Chartreuse International

This place is wonders! I used to live blocks from it, and I would go in almost every week looking at the different furniture pieces they had collected together. As a design student I really enjoy the nature of Chanteuse and all of its fun finds!

By far this place has the best looking couches/​sofas.
Great looking display of furniture. I’ve fallen in love with more than a few of the products. Especially the sofas. Simple lines. Bright colors. Uncluttered.
Fun designs. I’d say some are odd but definitely got my attention. By no means they’re ugly. In fact it’s great quality wise.
Pricey? Yes. Worth it? Stop by and judge for yourself.

Went there with my wife to look at couches. The music was blaring and they had a dog leashed in the corner that barked aggressively at everyone who walked by. straining at his leash. We looked at some stuff but between the blaring music, the barking dog, the quiet talker employee with holes in her clothes, we really thought we were in some sort of skit. They had some nice stuff the vibe was neither friendly nor welcoming.

Awesome selection of Alessi, owner and workers are always super friendly.
My only problem with this store is that it never seems to be open when I want to come shop. And the hours it does keep are all wonky and random.

I haven’t been to Chartreuse in a while.

My husband and I stopped in on a whim this past weekend. We found the spot to be an interesting concept, with new modern accessories sold alongside mid-​century vintage furniture pieces. Many of the vintage pieces had great lines, though were overpriced compared to many of the other vintage furniture stores in the city specializing in this era. Despite the higher price tags, we fell in love with a super mod credenza/​sideboard and were considering taking the $ 800 plunge. An older saleswoman approached and let us know they were having a 20% off promotion. My husband asked if, like almost every vintage furniture store in the area, their prices had any wiggle room or were firm. This question, which I would imagine this woman hears frequently, stirred her into a rage– she concocted a dismissive, condescending, and rather pissy answer (the bottom line: no).
Our bottom line: we were almost tempted to indulge on an overpriced piece of vintage furniture. But if you want us to pay the extra 200 bucks, don’t be a snarky bitch to your customers. Needless to say, the credenza’s still there. We’ll stick to The House from now on (where they barter AND welcome you warmly into their space)

It’s nice that they mark what’s new and what’s vintage, and the vintage selection matches the aesthetic of the rest of the shop nicely. They have lots of smaller items, including books, barware, serving trays, fruit bowls, glasses, etc.
The showroom was undergoing a remodel or redecoration when I went, so the space was cluttered and didn’t flow well. The barware was nicely chosen to be functional and interesting as far as shape and design, but was more expensive than other specialty barware I’ve seen.
The shop decoration and items for sale seem a little cold to my taste (lots of chrome accessories and shiny laquer furniture, not very much wood or brass or gunmetal). The shop attendants were nice and if you are picking up a piece here and a piece there, this is definitely a great place to stop by and browse.

It shouldn’t charm me when the owner peppers «fuck» into every other sentence, but somehow it does. As much as I liked the store, and thought that the selection was good (Blue Dot, Kartell, etc.) I would go to Area 51 over Chartreuse International any day of the week.
With many pieces, the manufacturer sets the price so that really the only thing different stores are competing on are showroom, service, and selection (by selection I mean the items you can see, not the items you can buy).
Chartreuse is crowded, dusty, and has abusive shipping policies. It is so crowded, it is difficult to get a look at the furniture and they certainly didn’t win any points with me with their bizarre hours.

We can never resist stopping by because you never know what you’ll find.
Fortunately, we found the perfect kitchen table here, and it was on sale. The price was right, as opposed to a lot of places where everything modern is SO overpriced. We’ve bought a few little things here as well, and always hope to find a new treasure on every visit. Fortunately for our wallet, it doesn’t always work out that way.

I love this store. Great stuff crammed in a small space. Good values.

Modern vintage furniture w/​unique materials. Stocks design pieces w/​o the requisite snobbery — laidback, knowledgeable staff on hand allow leisurely browse through one-​of-​a-​kind finds, Adesso accessories and the like. Seasonal markdowns offer more accessible selection, otherwise everyday 15% off.

From an Illums Wikkelso leather and rosewood sofa to a Harry Lunstead bar I have founds some rare furniture, indeed! The staff is most helpful and accomodating and know their stuff. Mark and Rex excercise great followup and call me if something of interest arrives. Without a doubt, for price, quality and rarity of merchandise, this is the place to go!

It all depends on who you deal with. I had been in a few times and loved the selection. But sometimes I got the cold shoulder so I chose to only deal with the male shopkeeper.
I bought 3 chairs over the last 7 years from this shop, the last one a Lind club chair in red leather. They carried much of the Lind line and I loved this chair, still do.
A few years after buying the chair it began to peel badly, both arms the coating started to peel quite a bit. A call to Chartreuse and my explaining the issue I was interrupted telling me that the warranty was expired.
I explained that my interest was not a return, but merely to find out a solution. I was again told it was no longer under warranty, this by the older woman with glasses and red hair.
I waited about 2 weeks and while walking in my neighborhood I stopped in to say hello and ask someone else about a possible solution. Not looking to receive anything from this shop but a point in the right direction.
They were not really interested to hear any details, stated again it was out of warranty.
You know, I wouldn’t have minded paying a leather shop to repair this and will still do so. But this shop was only worried about a possible return. They didn’t even ask my name, did not remember me or my previous purchases so they didn’t think of the fact that keeping me happy was easy and could have stayed that way just by calling or emailing Lind, etc. Some effort.
I got no help, no interest, not even a contact number for Lind. I did not raise a stink, I was so disappointed with how I was treated that I left and swore I will never buy from them again. They don’t care. They lost a good customer, when Area 51 stopped carrying certain items this shop became my top favorite. Not any longer.
The selection is not what it used to be either, The Ribbon Chair I bought was amazing as well as the Eames Miller Lounger and these items are not shown any more. It is cluttered, messy and rarely open during consistent hours, Call First.

This place rocks.
If you’re a fan of classic modern furniture, Chartreuse it’s where to start.
I love that they have a good selection of «vintage» (used) furniture. Thank god! I’m not too worried about a scratch her or a dent there, especially when you can pick up some great pieces on a relatively affordable budget.
The staff is super friendly and doesn’t push too hard trying to sell you things you can’t afford, although they almost had me almost convinced I could swing a couple Eames molded plywood dining chairs… Alas, not yet. One day I will, and I’ll be back! They’ll look nice just outside my butler’s pantry. Hahaa!

Bought the «EX Knife Holder» its a chrome guy with knives in him. I love it. Very modern knife holder. my friends come over and want one for themselves.
Furniture is awesome. Great bedroom and Living room stuff here.

Cool mod-​vintage store. Good eye candy but took a while for me to get in there because of the hours. Thanks to Mark who sometimes stays a little later. He was the most helpful salesperson and didn’t rush me out of the store. So, I made a decision to put the white coffee table on hold, took pics on my cell phone to check with the rest of my furnishings at home. Thanks to Mark for the quick delivery to my doorstep. All the pieces were there, unfortunately there were no DIRECTIONS in the box (not even pics like IKEA). I attempted to start to assemble the coffee table using common sense, but then the screws didn’t match up. I returned to the store on a Sunday (with little help-​though the store was flooded with salespeople). The second time I met with Mark, and he apologized and explained which screws go where. He even offered to help me assemble it at home the following week, if I couldn’t figure it out. I was determined and said I’d put it all together before my boyfriend came to visit for the Labor Day weekend. Success, and without directions in the box. Thank you Mark!

Chartreuse is a great little store. They try and get neat things, and the staff (and especially Rex) are ready and able to help with what you want to do. They are also flexible. I bought a couch from them, and after keeping it for almost a year I decided I didn’t like it. i took it back to them and they sold it on consignment. I thought that was very fair. I lost 30% and then went back in and bought another couch.
My girlfriend has found Chartreuse and sometimes she calls me from there and tries to get me to come over and see what her latest shopping emergency is.
Hey, you shouldn’t be buying crap from big-​box retailers that are just taking your money and shipping it to places like Arkansas so they can buy another jet or a golden toilet. All that stuff just falls apart anyhow and has no cool factor. Chartreuse has a big coffee table book on penises that they will let you thumb through in the store.

This is a fun place for mid-​century modern knock-​offs. You can get all the furniture that makes your house look like the set of a live action Jetson’s movie at a much cheaper price than the «original» with the certified designer stamp. For example, the Orbit chair is about six grand down the street at Egbert’s, but is $ 1500 here. The Arco lamp is about $ 700 but about $ 2500 at Design Within Reach.
What I like most at Chartreuse are the vintage teak furniture that they always carry a few pieces of. We got a great teak dining set there for a great price. It’s fun to visit the store regularly to see what new vintage pieces they have in.
Service is spotty. The most helpful employee there is a guy named Rex — he might be the manager of the store. Some of the other people seem odd and out of it.

I like the people at Chartreuse. They’re friendly. I always get a cheery «Hello, how are you?» when I visit. They’re always helpful and never pushy. I like that.
The merchandise which Chartreuse sells is, as other reviewers have said, Mid-​Century Modern. A great deal of it, anyway. They also carry a selection of modern furniture and other household items. So, the furniture is stuff like Eames, Bertoia, Saarinen, Noguchi, Nelson. Some of it is original, some are modern reproductions (some by the original manufacturers, other by nameless third parties — in all cases, it’s totally legit as the original patents have long expired). Household stuff is a collection of the who’s who of modern design, including Italian powerhouse Alessi, iittala the Finnish glass stylists, and oh-​so-​Scandinavian Stelton. Overall, I think of Chartreuse as carrying stylish designs for the common people. It’s higher end to be sure, but not unaffordable (if one sets one’s mind to it). You’ll rarely find super high end brands like Cassina and Artifort.
Prices. If you’re after brand name stuff, you’ll generally not find a screaming deal anywhere — be it brick-​and-​mortar places like Chartreuse or virtual stores like Retromodern and Unica. This is because brands like Kartell, Alessi, Knoll, Artemide, etc, control their distribution channels so tightly that there’s pricing parity on an almost global level. There’s more softness on the modern repro stuff — you’ll generally pay a little bit more at Chartreuse than on the Net, but I prefer to buy from them because there’s instant gratification and no hassle with shipping, being home to receive, etc. They also regularly have 10−15% off sales.

It’s true, if you glance through the front windows of Chartreuse you will see some of mid-​twentieth century’s more outlandish furniture specimens. Some of the rugs, light fixtures and sofas look, dare I say, suitable for Austin Powers’ living room. That is part of what sets this store apart from many of the other modern furniture stores downtown (and we know there’s a lot of them).
Chartreuse is visibly dedicated to keeping an aesthestic true to the popular modern styles of the past, but if you look further into their inventory, they actually have a wide variety of contemporary modern selection. When I moved to Seattle, one of my first priorities was buying a new couch. I had never bought new furniture, subsisting all of my independent adult life from used family donations or thriftstore purchases. The task of sifting through all the furniture stores seemed daunting, to say the least.
I went into Chartreuse, like I went into five or so other stores, serious about buying a couch. It was only there that I got the dedicated help of someone passionate about furniture. I told Rex the basics of what I wanted and he brought out various manufacturer catalogs. It took about 30 minutes of scouring and Rex admitting he took his first paper route to buy an Eames chair to widdle down my choices to three couches. Rex volunteered to xerox me the photos and specs of each sofa, along with prices (which included a sale discount that made it competitive or better than the other mod. stores downtown).
It was good to know where I stood and what my choices were at that point. Rex helped make that process much easier for a n00b like me and it was only a matter of days before I returned to Chartreuse and ordered the couch I’m sitting on right now.
I live close to downtown and, although they don’t include delivery for free, Chartreuse dropped the couch off at my apartment free-​of-​charge. It would be nice if they would include full service delivery in the price to avoid paying my friends in beer for their troubles, but I guess I can’t have everything.