Itasca Furniture

 

66

135

Liz X.

Chicago, IL

After years of schooling and slaving away, I've finally moved into the "nicer-than-the-crappiest-IKEA" echelons of the furniture world.  Now, that doesn't mean that I still don't furnish the majority of my very unstylish apartment with stuff from IKEA; it's just that it ain't the "LACK" coffee table in beechwood that costs a mere $29.  I spring for the $129 s$*t now.  Yeah, I'm movin' up in the world.

Now, how do I find myself in the middle of the 'burbs in the Village of Itasca?  Well, thanks to a very high-up-in-the-Village-of-Itasca friend of mine (call her if you have an angry raccoon stuck in your chimney) who knows the area well, she tipped me off to a few places.  Now out in the 'burbs, of course, there are always great outlets.  So I started my couch-purchasing journey at Walter E. Smithe ("that's Smith with an E!!!") outlet which had some great pieces ranging from top of the line collectibles to over-priced decent quality pieces.  Then, I headed over to the Wickes outlet and regular showroom and was in the for a rude awakening.  Everything from the floor people to the furniture screamed tacky and low quality. I won't go into it.  I was about ready to give up, but my friend urged me to drive across the street and check out IF because she knows the owner and thinks she's great.  

Since I was only across the street, I reluctantly dragged my defeated ass over there.  I was immediately greeted by an ebullient salesperson, Cindy, who was helpful but really knew how to turn it on.  She was quite knowledgeable and totally understood that I needed to lay on the couch, sit on the couch Indian style, and then would leave me alone so that I could discuss the issues with my sister and mommy (yes, I'm an adult who has a professional career, but am plagued by indecisiveness, hence the mommy calls) by phone.  

What I could tell from the IF was that although their selection is smaller than your typical large furniture stores, they sell solid quality pieces for a good price.  Walter E. Smithe has some of the same furniture makers put out stuff and they can hike the price up because of their name.  IF just sells the furniture directly from the furniture maker so you don't get the mark-up.  And compared to Wickes, I paid the same price for a really good quality couch that would have been some crappy, tacky piece from Wickes. Yeah, you don't get the sleekness and and cool post-modern chic that Crate and Barrel can give you; you don't get the the fake-me-out, po-mo, retro style that Pottery Barn can give you, but you get a great deal for a good quality, sturdy furniture that will go with anything.  

And, my friend was right, the owner, Vicki, is a very cool chick. She's super nice and a great business person which makes it even cooler that I got to contribute to a small privately owned business instead of some soul-draining monolithic corporation.  

5 stars for great quality furniture, great prices, helpful staff, but 1/2 a star off for the small selection.  

FYI: they will deliver out to the City for a fee (par for the course fee).  A lot of suburban places won't deliver out to the City.

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