more industrial style ones with metal frames. Click to view World Market Dining Tables

Really, West Elm wooden furniture is of terrible quality. Bought a table from them two months ago, it is basically unusable now. Look elsewhere.

Restoration Hardware furniture is junk - all made in china pieces - don't waste your money i don't feel like getting into the story of us returning our RH dining room table 4 difrrent times upon delivery bc it was scratched, stained - damaged etc - great customer service but quality of pieces - junk - don't waste your time/money with their furniture

"Restoration Crapware " that's the new name for this store. I've been completely violated by this store in many ways from crappy products to horrible delivery/billing and now a joke with their "Furniture Med" ... I've spent thousands of dollars at this store ... don't make the same mistake !!! Stay away from RH.

Room and Board is best by far. have pieces from Restoration Hardware, PB and Room and Board. Prices are similar to PB, but quality exceeds RH. Mostly made in the USA and usually real wood. Gorgeous stuff.