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My experience with Pottery Barn is much different than what you describe.

For example, my coffee table came from PB over 13 years ago.

The sheer curtains look good, except they're too long. They'd be in the way and get dirty and icky too fast in most homes with children and pets.

I love all things Maxwell, but I don't like the puddle. It just looks dusty to me. Maybe it's okay with the embroidered velvet zillion dollar draperies hung in Park Ave mansions with a staff vacuuming and dusting every 20 minutes -- but, no, even then I don't love the puddle.

I also like curtains hung much higher than this. And something with a little more weight to it too. AND on rings, not rod pocket.

We are not on the same curtain wave length!

(but what does it matter when your daughter is that cute?)

I'm not a fan of the puddle look either, but I do love that pink carpet. What a fantastic splash of color.

And regarding Pottery Barn, I don't have a problem with the general quality, but I do find their aesthetic to be cloying and dated. I'm never surprised (in a good way anyway).

T8
www.strangeclosets.com
When design takes priority, the result is often strange closets.

Somehow I just can't get into the idea of someplace called "Pottery Barn" being anything but suburban-generic. I admit I've never been to one, so maybe it's time I took a look.

I agree with patrick (too)--I think PB has decently durable furniture. Perhaps it's dependent on what you buy, but I've never had a problem. I bought my bedroom set (which I LOVE) from PB 5 years ago and it still looks and works great.

how have you never been into a pottery barn????

i find PB to fit into the same category of plenty of stores (from shoes to home furnishings)... where a lot of the stuff i've brought home has turned to crap in a week or a month and so on... but plenty of other things are very well made and add a special something... or at least serve their purpose with charm. that said, i don't frequent PB, but if i see something i like, i base my decision on the product, not the store.

which it sounds like Maxwell has done here :) I love the sheer look... and i'm glad i'm not the only one who hasn't "upgraded" to curtain rings! :-p

can somebody tell me what a puddle is?

the drapes. they 'puddle' on the floor under the window.

thank you cblls. never heard that before. then i have to agree, those curtains in the living room have too much puddle. i see dust bunnies and nyc black dirt collecting quickly.

i'm also wondering what happens in that living room when there are more than two or three guests. do you pull up the dining room chairs to sit on? it doesn't look like a room where several people can relax comfortably together.

maxwell is right about PB--we bought some of their overpriced and badly made furniture out of expediency. I don't want to inflict the hideous sofa fold-out bed on anyone but our worst enemies, so that one especially was a waste of money. AVOID.

The cutrains look nice but doesn't the baby want to pull on them?

What do you do when the sun turns your sheer linen drapes yellow? I've never been able to properly clean them.

How about if you want sun light just open your curtains. I like walking around in my birthday suit way too much to have sheers alone.

You really can't see anything through sheers, Sara. Believe me, my mother harped on the same issue in my own room (when I got rid of roller drapes underneath), until I made her stand outside with me one night, while my light was on and my brother was painting the room. You can't see anything at all!

Re: "which it sounds like Maxwell has done here :)"

Yeah, well if the intro hadn't been such a slam, I'd agree with you more.

i am not crazy about pottery barn furniture either, but i have linen drapes from pb also. mine are are not sheer and are hung with rings to just graze the floor. love the softness and texture of linen.

I've never bought anything from PB, mostly because I find it too expensive for the quality (the "wood" does look cheap, sorry) and with ebay and CL, it's easy to get a solid wood piece and often have it refinished or upholstered at a similar or lesser price, in my experience. That being said, I've been on their website recently and some of their outdoor tables and chairs look quite nice, but again too expensive for me. Back to CL...

I bought a floor lamp from PB over 10 years ago, and it's still in good shape.

I share the general concensus that their aesthetic is clutterd, cloying, and somewhat dated. However, some pieces seem decent.

I absolutely agree with Maxwell on the quality and selection of their curtains and fabrics in general. They also have fantastic towels -- soft and thick and durable. I think their fabrics and linens are better quality than Crate & Barrel.

BTW, love the bedside lights in Maxwell's bedroom.

There more than two categoreis of purchases at PB: "Drapes" and "Furniture". They have great lamps. Great vases. Great tableware. Great bedding. A great new selection of affordable artwork. And there are tiers of quality even among their own lines, same as Crate & Barrel and even (now) Ikea.

I think some people make up their mind about a vendor and then never change it, even if the vendor has improved quality over the years (which PB has), and/or has tried to stay current (not to be confused with "contemporary").

And no, I do not work for PB. And no, I do not espouse filling a home solely with their furniture. But to be so automatically dismissive of it is to walk away from, and miss out on, a great resource.

Not feeling the hung two low and puddle look either. JMO

Patrick - Sorry, I didn't intend to slam anyone... I just explained that I don't judge PB by it's cover, and if I see something I like there, I get it regardless of worrying about where it's from. And I did say that I find some of their stuff to be hit or miss... but I'd say so of almost anywhere... from big box shop to the smallest of South End selective Boutiques... I'm never going to love everything, and not all of it will always be well made. Really, I'm agreeing with you in my intro... I generally don't find PB to be poorly made or disappointing. Sorry if you took it as a slam, that wasn't my intention!

Thanks, closer... but I was talking about the intro to the post! :)

gotcha! :)

I've loved several things I've helped other folks select at Pottery Barn, including some really great storage box things for a really casual place in Queens; and some really nice curtains and some silk flowers, and a whole slew of things that are slipping my mind at the moment. Oh, and I selected my own gift that a friend got me which was one of their antique-looking phones.

The only fairly major disappointents were a suspension shelf thing that really probably wasn't made to handle such heavy books as we tried to store on it, and a bronze pharmacy lamp, whose "head" kept wanting to fall off repeatedly, but which has been staying on for a while now (knock wood).

I think that what DOES work about Pottery Barn, is that people who have a fairly average amount of money to spend can get stuff that generally looks pretty good together without having to necessarily be all that clever or arty, themselves. I really like looking around in there, even when I'm not in the market for anything.

Where is the rug from in the top living room pic? I love the color.