Habitat

To the employees of the establishment, kudos for being really helpful and kind. I have had to stop in quite a bit to furnish my home since arriving in London.
I have had a few hiccups and issues with products I have purchased from here. I would have to say the majority of the employees are lovely but I cannot say the same about the store manager Ashley West. He has been nothing but passive aggressive and dismissive towards my needs when I reach the counter with an issue.
A few weeks ago I purchased 4 inexpensive mugs. When I came home I notice two were glazed in a way that looked like they were damaged and not aesthetically pleasing. (one had a glaze that was raised/​bubbled and one had a spot that looked like it was a long scrape) When I came to the store, the girl at the counter was really nice and helped me with my return.
The manager looked irritated, did not look at me but felt the need interject his snarky remark saying «oh those are all hand glazed ceramics, so they will not be perfect with their glaze and that is what makes them look unique.» My favorite part is that he was saying this to no one, like kind of just saying it to the computer screen. He was not looking at me or his employee… but he really felt the need to let me know my needs/​concerns were stupid because I didn’t understand ceramics.
Thanks for the ART 101 Ashley. I am glad you taught me something all my Arts & Ceramics teachers had failed at teaching me. (serious side eye)
Who knows. Maybe I am just not avant garde or cool enough to find a scrape and uneven bubbling beautiful.
but really? Should I be made to feel bad about wanting to return something because it genuinely looks damaged? I know it was very inexpensive but shouldn’t the customer get what they want when they are paying? What about an «oh yeah, i can see that you would want all your mugs to match, no problem»
I have managed clothing/​furniture/​lifestyle stores for years and would never even dream to talk to a customer like that or show my employees that is an appropriate response to your customer. My favorite part was when a super stylish caucasian gay couple reached the checkpoint, Ashley jumped right on it and into an attentive and helpful person, chatting it up.
To add insult to injury, after the snarky remark he quietly instructs the employee to return my mugs on credit (a gift card) without consulting or asking me if this was ok. Oh but i soon I find this out when I get handed a 9 pound gift card.
Absolutely ridiculous.
When I ask the young lady why would she put my money on a gift card, she points at her manager (by the way who still is purposely avoiding eye contact with me even though two feet away and in front of me) and says «My Manager told me to do it.»
Why am i being punished?
The following weeks, I clearly have been coming in a lot and spending a lot. I know he has seen me and for some reason doesn’t like my business, which I find peculiar. Today I came in to do a return and buy some mugs. I walked to the counter and he chose not to acknowledge me again.
Then a caucasian woman walks to the counter after me and he right away jumps to help her… looks at his employee and points at him and then points at me and tells his employee to work on me.
Interesting and noted.

Since I wrote my previous review I have spent quite a lot of money in Habitat.
I still quite like lots of their products and although they can be pricey… my husband and I just save up until we can afford whatever we want to purchase.
BUT (and it’s a big but) habitat doesn’t make it easy to buy their larger items. There is a wardrobe that I’d still like to buy, but after my last couple of experiences with their delivery service… I think I’ll just have to find something else instead.
— Staff have no idea when stock will come in. I was told items would be «in at the end of the week» several times… when it actually took more than 2 months to come back in stock.
— The delivery service is TERRIBLE! You have to wait at least a couple of weeks for them to call you and then another couple of weeks for a slot to open up.
— My last delivery they called me twice before the delivery, and sent a text to say my trestles would be delivered between 11am-12:30pm. I called them at 1pm and was told «oooh it was due to be at yours for 12:20, but now it should be there by 2:30pm» wtf?! I waited until 2:30 but then had to head back to work. The delivery driver called after 3pm, but was really rude and unapologetic. I don’t get mad very often, but this bloke made me furious! I don’t know why they are so specific about delivery times if they won’t even bother to call if they are running several hours late.
— In the end after waiting several months I gave up on their delivery service, bought the trestle legs in store and struggled to carry them home on the bus. I managed it in the end but I don’t think I could manage that with anything slightly larger.
So in the end, habitat stole some of my holidays (and didn’t even bother to say sorry about it!) …and I discovered that is the easiest way for me to become really angry.
Boo habitat!

Building a kitchen with habitat has been one of the worst customer service experiences and I do not recommend using them. The only reason for 2 stars is that the quality of the products is actually great — cupboards fabricated in Germany and granite countertops from a local craftsman — but the struggle of getting them to deliver what you paid for in a timely and professional way is not worth it. Long story short, we paid in full in November 2014 and are hoping everything will be completely done by July 2015. That’s completely unacceptable for a small kitchen when we were originally told 3 months. We worked with probably 30 people over that time due to Habitat’s ridiculous turnover rate and complex supply chain, only a few of which seemed interested in their jobs or trained in customer service. They ended up refunding hundreds of pounds for our troubles, which we appreciate, but the kitchen we’ve ended up with is not the one we designed, was not delivered anywhere close to a reasonable timeframe and became a comedy of errors and incompetence that wasn’t so funny.
Managing habitat was like having a second job. Not only did we go through 4 designers in 2 months just to design the kitchen — because of habitat’s seemingly endless employee turnover — we then paid in full in November and didn’t hear anything for months to schedule installation. We finally contacted them in January and to our horror discovered none of the original people we were working with were still there and our order was never placed!!! We struggled through multiple managers and phone calls to sort it out and get a March installation date… which slipped to lat April because they couldn’t find an installer! When installation finally did begin, the installers only showed up 3 days over the course of 2 weeks with further delays due to lack of coordination with the countertop installers. They left trash and unused parts that we are still trying to get them to collect. And worst of all — the cupboards are not the ones we designed and the kitchen still isn’t done! In addition to the cupboards (we decided to keep what they installed to end this madness), they didn’t order lights or side panels 2, which now need to be sent again from Germany. They can’t give us an estimated date, but no doubt that when they do arrive, it will take even longer to schedule an installer. Fingers crossed this is the end of it,

I really don’t know why I come into this shop. I very rarely buy something. If I see something I like the price usually puts me off. I’m still trying to work out the target audience. It feels like a downmarket Heals, and an upmarket IKEA. I guess IU just like looking around.

USELESS CUSTOMER SERVICE don’t plan on returning anything!
got a couch from them, changed my mind shortly after. Called to cancel the order and to get a refund. Order was cancelled, but refund took THREE weeks! and I’m still waiting. Between lost receipts, missing personnel, two weeks into the process, after many calls and visits, I finally managed to speak to the manager and he said, ‘I just did it personally, you’ll see the refund withing 2 – 3 days. 4 days later, still nothing, so I walked in and the paperwork was sitting on someones desk under a pile of other stuff, which means he just lied to me. At that point I demanded that would be done on the spot, which they finally did. I signed the refund, now let’s see how long it takes to show up in my account!

Similar to ikea only more expensive (like everything in London), Habitat delivers cute products for less. Great for lamps!

Their basement is surprisingly cavernous. Pieces are on the pricier side even for basic lamps and simple decorative pieces, but their designs are for the most part quite clever. One can easily spend an entire hour browsing.
Downside: A sales associate explained to me that customers must take delivery of any pieces found in stock on the day of purchase, and that no later delivery day can be arranged; a pretty ridiculous policy as not all Londoners have access to cargo vehicles in such short notice.
I’m ordering from their website from now on.

This isn’t my favourite Habitat in London. Although its in a great location (and is right next to Peyon & Byrne which can never be a bad thing) I feel a little bit lost whenever I walk in here and the layout always confuses me despite there being signs everywhere — I must have spent about 15 minutes walking around trying to find the lighting.
As with all Habitats though, the staff are always helpful and will point you in the right direction and luckily for me they were having a 20% off marked price sale so I managed to get some great bits for my new room at a great price.

Habitat remains my absolute ideal furniture store, and I’ve found myself almost taking up temporary residence in this branch since moving house. The great thing about this branch is its placement in a lovely old building and proximity to Heals, so you can simply wander next door for more shopping if you’re feeling particularly flush.
Prices here are never cheap, but most items are fairly priced as they’re so nicely designed. I’ve had several Habitat pieces in my possession for years — many passed down along with my love for the place since childhood — and most are still going strong.
Personally I rate them highest of all for lighting and kitchen accessories, but there’s something here for everyone. This store is probably the best of the bunch for casual browsing.

Habitat’s designs are simple, chic and unobtrusive providing ‘contemporary design at affordable prices’.
They do clean cut furnishings and a plethora of accessories for the bathroom, bedroom, home office, kitchen, dining, and children.
The thought that goes into the individual products, especially with the furniture, is evident. Habitat not only uses their own in house designers, but commission up and coming as well as famous designers to help with the designs to keep them up to date, fresh and appealing to the customers.
There are some pieces which are rather expensive, but generally speaking, for well designed, decent quality goods, the prices overall aren’t bad at all.

Shopping for furniture should be a fun and simple process! I like Habitat because they make sure you’re visually entertained at all times. This trendy up-​scale furniture store is the go to spot to jazz up your personal space.
The window displays are always captivating and successful in luring me into the store. Everything from their decorative lighting installations to the kitchen cutlery is visually pleasing and functional. My love to collect their bed duvet covers!

A Terence Conran creation from the 1970s, Habitat is a mid-​range place to pick up stuff that is classier than IKEA but not quite as nice as the Conran shop or Heals next door. The kids stuff here is weird but fascinating, worth a look even if you don’t have any kids to buy for. I treat a visit to Habitat as a bit of a cultural expedition to find out how contemporary middle class people like to decorate their homes.

I have lately trying to do some low budged interior decoration or even a small make over to my tiny rented flat and decided to start the operation from Habitat.
I thought it would be something like Ikea, but not as recognizable with maybe more effort with the designs. Mmmm. No. I think it is very much like it’s rival but with bigger numbers on the price tags and even, would I say, more boring collections. Absolutely nothing I saw caused any hear beats, not even a small crush.
I must say that it is a good place to get «basic» stuff as all the designs are plain to the core. Maybe the bed linen range makes exception but it was just not for my budget. Maybe when I move the next time.

All under one roof for your home and garden. Accessories for children, lighting for your home, mirrors, furniture and so on.
But store like ‘S’habitat don’t really think of quality, some of its is just thrown out onto shelves to sell like hot cakes. Its just that so much of it is happening seeing all these useless items in stores sometimes makes me wonder whats gone wrong. But we need all these things they say, we must have them or we won’t be happy.
Not true! From all the items in the store I personally have observed a few to be of good quality and useful including longlasting.

Habitat is the sort of place I can imagine myself frequenting when/​if I am a yummy mummy, with lots of time and lots of husband’s money to spend on the house. I hope that this day never ever happens. But I am sure I would have an ounce of joy shopping in Habitat, because when you are in there you do find yourself becoming very attatched to interesting salad spoons, and wishing the lovely cushions, quite affordable you may kad yourself, were all yours.
The christmas light range has just come out, and I want all of the lights because they can make christmas good, no matter what. I think. Well they look beautiful anyway. The new habitat on Regent Street is set out like an art gallery apparently… will have to give it a little visit!
What gets my goat the most is the bed linen and bed spreads and general bed things. They are amazing. Amazing patterns by various designers. Could make anyones bedroom look like the comfiest haven in the world. I found my dream bed throw. Oh my god! It was on sale! For £159.
Damn. There are little decorative things I could afford, but the only thing I really WANT (or maybe even need…) is that silk bedspread. One day… one day.

Yesterday I stumbled across a Habitat brochure and today, I felt the urge to stumble into the store itself. It is doubtless that these two events were inevitably linked: after drooling over the lovely pictures in the crafty magazine I felt the need to walk in and drool over the actual furniture. Well done Habitat. Mission accomplished.
Habitat tends to bring me back to a time when I used to play The Sims, cheat to get loads of money then build my ideal house. God, I loved doing that! Habitat has all of the basics for my virtual house. It is definitely more sturdy and chic than Ikea and its collaboration with special designers has more than paid off. Who could resist the grand oak tables, the four-​post beds, and the floating leather sofas? Habitat has played a big part in contemporary living design.
Habitat’s price range is expensive but there will always be those trusty classic objects that will suit the average citizen. Due to its accessibility, I would always recommend to accessorize any Habitat item with a personalized or unique one.

OK, first, a confession, and one I’m sure is not uncommon. I’ve never really been able to tell the difference between Habitat and Heals, those two great shining Modernist beacons of British home-​ware, whose pieces are blessed with a strange ability to make everyone’s living room’s look exactly the same.
Well, not exactly the same, but it is my belief that design ‘classics’ from high street furniture shops such as Habitat are best avoided. Which is why, upon spotting Habitat’s ubiquitous ‘Aperture’ lightshade in its Tottenham Court Road store late yesterday I bolted quicker than you can say ‘Middle England’.
Criticism aside, I actually rather like Habitat. Price wise it seems to sit snugly in between Ikea and Heals, with its bed linen, for example, being mightily affordable. Oh, and don’t get me started on their lighting, Habitat’s ‘Millenium’ fairy light garland just about the chicest form of Christmas lighting ever.
Habitat also seems to have led the way in terms of collaborations with British design stalwarts such as Barbara Hulanicki of Biba fame and Matthew Williamson, whose exotic wallpaper in myriad hues makes a welcome change from all the traditionalist flock nonsense that seems to dominate wallpaper design. And for that alone, I give Habitat four stars.

Excellent magasin
Ce magasin est très très grand et regroupe plein d’objets design pour votre maison, il faut vraiment fouiller pour trouver l’objet rare à ramener en France. Pour moi ça a été un cadre super tendance pour 12 livres. Bön c’est pas donné mais pas excessif car il n’y a pas 10 000 modèles identiques. Très bien.

Grand
L’avantage de ce magasin c’est qu’il est très grand et que vous voyez tout le catalogue en une seule fois. Pratique après de passer une commande une fois revenu en France.

Le temple
Ceci est le temple d’Habitat, il est gigantesque ! Un vrai plaisir pour les yeux, vous y trouver tout ce qu’il faut pour la déco moderne, épurée ! Et si le prix vous décoiffe vous pouvez toujours repartir avec des idées de déco !

My natural habitat
My wine rack comes form habitat, the lamps on my bedside table come from there and so do my bed sheets. Yes folks, it is my natural habitat. It is for people who do not have a designer’s bone in their bodies but want their flats/​homes to look decent. There is nothing too outrageous here and it is by no means cutting edge– lots of modern, eastern influenced design _​Japan, Thailand etc. very minimalist chic. The prices are a bit high _​it is not as posh as Heals but definitely leagues above ‘Pier Imports’. At least go to habitat for inspiration, even though you can’t afford the stuff.

Bien mais pas top
Aussi cher qu’en France, ce magasin n’a que peu d’intérêt à part pour les fans de la marque. Muji est une marque du même type à voir pour les Français qui veulent s’installer à Londres

Make it a Habit
This is a good place to find items to furnish the house. Some things can be a bit over-​priced, but the quality is quite good. It may take some searching to find items that aren’t rather bland, but if you kitted out your new flat in Habitat it will probably look pretty good.