Let me just start right away by saying that if the only reason you're looking at this post is because you like my dining room chairs and are interested in buying them, save yourself the long story of how I was extremely stupid and scroll down to the link below, I promise it's down there.
But if you want to read the ridiculous story behind these chairs here it is...
It was like 2-3 weeks before we were supposed to be hosting our first Thanksgiving at our house and we had our dining room all set up, except of course the chairs... which obviously poses a problem. So my husband and I set out on a hunt for new chairs.
We checked all our usual places like Restoration Hardware and Pottery Barn, etc. and although they always have beautiful options, I really just couldn't stomach the idea of spending $500 - $700 PER CHAIR (especially when we needed 6 of them) for chairs that we were going to sit in once a year; if that.
I really didn't want to order chairs online sight unseen, since Thanksgiving was only a few weeks away, and shipping costs and time frames weren't going to cut it... and also I just wouldn't have had the time to deal with returns had I hated them, and I tend to hate things. So then I went where any basic bitch between the ages of 22 and 72 would go (yes there is that wide of an age range of their loyal customers- mostly all female or of questionable sexuality) to my interior bargain hunting go to spot; you guessed it, HomeGoods.
But finding 6 of the same chair, in good condition, in HomeGoods is like finding a brick of gold in your underwear drawer. You would be extremely and pleasantly surprised if you did, but the odds of it happening are slim to none.
So from there I had to get serious about our search. We foraged Nassau County as quickly as we could, looking at every furniture store we passed, but I just wasn't seeing anything I liked that I was willing to pay their asking price for. Then we happened upon a store that was having a huge sale and we were able to find chairs that I lovedddddd for what I thought was a great price! They were originally asking $600 per chair, but because they were they were "giving them to us" for $300 a chair. (Insert major eye roll) Still we weren't thrilled about buying 6 chairs for $300 each when we only needed 4 to style our dinning room, and the other ones were really only needed because of extra guests, so we decided to just get 4 and let two of our guests sit on cheap fold out chairs... too bad for them.
In my head i was super happy; I had seen them in person, knew I loved them and that they were good quality, I was getting a "great price", and they were going to be delivered for free, and on time for Thanksgiving! I left the store feeling very pleased with my find and ready for the holidays.
So here is the lesson learned... We brought our order form home with us, and just for shits and giggles I decided to google the chairs. Well the first fucking thing I find, are the exact mother fucking chairs I had just spent $300 a piece on, on Wayfair for $150 each! Seriously same brand and color and everything, I'm not even kidding. Here's the link- cause they're STILL available.
https://www.wayfair.com/furniture/pdp/willa-arlo-interiors-lamb-tufted-nailhead-side-chair-wlao3635.html
And they really are great chairs- I love them. I would have loved them even more had I only paid $150 for the first 4 but you know... shit happens. Anyways I have NO idea why I didn't ask for the product information while I was IN the store and before ordering so I could check online, after all this is the age of the smart phone. But I guess I'm just not that smart... or didn't think of it or whatever.
So even after seeing them on Wayfair I told myself that they were probably a cheaper replica and that I got the better quality from the store and I was better off with my over priced chairs. But at the end of the day I still couldn't get over that they were the exact same chair for $150, which again was half of what I had just paid, without the option to return btw. Unless of course they were damaged upon delivery, but I am just slightly above setting my chairs on fire in order to get a refund.
So part of me just had to see if they were the exact same chair- and Wayfair, unlike my over priced store, has free returns! So I ordered two of them... and I am not even kidding, they are identical. I have all 6 of them in our dining room all together, and I cannot tell the difference. I'm not even kidding, I have 0 clue which ones came from the over priced store (which btw did go out of business, so a-ha karma's a bitch!) and which ones came from Wayfair. It is one of those things that kills me every time I go into our dinning room and I keep with me now always when shopping, for really pretty much anything. I don't hesitate to ask for the product information while in the store, I'm over feeling embarrassed when I do, and if I find a cheaper price, I don't hesitate to buy it elsewhere. These days the markups on goods are ridiculous and the internet if nothing else should be used to keep people honest! #lessonlearned
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