How do your design fees work? Our national purchasing power allows us to offer our clients competitive pricing, and for those who purchase product from us the opportunity to work with our designers without the burden of mounting design fees.  We want the pressure to be on our team to listen to your vision.  If we present a plan for a room, sofa, or window treatment you love within your budget, then the expectation is that you will place the order.  We do offer design consultation on an hourly fee basis for those that just want color consultation, room planning, or staging advice, etc. (back)

Isn’t it more expensive to use a designer? Great question! Working with our designers and giving them a spending plan will control your cost, prevent possible buying mistakes, and give you the maximum value for your money. When purchasing a quality piece of furniture, you may (not always!) pay more up front than you would for a lesser quality piece at a big box 'discount' store, but you will not need to replace it as often, if ever. Having said that, you might be surprised how affordable quality furnishings can be. If you were planning to purchase from the popular mall stores, I can assure you that you can spend similar money with Luxe and get personalized service, a well designed plan, a lot more choice, and superior quality.  (back)

Why do I need to give you a budget to start on a project? A common complaint we hear about working with other designers is that they didn’t listen to what the client wanted and “went way over budget”.  We have addressed this issue by establishing a budget before we begin the design process.  Rest assured that if you were thinking about furnishing your home at a mall store or one of the quality brand name big box retailers, we can easily provide you a custom tailored look for very similar money. 

Our access to product is nearly limitless which allows us to provide a design that meets your lifestyle needs within your budget and give you the most value for your home furnishing dollars.

Here’s an example of why we want a spending plan:  Let's say you were looking for a piece of art and told our designer the size and look you wanted.  That art could be a poster, a print, a limited edition, a production painting, or an investment quality oil.  Each one could be the same size and fit the same general description, but the cost could vary greatly.  Some clients would be happy with the poster and others would prefer the oil painting.  The same logic applies to furniture, rugs, accessories, lighting, and so on.

The concern on your part will be, “what if I tell them a number and they could have done the room for less?”  I completely understand that fear.  The truth is that the vast majority of time our clients give us less to spend than it really takes to give them the look and quality they want and our design team puts in a lot of effort to make it all work.  Secondly, for me to take a generous budget and increase my mark-up to use it all would be unethical, and my reputation is the most important thing I have as a business owner.  (top) 

How long does it take to get custom ordered items? A typical room project takes 6-8 weeks to complete, which is largely due to the amount of time it takes to make and ship your items. Delivery time for individual pieces can really vary based on stock at the manufacturer. If you have a more urgent situation, please let our designer know because there are some vendors who are much quicker than others. We do like to tell our clients that “you do sometimes have to wait for the good stuff!”  (back)

Do you do "green" or eco friendly design? Absolutely!  Most manufacturers are quickly moving in an earth friendly direction, but some are already there and offer a nice range of product using sustainable, renewable, recycled, and reclaimed resources.  Let your designer know this is important to you during your initial consultation.

I want to buy American furniture.  Good!  We love supporting domestic manufacturers and prefer working with them, especially when a little extra service is needed.  Most quality upholstery is still made in the US, but many of our big box competitors are bringing in all their products via containers from Asia.  The good news for you is that overall pricing is being driven down, but so is quality and choice.  A majority of all accessories, lighting, and artwork, plus a growing percentage of available casegoods, are made overseas.  Let your designer know this is important to you during your initial consultation.

My project is pretty small. Would your designers really be interested in working with me? Sure! We have plenty of clients who want a new look but are not in a position to invest in a whole room at once. Those projects can be ordered in phases. We are more than happy to work with a client on a special chair or to look for that perfect accessory or piece of art.  (back)

Can I return custom ordered items? No. Once an item is specially ordered for you it is yours. Obviously if there is a defect it will be taken care of.  The process of working side by side with one of our designers prior to placing an order should ensure that you will be very happy with your special order items. (back)

What if I don’t like the design my designer proposes? Then your designer didn’t listen to you! It is very normal to have a little give and take until our designer really understands what you want, but we put all the pressure on ourselves to deliver the perfect design because if you don’t like it, you won’t buy it! It really is fun to watch relationships grow between our designers and our clients and how quickly subsequent projects are completed because of those relationships. (back)

What kind of warranty do you offer? That will vary by manufacturer, but a quality upholstery manufacturer should have a lifetime warranty on the frame, springs, and seat cores assuming normal conditions. Fabrics will only be replaced due to manufacturer defects because they cannot be responsible for individual usage. Pets can be rough on fabrics, for example, so please talk to your designer about your lifestyle. Some fabrics are much more durable than others and there will be one perfect for you. (back)

What brands do you carry? We have relationships with a lot of manufacturers so we can create any look for you.  Recognized brand names are fairly limited in the furniture industry, and I can assure you that some of the best items available are made by companies you may have never heard of. (back)

Can you design any syle? Contemporary/Traditional/French Country, etc? Every designer has their favorite style, but I specifically hire designers who are versatile in order to meet our clients needs. Our showroom is primarily transitional, but believe me our designers love working with other styles because it’s fun!  Many first time clients talk to me in advance in order to pair them up with a designer that would be the best match for their taste and personality. (back)

Why should I buy something from you rather than ordering online or from North Carolina?   Our clients work with us because they want things to be easy, they want personalized service, a room that flows, pieces that are the appropriate scale, their own unique look, and to save time by avoiding research and shopping.  If you know exactly what you want you might be able to save a little money buying online, but not always.  In exchange, you will sacrifice choice, seeing fabrics and finishes in your house first, and the comfort of first hand knowledge of the product.  Be prepared, as you may have to uncrate, move, assemble your furnishings, and dispose of the packaging. If there are any customer service issues, you may be completely out of luck. We have very personal relationships with most of our manufacturers and I will stop working with manufacturers who do not value my clients satisfaction as much as I do. Many of the lines we carry are not available from online providers.  (back)

Shouldn’t I take advantage of that 45% off coupon I saw in the paper from another designer furniture store? I saw that one too. It was off the manufacturer list price. Nobody sells at list price. If you bought the first piece at 45% off list price and bought the second at list, you lost money. Unfortunately we as consumers are easily lured by huge discounts and you really need to think about what the starting number was before that giant discount was applied. The old adage of “if it sounds too good to be true it probably is” should be kept in mind when shopping. We don’t require our clients to be great negotiators to get a good price. We have national purchasing power and I am generally very aware of the ‘going rate’ for the products we use. I personally can’t stand the typical furniture store games and therefore really focus on providing the best value for your design dollar rather than attempting to seem cheap. You do get what you pay for.

If you see our sale signs up, understand that the discount is off a price that is already below list price. It’s a deep discount and done to promote a particular line.  Sample sales are not necessarily to make a profit but rather to change out sample items on our floor, which will get worn over time, and allow us to have a fresh look. (back)

I’ve never bought a custom ordered chair before and am afraid of buying something I can’t sit on first. Can I be a design client? I hear this comment quite frequently and certainly understand your concern, especially if you have never worked with a professional designer. There are a lot of places to buy furniture and most of that furniture is designed for the ‘average’ person. That’s the same philosophy used to design airplane seats and I don’t know too many people that feel comfortable sitting in them. If you have ever had a custom made piece of clothing before, you ordered it from a swatch and my guess is that it fit you perfectly and is your favorite thing in your closet. We regularly work with clients to find a piece of furniture on our showroom floor that they find most comfortable and use those measurements and cushion types as a reference when searching for the perfect piece.  We do have a number of popular styles on our floor and many clients order from those samples with their choice of fabric and finish.  Know that we have no interest in just selling you what we have in our studio to keep inventory moving like most furniture stores, but would much rather find and design something you would really enjoy. That’s how we get referrals.

 I like to tell our clients that by only purchasing off a showroom floor you really cut yourself off from the good stuff. Many great manufacturers only sell through the design trade and only build a piece once it is special ordered. They wouldn’t be in business if they did not make well made and comfortable furniture.

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