Why I Love Pottery Barn

It is no secret that I love Pottery Barn!

And I also love lists!

So I thought it would be fun to combine the two with a list of:

The Reasons Why I Love Pottery Barn:

(In no particular order)

• The products

Of course, this is why we all love the store!  They have beautiful things and I have always been happy with the quality of their merchandise.  I have quite a few of their pieces in my home:

The leather chair in my family room.

The wall hanging in my family room.

My coffee table tray in the family room.

As you can see, it makes a great holding spot for seasonal vignettes!  Also, the glass hurricane holding the corks is from PB too.

The frames in the family room.

The seagrass chairs in the living room.

And the chenille pillow on them.

Then there is the mirror in my foyer which I’ve had for about 12 years.

The shelves in my dining room.

And the console in my dining room.

The shell pillows on my bed.

This great seagrass frame.

These lampshades in my bedroom.

• The Inspiration:

Seriously, I don’t think there is a store out there that has been copied more than Pottery Barn.  How many times do you read on a blog, “Pottery Barn Inspired”, “PB Inspired” etc.  I just did one two days ago for my fall vignette!  Pottery Barn’s photos are all over the web and everyone seems to want to copy something they sell.  What is that saying about imitation being the best form of flattery?…

• The Catalogs:

Like most of us, I really look forward to receiving these in the mail.  Over the years, they have gotten so beautiful that they are like looking through a magazine.  I even keep them around for inspiration for future decorating.

• Marketing

Ah yes, one of the reasons we are so drawn to them.  They create a lifestyle that we all want and they do it brilliantly.  Their displays are so inviting, their catalogs magazine worthy and they keep updating their merchandise every season to keep things fresh.  They also discontinue products on a regular basis so there is that sense that you need to buy it now before it goes away.  I can’t tell you how many things I “planned” to buy only to have them go on sale and then disappear quickly.  It may be hard for us to handle sometimes but it’s smart from a company standpoint.

• Store Experience:

I love just walking into a store sometimes, even if I don’t plan on buying something.  They have that “Pottery Barn” music playing, the store smells good, the sales people are helpful but not pushy and the displays are welcoming.  I just want to sit down and soak in that Pottery Barn atmosphere and escape the outside world for a little while.

Sometimes, I just go in the store and take pictures for inspiration.  This one above helped me decide to buy the shelves in my dining room.

• Their kids stuff is darling:

I love Pottery Barn Kids and will be sad when my kids outgrow all their cute things.  Already, my son had me take this sweet airplane rug out of his room because it was too babyish.

But we still have some great kids merchandise, like this plaid quilt in my younger son’s room:

And these touch-on lamps:

And the Thomas Desk:

The chair is not PB but this was the only picture I had of the desk.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t take one today because I am “not allowed to move” a project he is working on now.  But you get the idea.

• Benjamin Moore Paint Samples:

How ingenious of them to partner up!  Years ago, I called PB to find out the color of a paint in their catalog, so I like to think that I helped them come up with the idea, LOL!  But I really think it is a smart idea because we like to know what color will look good with something.  Years ago, I remember looking through magazines and checking the sources in the back to find paint colors.  Almost always, the index would say something like “Paint colors not given due to” – variation in lighting or whatever…I used to get so annoyed because of course it is going to look different in your home but at least it is a starting point.  It is great how PB stores give out those free sample packs of that season’s colors.  I always pick one up even if I am not planning to paint.

• American Express Points:

– This may not apply to everyone but is huge to me!  Pottery Barn is one of the companies that offers gift cards for American Express Membership Rewards points.  Since I don’t use store cards and basically put everything on American Express, I am able to get PB gift cards every now and then!  I think Pottery Barn’s store card also has some good rewards but I haven’t investigated that.

• In Store Classes:

– I love that the stores give design idea classes.  Of course it benefits them because they feature certain products in the class, but they do offer them at a discount and it is a great way to get some decorating ideas.  I cannot speak from experience on this because I have never been to a class, but I know people who have and they enjoyed it.

• Great Customer Service:

– Like most companies, PB has Facebook and Twitter pages and they really do answer questions on there as well as though email and over the phone.  I have been very satisfied with their product knowledge and return inquiries.

So there you have a list of why I love Pottery Barn. 

And just in case you would like some real Pottery Barn photos instead of all of my “stuff”, here are some things I am loving now:

via Pottery Barn

In my fantasy-world, I would like to put warmer colors in my bedroom for the winter.

If I bought this, I would put a neutral rug at the foot of my bed and temporarily change the lampshades to a burlap or something.

(Here is my room now with the cooler colors)

Here’s another piece I would love:

via Pottery Barn

When I take back my office from the kids and the future dog, I would like this in there.

Here is something I plan to buy for Christmastime.

via – Pottery Barn

Oh, by the way – I am not being compensated in any way to write about Pottery Barn…you know the drill…blah blah blah…

It’s just a store I love and a great thing to blog about on a day that it is too rainy to take a good picture of the table setting I had planned!

So, what do you love about Pottery Barn?