After comparison-shopping at a dozen furniture stores in the bay area, I settled on Scandinavian Designs in Concord to furnish my apartment -- and returned there three years later to furnish a new apartment I moved into. They offer an impressive variety of quality wooden furniture, much of it manufactured in Europe and the U.S. Both salesmen I worked with proved very knowledgeable about their products, even offering some handy interior design suggestions along with informational brochures for the more complex pieces. Their prices seem reasonable given the quality of the furniture, and they offer a delivery service for a flat fee of $65. Some of their pieces come pre-assembled; others you have to assemble yourself (or pay for assembly upon delivery).
When I received delivery of two tall and heavy wooden bookcases with assembly required, I opened the boxes to find a bewildering array of hardware with no assembly instructions. So I called Scandinavian Designs on a Sunday (they're open 7 days a week), and they connected me with their warehouse manager. After confirming that no assembly instructions were available for my bookcases, he patiently stepped me through the assembly procedure over the phone. While assembling a large wooden desk with modular drawers below and hutch/bookcase above, I realized the instructions did not indicate the sequence of modular assembly. So I called Scandinavian Designs and spoke to a salesman who had hands-on experience assembling that modular desk unit for their floor display. He advised me, after assembling the basic desk, to turn it upside down so as to securely attach the drawers -- then turn the assembly right-side up again and finally seat the hutch on top. That advice proved crucial to a successful assembly.
Pros: Elegant furniture, moderate prices, skillful sales & support
Cons: Occasional delivery delays
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