Room & Board

Room & Board is so big that I got over half of my daily Fitbit steps in during one visit.
With sunlight pouring into their floor to ceiling windows on every floor and the clean, modern aesthetic it is hard not to fall a sense of calmness in your body when entering this store. My Fitbit even noticed a decrease in heart rate while browsing around.
Salespeople checked in on me at every point in the store — but not in an annoying way. Just a friendly hello to see if I needed anything. I pretty much marveled over all of their layouts and design which was a mix of metal, wood, and other natural elements. Everything was sleek and went together in a beautifully modern way.
I swear the dining sets were inviting me to sit down and have a bowl of cereal on them. The beds screamed, lay on me! Even the children’s crib sets had a pull on my ovaries. Cus seriously, my baby would make all the other babies look like lame-​os in their dual colored, American made crib.
Which is another thing — all of the items here are American made which is great because you are supporting the local economy. I didn’t purchase anything but I definitely got a lookbook on the way out so I can dream about re-​doing my living room in my free time!

I was over the moon impressed with this showroom. I worked with Judi and she was so pleasant, wonderful and knowledgable. We ordered a custom sofa and it didn’t fit in our elevator and they jumped to get us a new one and used the payment from the first to do so– which is rare for a custom piece. The delivery guys were great– courteous and polite and we couldn’t be happier with our experience (despite we ordered a sofa that wouldn’t fit!) also– because we have company coming and no place to sit– they are sending a loaner while we wait for our second custom sofa. Hands down the best experience I have ever had with a company and wonderful employees to help us! I will refer them a million times and use this company for all my future furniture purchases! Thank you!

Thank you Ann C. for helping us pick out our beautiful furniture.

My guess is that all these people talking about Room and Board as «investment quality» have little practical knowledge about furniture.
Refused Delivery: Trenton Sleeper Sofa
This was a nice looking sofa in the showroom… but, when it arrived, the mechanism to open/​close the sleeper was broken. The seat would not close fully, and the front frame of the sofa was out of alignment. At first the delivery team said that the «springs were new,» and «it would break in.»
I asked them to get the couch into a useable state before they left. After a few tries to close it, it was obviously faulty. The team then removed the front piece and attempted to bend the cast steel brackets to an acute angle so the frame would appear to line up. At this point I decided to refuse delivery. They offered to send a repairman, but it was obviously a lemon. I decided it did not want a replacement either. Why invest so much in an item that could so easily break? Honestly, I was happy the sofa had such an obvious defect, because I was already uncomfortable when it arrived disassembled. It looked shoddy. The wood was cheap and light; it felt «foamy.» The stapled upholstery was an obvious rush job. There were multiple sharp ends sticking out. There were many unraveling threads all over the cushions. I bought into (3k worth) some pretty slick marketing and lots of sales talk about quality, but I am feeling pretty dumb… especially because I still have an expensive Room and Board chair on order.
Service/​Delivery Comments: At first they delivery team tried to convince me the couch was fine, but after just a little persistence, they were responsive, understanding, and professional about the return. I wish their first instinct was to hold their product to a high standard, protect their reputation for quality, and keep a potential long term customer. That was not the case, but they were not shysters either. Just part of a corporation that is trying to deliver minimum product for maximum price. Such is the world.

Beautiful pieces that appear to be well constructed, but sometimes when you get them home there are problems. A lamp I bought stopped working after a week or two, and it was a monumental hassle to get it exchanged. (It would have been easier and cheaper to just take it to a local lamp store and pay for a repair). A dining table arrived with the stain looking like it had been applied by a three-​year-​old. They were gracious about changing it out. Three years later, though, that same table has a few faint white rings where someone put very hot mugs down on a placemat. Their solution is not to use fine sandpaper and rewax it (which is on their website) or to try the hairdryer trick from the internet, but to have the entire table professionally refinished.
This won’t keep me from buying things there again; I like the stuff that much. But this furniture is not trouble-​free. Maybe our mothers were right to keep plastic covers on everything and tell us over and over to be more careful!

Being accustomed to the Room & Board in San Francisco and their five star customer service, friendliness and well stocked sales floors– 14^th St falls way short on all accounts. At any given visit you’ll find four floors with a total of 3 – 4 customers store wide. Employees always gather around computers and/​or sit at desk. If you want help you’ll have to approach them and then is when you realize you’ve stepped into urban high end furniture store snobbery– 14^th St style. Looking for picture frames and you’ll be told that they’re displayed all over the store with no specific location– a four floor search for picture frames = exhausting. Highly likely, at least from my experience, that whatever you choose is not in stock and will have to be ordered. This location could certainly do for some happiness, some good customer service training and some will to offer something on the shelf I could purchase and walk out with.
On the other hand, omitting these faults, the quality at Room and Board is top notch and will last– consider it an investment. Never any mark-​downs and never, that I recall, a «Sale». It’s regular full price.

We placed an order today for a sectional and dining table and could not have been more pleased with the experience. We were assisted by 4 different salespeople who were extremely friendly and beyond helpful. Although it means we have to wait a couple of months for the furniture to arrive, we very much appreciated that every detail of both pieces was customizable. This allowed us to purchase pieces that fit, both in terms of size and style, the combined living/​dining space of our condo.

Good selection of items. Very helpful staff. We purchased two chairs but will need to wait for shipping to see how this turns out. The staff was very patient with letting us try things out and showing us fabric choices. Did not feel rushed and felt like I got good advice.

This was my first time at a Room & Board. Upon entering, there was bottled water & coffee carafes so that you can be well energized and hydrated as you browse through the four-​level store.
We came in looking for beds, but the beds were scattered throughout the four levels so you get an idea of different feels/​layouts of interior decorating.
The staff there are ready to help, and many offered to help each level we ascended. They have custom-​made dining tables which were really nice (you pick the glass top and the wooden legs) and custom frames with different fabrics.
Like others said, the stuff is not cheap, but there wasn’t a piece I didn’t love. Everything is so modern and sophisticated. The items are crafted by «American artisans» so a chair is $ 300 up, dining tables at $ 3,000 up, and beds $ 2,000 up. I would suggest taking a look at their website to see if they have anything you like in particular before stopping by.

My wife and I purchased a few picture frames from here. Our first experience was fine. They didn’t have enough in stock so they had to ship the rest to them — no problem.
One of the frames they shipped was slightly broken. So she took it into the store hoping to exchange it for an identical item. Instead of exchanging it, the person working there (David) says, «oh you can’t even see that from the front.»
After an unnecessary argument, he agreed to exchange the replacement glass. But he refused to do it himself — telling her she had to replace it. So she did… and then his fingerprints were on the glass, she asked to clean it and he handed her some Windex standing there while she had to do it.
That’s the customer service I expect at Walmart.

Disengaged, pretentious and uninformative sales assistant.
The selection of furniture is good, but the sales assistant was flat out rude! I noticed that a lot of their furniture is not well suited for taller people due to inadequate depth of their seats. Most seats are around 35−38″. But the store is big and I didn’t feel like spending an hour to find what I was looking for so I asked a sales assistant whether they had something more adequate for taller people, I explained what I saw already (all 35″ depth sofas) and I explained why it didn’t fit me. I asked whether something over 35″ is available, and the sales person asked me in a very arrogant and dismissive tone how did I measure this and what I meant by this… now the depth of sofas is clearly indicated on EACH sofa, there is ONLY ONE measurement for depth and she should have been well aware of that. In addition, I asked whether legs /​stands for some sofas could be exchanged from higher and spiked to lower and more quadrant-like…I never received an answer to my question because she kept saying something about staining which had nothing to do with my question — all I needed was a simple Yes or No. She seemed totally disinterested and quite lazy to do anything. I just couldn’t deal with the attitude and so I walked out.
I then went to Georgetown’s «Restoration Hardware». Their sofas come in various depths, and again I was not sure what all depths are, but the sales assistant (an older lady) was courteous, listened to what I asked, clearly answered my questions, and she really helped me out with the choice. Now, this store is very expensive, but I learned that there is nothing more expensive than time, which was wasted in Room & Board.
There is nothing worse than a sales assistant who has no clue what he/​she is selling and cannot or does not want to help a customer. I am very willing to pay for a good product, but I do not want the share of that money to go for salaries of those who don’t do a good job.

We furnished our new DC place w/​R and B furniture. Prices are reasonable to slightly higher than normal retail. If you are the kind of consumer looking for both «value and an experience» when making a purchase you should w/​out a doubt visit R & B. There Associates are non-​commission and do not apply pressure to make sales quotas. I can offer a personal endorsement for Associate Lauren R. Seriously, this lady gets consumers. She is kind, thoughtful, knowledgable and patient with the indecisive buyer. It’s not often that an Retail Associate understands the customer like Laure R does. I encourage you to visit and ask for her personal assistance. That’s it.
Can’t wait to visit again for more high quality R & B furnishings… which will be very soon!

Great layout, definitely a huge store for the city address. This place sticks too a particular style so it’s a love-​it or hate-​it situation. While I appreciate the wood craftsmanship it’s a little too retro-​modern for my taste, but I came in for sheets, rugs, accessories, etc. They have awesome sheepskin rugs, unfortunately the 3^rd party brand actually sells & ships to USA for less than the Room & Board in-​store prices. No reason to buy from this store therefore unless it’s an item they make in-​house.

Room & Board has convinced me to never buy furniture anywhere else.
There are three stories worth of showrooms (there’s supposed to be a fourth, I think, but there were renovations). I actually got a ton of ideas just from walking around. Prices are pretty steep, but the furniture is beautiful, classy, and well-​made.
Staff there is friendly and helpful, but not obnoxious or pushy. I told one woman the style of couch and color I was looking for and showed her a picture of the paint job in the living room, and she gave me a suggestion for a fabric I wouldn’t have really looked twice at, but now I’m in love with it. She gave me a few swatches of other fabrics too and sent me home so that I could check them all out against the paint.
The delivery service was great, too. They gave me a window of 10:30 — 12:30, and arrived promptly at 10:30 to set everything up. It’s white glove service so they’ll put things right where you want them. The furniture was all in perfect condition. (The white-​glove delivery costs 89 bucks, but it’s so worth it).
I decided after taking a look that I wanted to exchange the coffee table I ordered for a larger size. I called R&B about it, and the exchange process was super easy — they don’t charge you another delivery fee. You just set up an appointment window for them to pick up the item you don’t want, and they’ll drop off your new item.
In short, buying from Room & Board was a really fun experience. I will absolutely purchase furniture there in the future.

Room & Board is a hipster spot on 14^th street for browsing and collecting gorgeous yet practical furniture.
Nearby you can stop for lunch or drinks/​coffee, stroll in anytime without an appointment.
Staff is friendly but not overtly in your face.
You are allowed to browse the two floors of goodness, and we were welcomed to preview the patio furniture aside the «under-​construction» displays not yet furnished.
When we asked a question, we were given honest referrals and answers.
The quality of pieces checks out, as a friend has purchased a sturdy bed from this location that hasn’t yet crumbled by the shaking and bouncing it has seen.
Room & Board uses a lot of natural elements: wood, colors of grey, tan, textured fabrics, with an architectural design that is simple, modern and cozy at the same time.
It is more quality and style than Ikea,
sophisticated but not as pricey as Crate and Barrel.
I recommend this spot ;)

I’ve bought a few things from Room & Board over the years, and for being in the middle of the city, this store is absolutely huge.
With four expansive stories, Room & Board certainly manages to pack a lot of product into this location. To a certain extent, you really would need to go to the suburbs to see a store this large. That’s a major convenience if you just want to window shop or look around without having to go into Virginia.
Items here are rather pricey. I have a few pieces from Room & Board, but nothing major, and I am impressed with the quality. That being said, the sales here are basically nonexistent, so you’ll have to pay at/​near full price to get anything. This isn’t like Rooms 2 Go with the 20,000 sales advertised on TV!
Worth a visit. Definitely shows how far 14^th Street has come that this store can be sustained.

If this place had a kitchen, I would live here. For seriously. Beautiful, sturdy, well-​made furniture. Friendly staff who is happy to help, but not pushy.
We recently purchased two couches and a chair, and the people helping us were helpful and patient as we discussed the upholstery options.
We’ll definitely be back in the future for more furniture purchases.

I LOVE the furniture in here! A little pricey, but it’s great quality (the wood is actual wood instead of that cheap stuff) and most of the furniture is made in the USA!
The first time I came I was a little upset at the customer service as the lady that greeted me wasn’t really listening to what needs I had. But when I came in the second time I was helped by a lady named Lizzie and she was awesome. She even followed up with me after I had purchased my parsons table.
If you’re looking for good quality furniture in the DC area and are willing to invest, go to this furniture store. They also do custom work too

You know that feeling when you go into Ikea and it feels like you’re about to enter a maze? So you brace yourself, fueling up on meatballs to start off your epic journey, and finish off with some ice cream at the checkout, feeling worn out and dreading the assembly process when you get home.
That’s not how it goes at Room & Board. Their $ 89 shipping goes to locations within 100 miles of their showroom and they’ll assemble for you. If you have items in your order that are in stock as well as custom ones, they can deliver the in stock items to you first for the $ 89 shipping fee, and the custom items delivered when they are ready, at $ 49.
Four levels, pimped out with sofas, chairs, rugs, tables, beds — essentially all the big ticket items you’ll be looking for when furnishing your house. The store isn’t set up so that you will see all the sofas on one level, all the tables on another level — rather, different types of rooms seamlessly coexist adjacent to one another to provide you with a variation of ideas to look at. I find this to experience to be much better when it comes to furniture shopping because it’s much less overwhelming.
It can get pretty crazy and hectic in there on the weekends, but I recommend to be patient and wait for an associate to help you out, especially if you have a custom order to put in.

Beautiful furniture, albeit very pricey. Delivery was a huge hassle. They were a week late and we were told after the fact that something that we ordered would be in for 6 weeks.
Additionally, they did not share their delivery policy. When we ordered furniture we were told that as long as someone signed for it, they would deliver it. When the movers arrived they called to tell us that they could not enter our apartment without my roommate or I there. This caused me to have to leave work.
The furniture is great, but fhe price you pay out of pocket and from the hassle of dealing with their poor communication makes it not worth it.