Scandinavian Designs

I purchased an abstract oil painting after seeing a sample (not for sale) displayed in the store. It also looked very much like the online photo. When the painting was delivered to me from the warehouse, there were differences in the placement of paint, colors and erroneous splatters that caught the eye as «wrong.» I did not accept the painting. Another delivery was made and that painting even looked worse, again a departure from what was portrayed in the store and online. When I called the Berkeley store to nicely express my concern about lack of quality control and alternatives, the sales lady got really snippy and rude and said no more deliveries will be made to me. No concern on her part that I was twice disappointed receiving art that did not look enough like what is displayed. No offer for me to purchase the one hanging in the store. I ended up purchasing from another Scandinavian Design store. Another painting was delivered and still looked distractingly off. At this point, I thought WTF, accepted it and hung it upside down because that was the best way to view it visually. Anyway, just be aware that if you order an oil painting, it may not be what you expected when delivered.

Bought several furniture items from them, which offer decent design and quality for the price.
Initially I dealt with the store manager who was very nice and helpful.
My last recent purchase was dealt with by the associates, that seem to sit all day long behind their desks and have only the slightest amount of interest to devote to customers.
Here is how it went:
— after browsing the store (receiving pretty minimal information) and choosing a model, I confirmed my purchase on the phone and realized I was quoted a higher sale price than advertised on the website! I had to insist to get the correct price, like I was asking for a special favor …
— when the furniture showed up, I was called and told to come receive it on a specific day «or it will go back to the warehouse and you can only come by next week»
— they dollied the boxes outside to my car but flat refused to bring them a mere 15m further to the entrance of my office building («insurance liability rules doesn’t allow us to do that»), leaving me to carry the boxes in the street
Terrible customer service.

When we had a hard time finding a child-​safe coffee table we liked, Garland listened to our description and pointed us to the perfect piece on the website. He reviewed every option on pricing and upcoming discounts when we asked and helped us set up delivery to our flat in the city. He felt like a nice guy and not just a salesman. We’ll come back for our next piece.

This location has truly terrible customer service. Just tried to purchase a simple piece of furniture that wasn’t in stock, and the three sales reps available didn’t seem remotely interested to help me. Thankfully I’ve had far better service at other locations (Concord, Santa Rosa and Fairfield) so I would much rather drive farther and get what I need than deal with lousy service closer to home. I will not be returning to this store.

I should have read the reviews BEFORE I made my purchase. I was very excited to get new dressers for the first time in 20 years and the furniture here is good quality. Too bad my experience was marred by a standard of very poor customer service. I drove to the warehouse to pick up my purchase, a piece was damaged, drove back, had to reorder that piece, drove back, finally got my mirror to mount on my dresser but there was no hardware. Had to order the hardware, which required several phone calls to the store AND warehouse, explaining the whole story every time. Finally, today, I got my hardware but they tell me there are no instructions and I’m on my own to make this a functioning piece in my home. I made my purchase 11÷15÷14 and today, 12÷10÷14 I STILL do not have a mirror & dresser I can use.

The worst customer service my husband and I have ever encountered from a furniture store! We went in on a week night, and the store was empty. No one greeted us even though there were two people working; one at a desk and another milling about. We were looking at couches and no one offered any assistance whatsoever. I’d been online and found designs that fit our criteria, but after being ignored, we will never purchase anything from this store. The owner should either bring in new staff, or retrain who is currently working there. What a disappointment!

I bought a sectional in 2009, and would never buy from Scandinavia Designs again.
Customer service was decent. It’s the product that did not turn out well.
We bought an «Italsofa» sectional — the information made me think it was Italian. The leather may have been Italian, but the sofa was made in China and stank of chemicals that are probably illegal everywhere else. I called the store about it, and they assured me the smell would go away in a few days if I left the windows open. It took five weeks, and the smell was so bad it gave me a headache. If you order a sofa and it takes five weeks to get to you, consider yourself lucky — maybe it did the out-​gassing en route instead of in your house.
But we kept it. It looked great. Within 4 months, it began to sag a little. I regret not having read the warranty — it was covered. Instead, I stopped by the store when I was in the neighborhood, and mentioned that a specific area had developed a sag. A clerk told me it can be re-​stuffed easily. She even offered to recommend someone to come out and do it, but I told her I’d call later for that information (intending to call around and compare prices for that service).
We both got really busy with work and didn’t make the call. Two years went by — critical timing, since the cushions were covered for two years under warranty. My bad: I should have found or made the time to do this. The sagging was so bad by then that nobody could sit on that spot.
After the warranty expired, I turned over the sagging section and removed the under-​covering (it’s stapled into the wood), then re-​stuffed it myself with memory foam, and stapled the covering back into place. This improved it a lot. But then another area started to sag. Let’s just say I have re-​stuffed the damn sectional three times in three areas, and I’ll have to do it again soon, and it is really not fun.
What I discovered under there is that the seats are stuffed with a type of foam that dries out and collapses easily under pressure. It looked older than 2 years. The back of the sofa is fine, and there seems to be a different kind of material in there. The frame is quite strong, and the webbing is intact. There are no springs of any kind, so the foam has to really do the job — if it isn’t resilient, it will sag.
I suppose I should mention that my partner and I are not big (light to average weight). So I don’t think this can be blamed on our immensity. It’s just shabby, cheap materials hidden under nice leather and glued together with something that has probably already killed the factory workers.
We’ve had our sectional for about five years, and I’m already looking to replace it. Furniture should last longer.

I did a lot of shopping before I ended up at Scandinavian Design in Berkeley. I love just about every thing in the store and the prices are moderate. I bought a couch, ottoman, a big arc lamp and a futon. The quality lines up with the price. The staff on the floor was spotty — one very helpful, a few who were not. They answer questions when asked but leave you to peruse, which is not all bad. It took a few weeks to get everything, but the delivery was prompt and very efficient. They had missed the ottoman on the order somehow, and Geir, the manager, delivered it in person after work and also tightened a bolt on the big lamp I had bought and set up, somewhat successfully. but it looked a lot better after he worked on it. I was sorry to hear he is retiring (good for him!) and hope his successors keep up the great customer service.

This post is long overdue as I made this follow up purchase a year ago. I returned to this store because I genuinely am a fan of their furniture pieces. I was a little uneasy about coming back to make a purchase at first because of my previous experience. I had to buy a whole living room set and Ashley’s or Macy’s wasn’t going to cut it for me. Upon arrival I remembered the employees and they remembered me because I spent about 5 – 6 grand last time. They were very attentive and helpful this time around. I had my items delivered the next day as they were readily available from the warehouse. After 2 days of owning the sofa we noticed it squeaked when we sat in the middle of it. We called the store and Dave replaced it immediately for us which made us very happy. No issues since and we love our furniture, we will return.

I had high hopes, having identified an item on the website I was interested in. I called with simple questions about the items (to determine if it was worthwhile to come in). The girl wasn’t helpful. Not knowing the answer she seemed put out to have to ask her colleagues. I decided to come in. Despite the 3 staff on the sales floor, no one offered to help me. I asked to be pointed towards the furniture I liked. Trying it, I found the quality was poor — both the fabric material and the comfort level. Rather than staying to learn more about my needs or help me find something I might like (yes, you can upsell me!), the cranky salesperson deserted just after mentioned there was more in the back. Not worth it.

Came here looking for an area rug after a friend recommended them. I tried going to a carpet store that the same friend recommended but that’s a whole other review. Service was decent but and paid more than I wanted but I found the perfect rug for my new condo. Love it! I also picked up a wall clock for my bathroom that I wasn’t on getting. Great selection, may come back again!

I was SO surprised to find this place located so close to campus. I initially went to the Scandinavian Designs in San Mateo, and the staff indicated they had a location in Berkeley. Thought I’d check it out, wondering where on earth it could possibly be in Berkeley. Turns out, it’s right on Shattuck! I can’t believe I never noticed it in all these years. College kids aren’t the richest kids (usually), and the furniture here is not cheap! How they stay in business at this location, I have no clue. It amazes me. There are 4 floors of furniture. There’s a modern feel to the furniture, and this location definitely accommodates living in Berkeley, meaning the furniture efficiently utilizes space while providing whatever use its meant for. An example: I saw a great deal of drawers that were taller than wide to provide more drawers in less space. Most of the items are too expensive, especially if you’re a college kid trying to pay off your own education. Still, it’s cool to at least check out this place.
Note: With all these floors, you’d expect a bathroom, but nope! The staff will send you to Copy Central. Seriously? It’s hard to believe the staff runs off down the street, to another business, every time they need to use the bathroom.

I had astoundingly bad service here.
I had bought a loveseat here eight years previous. And I was looking for another in a similar style. The salesguy couldn’t find the sale of my couch in his computer so said the sale hadn’t taken place… as in… I was lying. He literally accused me of lying about the sofa I had bought there with a smug look. wow. Have a good day, jerk. You’ll never get my business again.

I bought a solid wood bed frame that included all the headboard and slats (saleswoman: «we wouldn’t sell you a car without the tires, all our beds come with the headboard and slats»). It is a quality piece that looks nice, but was priced near what Ikea would charge for an ugly plywood frame. They charge $ 65 for delivery and assembly. The delivery guys arrived when they said they would, calling me in advance, and put the bed together in 15 minutes. It was a relief to visit Scandinavian Designs after trips to Ikea, West Elm, and many warehouse stores left me worried I wouldn’t find anything I liked.

First I would like to state the obvious, which is the company and the sales associates are very warm and inviting «at first» and/​or until you have paid for your items and are contractually obligated. I bought a sectional and a chair well over two months ago, and they originally gave me a 6 – 8 week lead time, that time has come and gone. Today I called to get status and my once oh so nice sales person (Darlene), treated me as if I was at fault, she immediately said that «when she hears something then she would tell me» inferring that I don’t call them anymore. She didn’t even know if my items had been started, completed, shipped, etc. all she knew was that she has my money and now I have to wait indefinitely.
They eventually begrudgingly gave me 10%, after I pitched a fit about their offer of waiving the $ 60 delivery fee for my inconvenience. So today, when I attempted to express my concern about the ambiguous answer she gave me, her response was «well we did give you a good discount.» Insinuating that I should be happy and content with 10% off and therefore deal with whatever timeframe they set and renig upon.
Hindsight is ²⁰⁄₂₀ and I have plenty of more furniture to procure throughout my lifetime, so I will make sure I go to one of the other million furniture stores that understand how vital customer service still is.
p. s. go to Crate and Barrel, Pottery Barn, Z. Gallerie, Macy’s, Ethan Allen etc. who have much shorter delivery schedules.

Gorgeous carpets!
Cheaper than Macy’s, too. Nice place run by a great team of folks.

David at the Berkeley Scandinavian Designs Store is GREAT!
Customer service above and beyond.
As a regular customer I called up for an item I needed for an event on a very short timeline and David was so helpful.
We have several items from the store in our home — well priced with nice quality.
I highly recommend shopping here!

Before going to any stores, I spent a lot of time searching home office designs. I liked the clean and modern looks offered
by this co. We did not get any customer service either time we visited the store, which was probably ok since help wasn’t needed. Perhaps they are short-​staffed? The check-​out was friendly. Had furniture delivered and installed, and service was timely and efficient. Friendly guys.
I’d recommend the CEO line and Lino swivel chair. Lots of other great furniture, and you don’t have to be into Scandanavian.

This store is okay and they have some nice pieces although I only liked a small percentage of their stuff. The store is quite small however compared to the Concord store which is huge and has a lot more on display.
Also, parking is an issue here whereas Concord has a a parking lot with plenty of spaces.

Imma all about customer service and this place hits the mark. I was ready to give up on Scandinavian because of their Berkeley and San Mateo stores, but Dave (the manager) made it all good.
Bought a sectional and it was seamless. No hassles, no missing fabric samples, and no effin attitudes. Thank u Thank u…