[avatarreb]

I got a chance to check out West Elm's first Canadian store last night. It's in the King West Liberty Village area. West Elm is the contemporary furniture store owned by Williams-Sonoma.

Overall impression, the floor space was massive (20,000 sqrft!). I would say that the contemporary style is somewhat eclectic... more like a watered-down Crate and Barrel vs a CB2. There were a few repeated displays, either by design or potentially stocking challenges with the initial launch. Also, all the Christmas stuff is out and Halloween hasn’t even arrived yet!

Interestingly the Canadian location can't get you any special order or internet-only items as those are available in the US only. The prices were pretty reasonable overall with most being on par with U.S. prices. You are however getting a lot of MDF being used in their products with mostly "chocolate" finishes; lacquered in some cases too.

 

[grey]

I've really been looking forward to this store and can't wait to check it out.

A CB2 store would be nice.

 

[officedweller]

Yeah, the chocolate/espresso colour is getting pretty old. Even EQ3 seems to be branching out into other browns.

 

[299 bloor call control.]

Also, all the Christmas stuff is out and Halloween hasn’t even arrived yet!

Christmas Street is already open and all the decorations are already up at the Queen St. Bay... too frickin' early!

And West Elm is a great store. The prices were a lot more reasonable than I thought. Got a nice organic bath mat there for 25 bucks.