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Brownstone Furniture

jerseygirl_1
16 years ago

Anyone have any experience with Brownstone Furniture? We are about to order a TV console manufactured by them.

Comments (16)

  • kkelly7
    16 years ago

    Hi Jerseygirl,
    I've loved the Brownstone design especially the Melrose Bed but I'm not so sure about the quality. I think they make most of their stuff from Asia but I love the cool contemporary designs.
    Hope that helps a bit.
    Oh and I think Slate.com did a profile on them a while ago.

  • jerseygirl_1
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    KKelly7
    Thanks for your response. I had already checked out the Asia part. You are correct. Their furniture is put together in Asia.

    I really tried American but could not find the style that Brownstone offered. I heard of the company on Living through one of those makeover programs.

    Most of my furnishings are American made but I made an exception and went ahead and ordered it. I will look for the profile on the company by Slate.

  • nyc_lover
    16 years ago

    Hello, All,

    I'm a new poster to this great forum. I've been lurking for a while, but when I saw a thread on Brownstone, I had to post.

    Brownstone makes beautiful looking furniture. Unfortunately, it is both expensive and of rather poor quality.

    I purchased some bedroom furniture from their Gramercy line last summer - bed, two nightstands and the six-drawer dresser. It was the only style both my husband and I really liked and which had the right size bed frame to fit in our room. All the pieces were manufactured in China except for one nightstand and the bed rails, which were made in Vietnam. The Chinese and Vietnamese nightstands are not identical. Good thing they are separated by the bed and you cannot tell the difference. Furthermore, this winter I discovered that the Vietnamese nightstand has a repaired back leg. How I did not notice this upon arrival I'll never know. I did send back the headboard because it was not made right and the footboard had to be replaced because it was very badly cracked (like it's been dropped), which happens in transport, especially from over seas, I guess.

    A few short months later, I found that the veneer on the leather club chair leg has a bump, like one you get if there is a screw underneath.

    Just recently, I noticed the veneer by a knob on the dresser has, it appears, rubbed off!!! It's a tiny spot for now. Also, the veneer seems to be lifting in a relatively small spot on top of the headboard.

    This furniture was pricing at well over $5K retail. Thank goodness for Direct Buy! (Yes, I'm a memeber). I paid under $3K for the whole lot.

    Bottom line - beautiful design, terrible quality!

    If you can cancel the order - do. I would.

  • nyc_lover
    15 years ago

    Hey, jerseygirl 1,

    Just wondering if you received your TV console and how do you like it?

    P.S. I am now noticing cracks in my footboard. *sigh*

  • mogator88
    15 years ago

    Most furniture has a one year warranty. Have you had it more than a year?

  • nyc_lover
    15 years ago

    No, I've had it since last August.

    Whom do I contact - the dealer or the manufacturer directly. I purchased the furniture through Direct Buy.

  • mogator88
    15 years ago

    Generally you contact the dealer. Any reason you didn't pursue this? As a retailer I'm just curious.

  • nyc_lover
    15 years ago

    Why I did not pursue this (yet):

    - I was so disappointed with the quality of the furniture and the fact that I had already sent back the bed and had to wait for a new one and now every piece of the furniture has a problem - I am just so disgusted. Like I said, the furniture has great style but it is just so cheap! It's not like they will replace the items with new quality, hardwood ones. I'll get the same crap that in short order will develop problems and I'll be disappointed and disgusted all over again.
    (I wanted to call the manufacturer directly and complain about the crap they sell at such high prices.)
    - We have more rooms to furnish and have been looking for that furniture (like my Carter sleeper sectional)
    - My Mom was renovating her place so guess who was the general contractor, designer, etc.?
    - Other stuff going on

    But I think I will have to call about replacing the foot board - I have a feeling that one night I will wake up by crashing to the floor.

  • mogator88
    15 years ago

    OK, that makes sense. But after one year you really have no recourse, and you already paid for it, may as well get it replaced. Its possible that yours came from a bad run, so maybe the replacements won't be as bad.

  • nyc_lover
    15 years ago

    You are absolutely right, mogator88. I paid for the furniture, but not for damaged pieces. I should get what I paid for before the 1 year warranty expires. Is the warranty from when you order or from when you receive the furniture?

    I actually was not sure that I had recourse, so thanks, mogator88, for the info and motivation!

    P.S. If an estimator/repair man comes to my house, can I ask him to remove his shoes? That's another, albeit stupid, reason why I have not looked into this yet - I hate having to vaccum and mop after someone schlepps through my house in shoes!

  • mogator88
    15 years ago

    P.S. If an estimator/repair man comes to my house, can I ask him to remove his shoes? That's another, albeit stupid, reason why I have not looked into this yet - I hate having to vaccum and mop after someone schlepps through my house in shoes!

    Estimator yes. Repairman might have to go in and out to retrieve tools. Just lay down some towels or dropcloths over the carpet path.

    Warranties are generally from the date of shipment FROM THE FACTORY for ordered items or date of sale if its in stock at the dealer. Please let us know how it turns out.

  • jerseygirl_1
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    NYC lover,
    Sorry to hear you are having issues. I would definitely call them directly.

    Our TV console is fine. No problems so far.

  • nyc_lover
    15 years ago

    Hello, All,

    I have an update on my Brownstone dilemma.

    Since I got laid off (thanks to this economy), I've had time to take care of a bunch of things (like cleaning my Mom's apartment after the renovation).

    I took pictures of the damage and showed them to the assistant manager at the Direct Buy warehouse when I went to pick up my medicine cabinet. She asked me to e-mail her the photographs and she would forward them to the head office. I just got a call from her today that I will be receiving replacement furniture!!! Just have to wait for the ship date.

    I've had such "great" luck that the glass globes my husband ordered turned out not to fit the fixture because the catalogue was not clear on what goes with what. I called the manufacturer and it turns out that you have to look for some triangle. I thought we were stuck with them and would have to buy the proper ones. Well, the manager at Direct Buy warehouse said that they could be exchanged. The catch is a 35% restock fee! However, she was going to negotiate that for us. Still waiting to hear the final word on that.

    And to top it off, when I got my medicine cabinet home and unpacked it, I noticed that the mirror door was chipped/damaged in the bottom left corner! So that went back with the glass globes and now I'm just waiting for that magic ship date.

    So, mogator88 (I know I saw your name on the site but just cannot remember or find it again), thank you so much for your motivation! It not only helped me to speak up about the Borwnstone, but also the Forecast Lighting and Robern. I don't know why I was so intimidated - I'm usually such a big mouth! LOL

  • nyc_lover
    15 years ago

    Hello, All!

    Hope everyone's enjoying the summer.

    I have an update on my bedroom furniture from Brownstone.

    Yesterday I received the replacement pieces: headboard, footboard and one nightstand. So the most noticeably damaged pieces have been replaced. The delivery men took away the damaged pieces. That's the good news.

    The bad news is that all the pieces, including the originals, are of such poor quality, especially for the price. The footboard is made from particle board and trimmed with hardwood. The headboard has a spot on the top where one of the screws goes in over which the veneer is not quite right - I expect it to come up as it did before. But at least for the time being the pieces look good.

    Such pretty furniture, such poor quality. What a shame. :(

    The set, with 2 nightstands and a dresser, retails for about $7,ooo. Thank goodness I'm a Direct Buy member and was able to get the whole set plus an armchair for about $3500. I'm not her to advocate DB since it is not for eveyone and it does not carry all the manufacturers, but it did help us.

    mogator88 (I wish I could remember/find your name!), thank you again for your advice and motivation - I would not have gotten the replacements without you! :)

  • qualitylover
    14 years ago

    I read this thread last year before I purchased my Brownstone bedroom set, but emailed the company and they responded very quickly and settled my trepidation. Unfortunately, I should have listened to the posters here. When my furniture arrived, I noticed the construction was sub par and needed several touchups and a drawer replaced. Then, after less than a year, my queen size bed frame fell apart, with only one person having slept in the bed. The load bearing portion of the frame (a platform type arrangement) was glued on to the frame...imagine using glue to support a bed made for two adults, and it fell apart with only one adult....I am now forced to agree that the style and the materials are in line with the price, but the sub par construction and quality control warrants you go with another brand. This type of quality can be had for substantially less money.