A Deep Dive into Restoration Hardware Sofa Quality

Exploring the quality of Restoration Hardware sofas, a brand synonymous with luxury furniture, is crucial for anyone considering a high-end purchase.

This article dives into their leather sofas, analyzing style, quality, and value.

Despite their elegant designs, concerns arise around their manufacturing origins and durability.

If you're weighing the worth of these premium-priced pieces, read on for an insightful review and share your experiences below.

What's The Background Of Restoration Hardware?

Restoration Hardware, established in 1979 by Stephen Gordon, started as a small hardware and fixtures store and has since evolved into a luxury retailer selling furniture, lighting, and home accessories. 

Today, it operates 66 RH Galleries across the U.S. and Canada.

RH Galleries are grandiose showcases of Restoration Hardware's furniture offerings. They are beautifully designed locations with magnificent designs.

For example, in Boston, the RH Gallery near me, in Boston, is a transformed showcase of the former Boston Historic Museum of Natural History.

Many RH Design Galleries also offer dining options and extensive interior design services, tailored to meet local demand.

The company also operates 38 outlet stores in the U.S. and Canada, which are lower frills versus the Design Galleries. 

Restoration Hardware is also a publicly-traded company, so there is a way to take part as an investor (ticker: RH) for any fans of the furniture store.

Restoration Hardware has promoted the brand via 'source books', which are massive catalogs (often exceeding 900 pages) showcasing their furniture.

Unfortunately, the catalogs have caused a lot of controversies, due to the environmental impact of all the paper used. 

Is Restoration Hardware Legit?

Restoration Hardware is a well-known online and brick & mortar furniture retailer that has been in business since 1979.  

It is a publicly-traded company (Ticker: RH) and generates nearly $3 Billion in annual sales. 

RH operates several different websites, including RH Baby & Child, RH Teen, and Waterworks (high-end kitchen and bathroom hardware).

The company is listed on Consumer Affairs and has a score of 3.8 (out of 5 stars) on over 200 Reviews.

The most common complaints are regarding furniture quality, such as this example of a disappointed consumer who purchased a $4K sofa from RH.

"I bought a sofa from RH 2 years ago. The cost was 4k. I tried this sofa in the showroom several times before I decided to buy it.....Right after the new sofa was delivered I sat on it and I realized that it felt different than on a sofa I tried in the showroom. Only 2 years have passed and now when I sit on it I am sinking into the seat cushion quite a bit AND this is not comfortable, and is giving me lower back pain." - Lana, Redwood City

They are listed on Better Business Bureau with some negative reviews and complaints, but not a ton of activity.

This is probably a good thing, since consumers are more apt to post a bad review of a retailer as opposed to offering up a glowing endorsement.

You can also find Yelp Reviews for each of their gallery and outlet stores. But, of course, a lot of Yelp reviewers complain about the customer service experience in a particular store. The majority of Yelp reviews for Restoration aren't all that great - hovering around that 2.5 Star mark.

I took a look at the Yelp Review for the RH Design Gallery, closest to me  - in Boston.

The consensus. Lots of complaints about the lack of attention from employees, high prices and the poor quality per that premium price.

I also discovered this post in my research

The Shocking Truth About Restoration Hardware

It's a long post, but here's the gist of the author's argument:

I think there is probably some truth and some over-exaggeration to this post.

Yes, Restoration Hardware imports and manufactures furniture in China and other Southeast Asian countries.

And often, those suppliers will take the design and replicate the product with some minor changes and sell it at enough profit to make some money.

Basically, it's a knock-off product, often with some shortcuts taken.

As an example, here's a photo of the Rain Chandelier from RH, which retails for a whopping $32,995.

And then, here's a very, very close match from a supplier on Alibaba for a fraction of the RH retail price.

But who knows if you'd actually get the product shown in one of the pictures?

So in essence, when you are buying furniture at Restoration Hardware, there is most definitely a fairly sizeable markup, but a lot of this goes to pay design, import and overhead costs. 

It's the same for any other brick and mortar furniture retailer (think Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel).

In fact, RH, works closely with many artisans which design and may help procure materials for production of its products.

Where Are Restoration Hardware Sofas Manufactured?

Most of Restoration Hardware's leather sofas are made in China. We can look back to a news piece from the company that detailed 40% of furniture is imported from China.

I hate, hate, hate, that RH provides zero description of where its furniture comes from on the website. You really have to press a sales associate to get any info on where anything is manufactured.

And for most of the leather sofas I've asked about, the answer is typically China. That's at least for the Cloud and Maxwell sofas. Most of the others are likely produced in China as well.

Restoration Hardware Leather Options

Restoration Hardware offers a diverse range of leather upholstery options, sourcing top-grain and full-grain leathers globally.

The Veneto leather from Italy is a full-grain leather and is the most expensive of all Restoration Hardware's leather options. 

Also, the Italian Eaton and Italian Cortino, and Sherwood are Full Grain leathers.

Restoration Hardware has many different upholstery options (fabric or leather) but to note - ten different leather selections (I've included where the hide is sourced) to choose from as follows, with many different color variations. Note that each sofa has different options of leather types. 

Note that free leather swatches can also be ordered. 

VINTAGE (South America)

Top-grain, semi-aniline Vintage leather has a perfectly distressed appearance, enhanced by more than 14 hours of hand-finishing

CAVALO (South America)

Top-grain, pure aniline, with more than 42 hours of hand finishing, the leather is smooth and extremely soft to the touch.

ITALIAN BERKSHIRE (Italy)

Top-grain, pure aniline is hand-tanned in Italy at a 150-year-old tannery. Warm, matte finish.

ITALIAN BROMPTON (Italy)

Top-grain, pure aniline hand-tanned in Italy at a 150-year-old tannery. Natural tones with a glossy finish.

ITALIAN ROMA (Italy)

Top-grain, pure aniline tanned in Italy at a 150-year-old tannery. Enhanced with a multi-step texturing process-results in a finely pebbled, matte surface.

ITALIAN VENETO (Italy)

Nubuck, full-grain leather characterized by a smooth surface and soft, nubuck leather which will develop a soft patina over time. Also has a moisture-repellent finish to help with any spills.

ITALIAN TURIN (Italy)

Top-grain which is aniline dyed for color, then polished for a smooth, supple hand. 

ITALIAN EATON (Italy)

Full-grain, pure aniline leather hand-tanned in Italy, layers of wax are added with pigments. According to Restoration Hardware, the leather will become softer and more supple with age and wear. 

ITALIAN CORTINO (Italy)

A full-grain, pure aniline leather with a rich, authentic patina with highs and lows. English hide. Finished in Italy.

SHERWOOD (Australia)

Full-grain, waxed oiled and finished which should develop nice patina over time.

Who Makes Furniture For Restoration Hardware?

Restoration Hardware's products are predominantly sourced from Asia, with 75% coming from 30 vendors and 35% directly from China.

Despite the proprietary nature of their supplier information, research indicates that brands like Casco Bay and Mitchell Gold Bob Williams may have been involved in manufacturing their leather sofas. 

However, these connections are not fully confirmed.

When I examined several of Casco Bay's sofas, they do have rather modern designs, similar to that of Restoration Hardware.

In fact, they even have a 'Cloud Leather Sofa' collection, which is of course, identical to the Restoration Hardware Cloud Sofa.

The Casco Bay Cloud Leather sofa isn't identical to RH's, but I can see some similarities in design. Here is Casco Bay discussing their Cloud Leather sofa versus Restoration Hardware's.

According to Casco Bay the major differences are that they make their sofa in the US (not China) and that they use higher quality eight way hand-tied springs versus a drop in pocketed coil system.

Are Restoration Hardware Sofas Good Quality?

As I've noted above, RH advertises that a lot of its furniture is designed by so called 'artisans,' and this ultimately provides the buyer with a vision of luxury furniture hand crafted in a tiny little art deco studio somewhere.

However, the artisan is just the one with a name on the product and is responsible for the design. The end products, however, are (mostly) made in China.

And for most of the leather furniture pieces, this is most certainly the case. 

Take this Cloud Slope Arm Leather sofa as an example.

It retails for $8795, or $6596 if you're a member. 

So, RH advertises this one as designed by Artisan Timothy Moulton from England.

You might hear the words -artisan, England, Timothy Moulton and think this is a US or Italian made piece. However this sofa is made in China, just like the majority of Restoration Hardware's leather sofas. 

Nothing wrong with a piece of furniture that is built in China, the question is, should we be paying a massive premium for this piece?

As noted before, the majority of leathers used on RH's leather sofas are top-grain, aniline dyed leather, so it's good that they are using top grain leather. And this isn't a surprise, as pretty much any online leather sofa retailer is.

Based on my research, Restoration Hardware has several different 'collections' of leather sofas, which all come in various designs.

These include: Maxwell, Cloud, Maddox, Lugano, Costera, Como, Italia, Oak Brule, Kensington, Cambridge, Savoy, Sorensen, Lancaster, Rourke, Berne, Belgian, English Roll Arm, Barclay and Modena.

To be honest, I think Restoration Hardware leather sofas have the best design out of any of the major retailers. And they are also the most expensive, so you are 100% paying up for the design.

Our Reviews Of Restoration Hardware Sofas

Most Restoration Hardware sofas are built in China, so we cannot expect the same sort of quality craftsmanship that we might get from a USA manufacturer. 

Build quality will also vary by sofa, some use engineered hardwoods for the frame, while some more expensive sofas use solid hardwoods. 

From a price perspective, the cheapest leather sofa from RH is about $3000 (with membership), depending on when purchased.

Prices move rapidly higher from there, with an average 3-seat leather sofa at RH selling for over $5000.

Restoration Hardware Lancaster Sofa Review

• Frame handcrafted of kiln-dried solid hardwood
• Reinforced joinery with mortise-and-tenon construction
• 8-way hand-tied spring suspension

In my tests of the Lancaster in store, I found the sofa to be quite comfortable and appearing to be of high quality construction. 

Restoration Hardware Maddox Sofa Review

Here's a look at the description of the RH Maddox Sofa on the RH website

Here's a closer look at the Maxwell sofa from the RH website:

• Frame: Handcrafted of kiln-dried solid hardwood. Reinforced joinery with mortise-and-tenon construction
• Suspension: 8-way hand-tied spring

From the description, this sounds like a better built sofa to me than the Maddox, and similar to how the Lancaster is made. We've got eight way hand tied and a frame made of solid hardwood - that's a good combination. 

My Visit To A Restoration Hardware Outlet Store

I visited a local Restoration Hardware Outlet store in Wrentham, MA, but unfortunately, the inventory for leather furniture during my visit was somewhat limited. I plan to visit the Design Gallery in Boston to get a closer look at their full priced leather furniture in person. Stay tuned, and revisit soon to this post, and I'll post more info. 

So let's take a look at what the customers say.

What Do Customers Say About Restoration Hardware?

So, I already mentioned early on some of the problems in many of the Design Galleries relates to customer service issues, and well, some complaints about overall quality.

However, based on the consumer reviews I've identified, many are very happy with their purchases at Restoration Hardware.

Here's one YouTube user talking about her Cloud couch experience, with an update after one year of usage.

And then I went over to my other favorite source for true, unbiased reviews--Reddit.

I did find one commenter who claims they used to work at RH. Of course, we already know that RH doesn't manufacture anything, but if they are indeed selling couches and advertising frames as solid wood that are made out of MDF - which is "Medium Density Fiberboard" or an engineered wood, that would be a major concern.

What's The Warranty On Restoration Hardware's Leather Furniture?

RH gives you 30 days to return your product but after that, it's up to you to work with Restoration Hardware to make a complaint if something is wrong. 

Restoration Hardware DOES NOT offer any sort of warranty on any of their products, leather furniture included.

This was not a positive in regards to my overall opinion on the company. This was even relayed to me during conversations with customer service reps:

We do not offer returns or refunds for any issues that are damages inflicted on the item, we would recommend furniture repair services or advise on how to resolve the issue.

Ok, so if something goes wrong all bets are off basically. Got it. 

Will Restoration Hardware Ship Internationally?

RH will ship only to the U.S., Canada and APO, FPO and DPO addresses.

Note that RH will not ship many of the leather sofas to Canada.

They do not ship to U.S. Territories, including Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. However, international clients can have orders delivered to a freight forwarder of their choice located within the U.S. or Canada.

You can see more information on shipping policies here: https://rh.com/customer-service/shipping-and-delivery-info.jsp

Does Restoration Hardware Offer Discounts?

RH Offers a sale section on their website, of which RH Members also receive an additional 20% off.

I'd highly suggest visiting one of the RH Outlet stores to see what their leather inventory looks like and it would most likely be the most affordable way to purchase a sofa from Restoration Hardware.