Design Republic

So my 2-​year old Design Republic sofa ($ 2,000) just broke in the middle. It’s important to know that this one was partially credited when my last Design Republic sofa ($ 1,200) gave out after a year. (at the time they explained that the first was made in China, but they improved quality and now made them locally).
I live alone. I have no kids. I’m never home.
There is no reason for this.

I ordered some items from this store in a custom colour: they told me they would contact me when done. Well, no one contacted me. I tried to contact them several times after a few weeks but no one called me back or returned my email. So I walked into the store to be told that my items were ready and that they had emailed me and called me. I told them that I had not received any messages or emails and the woman said that she had just sent an email two days earlier and that it must have gone to my junk folder. I said no I hadn’t received anything and she asked to check my email on my phone: of course there was no email. No apology from her. Just a shrug. I was annoyed but I was happy with the items and decided to order a third to match. She checked my email to make sure it worked — she emailed me right then and there in the store to make sure there was no issue with my receiving the store’s emails (there wasn’t). She assured me that this time they would contact me when my order was ready.
Well that was two months ago and I have tried calling the store three times (no one ever answers — you have to leave voice mails) and emailed twice — no response. I am obviously going to have to go to the store in person again like with the last order and hope that it is ready by now.
I would never go back here again — their customer service is indifferent and negligent. The furniture is nice (nicely designed furniture for people who want budget design and was recommended by my designer as such) but unless you have a lot of time to chase down your orders I would give this store a pass.

I was in the market for a sofa and dining table set. I reviewed the selection in 4 different stores and found Design Republic to have the best selection and the best value. Ann from the customer service team was exceptionally helpful in assisting me with the logistical details of pick-​up and delivery. The sofa was ready a month earlier than promised, which was a welcome bonus. My place looks great, thanks to Design Republic!

After a second gander in here, this place is actually pretty reasonably priced, given what they’re pushing. I was especially impressed with their 5×7 rugs for under $ 500. Lovely, persian-​inspired, colour-​bleeding rugs in most of the shades of the rainbow.

Simply the best customer service we have ever experienced. We had ordered a sectional — 2 pieces, and after about a month of receiving them, we noticed that something was wrong with the size of one of the pieces. There was a mix-​up during the ordering process (which we should have caught when we were asked to review the order, but did not, essentially our fault). So calling a month after the delivery, we did not expect what happened next. Ann from customer service not only quickly resolved our issue, but went over and above by replacing both pieces so that there wouldn’t be dye lot issues. We were so surprised, relieved and totally impressed. When they came to deliver the pieces, they actually called to let us know that they were on their way, and were actually ahead of the scheduled time slot.
From the girls working in the store, to their customer service team, to their delivery guys, we have never had such a great experience working with a retail store. We are so recommending them and will go there first with any furniture purchases in the future. Thanks so much Design Republic for being a breath of fresh air in this busy, ‘what’s in it for me’ world.

I bought a sofa and matching loveseat from Design Republic and they arrived yesterday and look great! I have read the other posts on here but my experience was completely different.
I looked online before going into the store and saw that the couch I liked didn’t have a matching loveseat. I emailed them to ask what options there are for a matching sofa and loveseat that would fit in a small apartment and both the online and in-​store staff were very friendly and helpful. They were actually able to make a loveseat version of the couch I wanted at no extra charge. They also spent time going over the different fabric options with me.
The furniture is more expensive than IKEA certainly but it’s also better quality. I looked around at a lot of stores and felt their prices were reasonable considering the quality of the products. I plan to have these couches for many years and so wanted ones that would stand the test of time.
The only thing I was a little disappointed about was the long delivery time. (They told me it would take 8 – 12 weeks for my furniture to arrive.) They were upfront about how long it would take though and I was willing to wait. In the end, I got my couches after 7 weeks so it was faster than I expected. The delivery people were friendly too. Overall, I was very happy with the service and product I received and have already recommended this store to other people.

I agree wholeheartedly with Ali and Carolyn’s reviews. This store was alright until I bought something, then all went to hell. Got yelled at by owner. Delivery was weeks late and I only got my goods after calling repeatedly. Paint on the chairs was chipping and cushions were dirty, and the staff was excessively rude when I complained. Huge disappointment. Avoid at all costs.

Amazing furniture. well made and gorgeous. The all the staff; store, customer serve and delivery; is courteous and very helpful. I would not only do business with this company again, but highly recommend it to my friends and colleagues.
Carmela
Millenia Flooring Design
Toronto

The problems we have had with Design Republic are the same as all the other reviews here, so I will keep it short. Ali’s review, «This place was great until we bought something,» really sums it up.
Seven months ago we thought we bought a dining set we’d have at home the same week. Instead we’ve been dealing with missed deadlines, half orders, broken items, incorrect items, etc. Now we have a mismatched and broken dining set which we paid dearly for and which was doled out to us slowly, and with much effort on our part, over the course of a year.
Design Republic is really good at:
— in-​store merchandising
— lying to secure a purchase
— apologizing convincingly
— stalling
— blaming everything on suppliers
If you would like to have a long, sustained argument with a stranger about overpriced furniture shop here! If you just want FURNITURE though, avoid this place.
We are currently in the process of trying to negotiate a full return.

This place was great until we bought something. Then we faced delay after delay, unreturned phone calls, and excuses from the front of house sales staff to one of the owners (awful man)! When our table finally did come in (3 months later), the wood was water damaged and had a 4 inch dent in it. We had to argue again to get it fixed. They have serious issues with quality and nasty customer service– AVOID AT ALL COSTS!

We love the style at this place and come into the store often just to browse, because we’re kind of broke all the time.
We went to the floor model sale a couple of weeks ago and purchased the dining table of our DREAMS at a price that my bank allowed. Came with chairs and the whole shebang. The salesman even let us swap out the tabletop with another floor model tabletop so it would better match our kitchen. We were told that it would be at the most, two days before we could pick it up. We practically musical-​theatre-​danced out of there.
It has now been 10 days, we have left multiple messages on their answering machine asking them to please call us back, I finally spoke to someone on the phone today and after ignoring half of what I said, the woman said she was having computer problems and couldn’t look up my order, and promised to call back (She didn’t). Seeing as this is the most expensive bit of furniture we’ve ever purchased we didn’t expect Chinese-​restaurant-​level customer service (No offence to Chinese restaurants. Actually, Chinese restaurants have better customer service. At least you get what you paid for at the end of the meal.) I feel like I’ve given my money to a Nigerian prince over paypal.

We ordered a couch from here in January and it was delivered in February — earlier than the 6 – 8 weeks we were quoted.
My husband and I were very happy with the service we received. Knowledgeable and helpful staff who are present but not pushy. We appreciated the detailed quote we were given. When we did decide to buy the couch all we had to do was go back with the computer print-​out and our couch was ordered in less than a minute.

If you decide to buy any furniture from Design Republic, I suggest you do a thorough quality assurance inspection before dropping the cash. If there is something wrong with your purchase, they will try and avoid resolving the issues. Doing so, affects their bottom line.
I bought a dining set from Design Republic that included a wooden table and a set of modern dining chairs. When they were delivered, I noticed a couple of issues. First, the pair of legs at each end of the table were not straight, but curved, giving it an asymmetrical clumsy look. Secondly, the sliders on the bottom of some of the chairs legs had broken off. Using the chairs would cause scratching to my hardwood floors.
I brought these issues to the attention of one of the owners. For the chair sliders, he said he’d notify me once his factory sends him some replacements. As for the table legs, I had asked if there was anything that they could do to fix them; make the dining set truly worthy of the $ 2000 that I had spent. He said he’d have to get back to me. Fair enough.
After several weeks of waiting, he told me that he couldn’t do anything about the table. He said that they were not responsible the woods response to humidity changes even though one of his original selling was that this wood does well to resist warping in Canadian climate. I was also sent a picture of a «$ 10,000» table with asymmetrical legs that he had taken from some display in Europe, to put me at ease. I didn’t get it. I suppose expensive, warped furniture is an acquired taste for the wealthy.
As for the promised chair sliders, I haven’t heard from them and it’s been over half a year and counting, since I reported the issue. When I asked him for an approximate timeline he would not comment and stopped responding to my inquiries. This is unacceptable behavior considering the amount of money I had spent at their store. A customer should never be treated that way. The least that he could do is resolve this as quickly as possible. I eventually decided to buy some generic stick on ones from a home store because I couldn’t find any with the right size that could fit properly into the holes at the bottom of the legs.

When I originally made the purchase at Design Republic, I was hoping for some great new furniture to add to my condo. Their stuff looks cool and has potential. Instead, it seems as though I had been sold something from a garage sale with some major wear and tear that is often associated with used furniture. And to top it off, they didn’t feel responsible or offer an apology. Larger retailers are better in this regard. The will gladly repair any issues with furniture, as I have experienced in the past. So if you decide to buy from Design Republic, make sure to inspect the merchandise first, and if there are issues; make them aware of it.

Terrible service. I was told the ETA on the bar stools I ordered was 1 – 2 weeks and 2 weeks later, I called them to find out status because at that point, they still hadn’t called me about my order. They didn’t know on the status and had to check with the manufacturer, so had to wait few MORE days to hear back. 3 days later, they called and told me the supplier they usually order from is on back order for 1 MONTH! Isn’t this something they should’ve told me about when I placed the order? OR even told me prior to ME calling THEM after 2 weeks?! I waited for 2+ weeks for nothing and I then decided to get a refund because they definitely do not deserve my business. I wasn’t even offered an apology or any sort of compensation.
I will never buy anything from them again.

I bought a pair of forest chairs and was very happy with my experience at Design Republic. The chairs arrived within 3 days which was much quicker than expected. The staff even walked the chairs out my car on Queen Street so I didn’t have to carry them out and walk to a parking lot.
The store also has great merchandise. Would recommend shopping here.