Red Modern Furniture

So I came on here to «Rag on Red.» Looks like a LOT of people beat me to it. After having a great brunch at St. Francis across the parking lot, my boyfriend and I decided to take a peek in.
Well, first of all, I wasn’t sure there was anyone there for a while. Which was fine, we just kept looking around and being goofy looking at all the cool old stuff that they have to offer. As we made our way through the store I found who I could only make out as a sales man sitting in front of some lady on a computer.
They bothered themselves to greet us at that point. Never getting out of their seats at any point of our visit. (I’ve worked my way through college/​law school doing retail, big no-​no not greeting customers and making them feel un-​welcomed).
Soooo… I was mindlessly walking around the furniture portion of the store when… GASSSSSPPPP! I tapped on some of the furniture with my finger nail!!! You would have though I had taken a hammer to it with their reaction. I was admiring their selection and not reading all the little signs about not touching anything. Whatever.
I was annoyed with them not wanting me to touch anything but alas, its their store, if they don’t want people to enjoy their products that’s their business.
What blew my top was when my boyfriend (who is very friendly and is always interested in what a business has to offer) asked them a question about a chair. An Egg Chair. You would have thought he sounded like a babbling idiot because their answers where so pretentious and condescending. He asked about other things they had in the store and they had the same cold attitude everyone else on here talks about.
Anyway, I’m assuming that the majority of the their actual customers come from web sales because there is no way anyone I know would spend that kind of money on furniture when the sales staff is acting like they’re doing you a favor by allowing you to breath in their precious vintage air.

I was so excited to check out this store. Living in a vintage building and flush with cash, I felt it was the best prospect for furnishing my apartment.
However after spending a few minutes in the store I felt cold, alienated and stupid,
For starters I was never greeted, my presence acknowledged, or even asked how my day was. The store was empty upon my arrival, and it was not until I dared to touch an item that my presence was acknowledged… albeit with a condescending and rude outburst by the stores owner.
I thought the furniture was vintage and original… apparently they refinish and refurbish furniture and pass it off as found vintage. I was told by the owner that most of e furniture was recently shellacked… and was not in display condition.
I also had the unfortunate experience of asking the staff about several pieces I was interested in. Between eye rolls and deep sighs I was told of the inaccuracies in my question, yet never told if I could purchase the items or not. After being deemed too dumb to engage in a conversation by the woman minding the store I was handed over to the stores owner with a sigh, an eye roll, and a rather condescending «do you want to handle this?». The stores owner than continued to alienate and insult me, making me feel dumb and rather small.
It seems as though the storefront is a showroom for their online sales, as most items are not for sale… and anything that is worthwhile is plastered with «do not touch» signage. Very unhospitable for a furniture store, as I usually like to sit in something before I purchase it.
I’m not going to even go into the prices, which seem as alienated from reality as the stores owner or his assistant; two ageing hipsters locked in a battle for who could be snootier or more pretentious.
Aside from the nasty staff, the lack of hospitality and the god-​awfull smell inside the store I would say the store was acceptable.
I’m sure this store will survive, as most online customers probably don’t know that they are getting refurbished furniture stored in a putrid cat-​urine smelling environment and sold by condescending belittling better-​than-​thou hipsters.
…avoid this store, check out the wonderful vintage stores elsewhere in town.

Mid century furniture is supposed to be warm, welcoming, and approachable. Not here. Almost every piece of furniture had a sign on it: «do not touch» or «do not sit». It felt more like an overpriced museum.
When I asked the owner about all the signs, she said «I don’t go to a luxury car dealership and sit in all the cars I can’t afford. People who buy a really nice piece of furniture here don’t want something that everyone has sat their butt on.» I’ll never waste my time there again.

I gave up on this place years ago, when it first opened in its original location. Nothing was priced, the owner was incredibly rude, and everything I asked for pricing on was strangely $ 1000 + (even a lamp I already owned and paid $ 20 for at a thrift store). It was as if he didn’t think I was worthy of owning any of his furniture. I have since frequently seen him at estate and yard sales around phoenix, buying furniture for $ 150 which I then see priced close to $ 1000 in the shop. I have also heard complaints that he has sold recovered furniture as all-​original vintage! Give your money to someone kind who is not out to scam you like RED is…

items are nicely arranged but prices are too high!

How incredibly pathetic. I just had the worst experience at Red. Then I get on Unilocal and realize how many others have come to the same conclusion – enough to write about it! How can a store possibly survive if you are treated so poorly. Wow. I was seriously shocked – zero personality and 100% icy and rude – as if they didn’t even want you in the store. So why did they open one? Even if I found the perfect piece, I would never buy from RED MODERN FURNITURE. People buy from people. It is about time the owner figured that out.

I’ve never been in furniture store where I wasn’t allowed to touch, or sit on, or try out, anything in the store. I get that it needs to look good, but if I am going to blow that sort of coin on a chair or a couch, I need to make sure my ass is going to meld well with the piece, because after all if I can’t make a proper ass groove, daddy don’t want it!
The whole place reminded me of how Ferris Beuller described Cameron’s house. «The place is like a museum. It’s very beautiful and very cold, and you’re not allowed to touch anything.»
It also seemed that everything we liked when we went in there had «been sold to a collector on the east coast.» While I am sure this is true, I have a hard time believing that someone cloned my awesome taste, which is at best eclectic, and put them on the east coast. Again, its possible, just not highly likely.
I think I will be taking my cash-​e-​money elsewhere.

Two stars. The items they carry are fantastic, however, the prices are sky high (although that doesn’t mean that isn’t room to bargain) and the staff is extremely unfriendly. I would rather shop on Ebay or go pay full price at Lumature or Design Within Reach.

Amazing furniture and truly a feast for your eyes. Crazy good craftsmanship everywhere you look.
The vibe is not my kind of phoenix vibe. I’ve probably been in the store 10 – 20 times and have either received no greeting or a cold/​frosty one. For that reason alone I don’t want to give them my money.

cool place. great website, has all of their products for the most part. the people there are nice, and didn’t seem to be bothered by us just checkin out the store. make sure you go upstairs

Red Rocks :)

Walking into Red is a serious problem for most: you’re confronted with what is easily the most beautiful selection of vintage furniture in Phoenix… and the prices are astronomical. I used to complain about this until I became aware of what the going prices are for the same exact items in coastal cities. Phoenix: we got it good; stop complaining.
We recently showed our home for the first time on a historic home tour. A Tudor Revival built in 1931, we’ve always struggled to find the right furniture, accents and fixtures to fit the antique style with our modern tastes. We went to Red hoping just to find some inspiration, but after explaining to the owner what we were doing, he offered to send someone to review our space.
We ended up with a suede 60’s era danish couch and two leather chairs that made the rest of our interior look downright stupid. We ended up redecorating, paint and all, to better suit the new furniture. It was a lot of work but well worth it.
We now are on the verge of a full-​blown vintage furniture addiction that is only being held back by our income. I’ve actually considered putting off plans to travel the world and raise a family in order to get the perfect coffee table.

The furniture and art in Red is amazing, but damn, if I could only afford some of it. Although I know the owners/​sellers/​docents can see it in my dead eyes that I am only the transient type who enjoys looking at beautiful things that my graduate degrees’ debts will prevent me from purchasing, they have always been friendly and helpful to me when I have browsed around this temple to vintage teak and sleek plastic.
Okay, so my only hang-​up with Red is that a lot of neat stuff does not have price tags; who knows, maybe I could afford some stuff if I knew what the price was… still, probably not… yet.

I love this place— just walking through Red makes me feel like I am in a time warp. It’s so chic and cool. I instantly needed a dirty martini (extra olives please!) and a ciggy.
We found some really great pieces we liked that would work perfectly in our home. And some we fell in LOVE with other stuff but have not purchased. It is pricey but they are like pieces of fine art. It is Eames-​era heaven. There is the most beautiful desk I have ever seen and other pieces that just left me in awe. If this is your style, you need to go to Red.

The furniture was nice, but I didn’t get a welcoming vibe in here at all. First of all, it smells like a dead cat in there — perhaps it’s the mid-​century furniture, but whatever, light some incense or something. Second, the guy working there was completely cold. No hello, no how are you, no welcome. He just stared us down the entire time, not saying a word, making sure we didn’t touch anything at all. It’s a frickin’ furniture store! How can you not be allowed to sit on the couches? I don’t care if they’re vintage or antiques or the like, it’s not getting my business.

Top quality furnture — if you are looking for the best of the best, shop at Red. Also, the owner is very nice, and is always willing to help. It’s worth a visit even if you aren’t considering making an actual purchase. There are things there that you won’t see anywhere else in this state.

If only I had the money to buy some of the stuff at Red Modern Furniture… Regardless, this store has some of the nicest pieces of furniture I’ve seen. What’s more is that it’s all vintage, so you know you’re getting the real thing and not some retro copy. You can really tell that they take their time and use a critical eye with what pieces they choose to restore and sell. I have no problem with sounding pretentious here, but the furniture they have in stock truly are pieces of design art. If you can afford what they have to offer, buy it. If not, feel free to peruse around the store as though it were a museum. I used to live in LA and there were places like this in Silverlake, Melrose, etc., but none of them had the selection or quality that this store did.
The owner here is really cool and encourages you to look around even if they know that you probably can’t afford anything there (like they did with me). Another thing about the owner at Red Modern Furniture is that she’s really passionate about what she does and I thought that it was really cool that I could talk to her about what was in the store.

Everything is beautiful in there. It’s like going to MOMA. I can’t believe it’s in Phoenix! THANK GOODNESS! This is the place that has everything I’ve ever dreamed about. I’m saving up for this gorgeous vintage hanging chair. I hope it doesn’t sell before I get my hands on it.

This is a stunning vintage modern showroom with more of the same furnishings for sale inside. Unfortunately, the owner was rude and indifferent. Sorry, but for those prices, we want to be treated like A List celebrities. We’ll shop at the more friendlier Mid Century shops in town, thank you very much.

I am a huge fan of MCM, so it’s no surprise that I am now a big fan of Red Modern Furniture. The space is lovely and large. And it is filled with beautifully maintained vintage pieces. I was charmed when the sales person (owner?) walked up to me and said «May I help you find something? Each piece has a story.» Indeed. In my mind I purchased a desk (circa 1930), a walnut platform bed (danish, circa 1960), 2 oversized lamps, and a coffee table that wouldn’t fit anywhere in my house. As I sadly walked to the door, I noticed a take-​out box stamped «Lola Tapas» next to the register. «Oh, is Lola good? I’ve been meaning to check it out.» «Well, I’m a little biased. My brother owns Lola. He also opened a coffee shop called Lux. And he is opening a café next to Lola soon.» That opened the door. We proceeded to discuss the various independent restaurants of the Phoenix-​metro for the next several minutes. Kindred spirits, for sure.
(Side note: The store also carries art and a small selection of vintage clothing and accessories.)