Restoration Hardware and Pottery Barn are two retailers that focus heavily on high-end indoor and outdoor home furnishings. When you want new furniture that’s well-designed and made with the best materials, these are two shops that should instantly come to mind.
Shopping for furniture can be tough, especially when you’re trying to choose an affordable yet high-end retailer. Restoration Hardware and Pottery Barn offer plenty of similar products, but their styles and additional features truly set them apart! Determining which is the better store may come down to your style preference, as well as your desire for extra features.
If you’re wondering whether Restoration Hardware or Pottery Barn is the better place to shop, then you’ve come to the right place! We’re going to explore the types of products they offer, their general price ranges, and how their customer service compares. Let’s get started!
What’s the Difference Between Restoration Hardware and Pottery Barn?
Restoration Hardware and Pottery Barn are very similar companies at first glance. They sell similar products, and both companies focus on providing customers with sustainably sourced, high-quality home furnishings.
However, in 2010, Restoration Hardware underwent a slight shift in its furnishings designs and materials. They wanted to be more easily identified as an upscale furniture store that deals only in the highest quality items, and this was done partially to help distinguish Restoration Hardware from competitors- like Pottery Barn.
There are some other minor differences between these two companies when it comes to the products they offer and whether each company offers warranties, but we’ll get further into that later in this guide.
About Restoration Hardware
Restoration Hardware got its start in Eureka, California. Stephen Gordon founded the company in 1979 with a desire to bring high-quality furniture and fixtures to the market for residential homeowners.
This company focuses on luxury home furnishings and fixtures and also sells restored antiques. In 2010, Restoration Hardware focused further on only upscale furnishings, specifically to set itself apart from competitors such as Pottery Barn.
Sustainability and philanthropism are also two primary focuses of this company. They only use sustainably sourced materials and started a program in 2015 with Habitat for Humanity to donate resources as part of their philanthropic efforts.
About Pottery Barn
Pottery Barn is another upscale home furnishing store with a focus on high-quality materials and sustainability. They only sell ethically sourced and responsibly made products that are designed to last for generations.
This company got its start in 1949 when two brothers, Paul and Morris Secon, realized there was a gap in the home furnishing market for more upscale products. The company quickly found success and put out lines dedicated to babies & kids, and teenagers.
Pottery Barn is also dedicated to keeping up with the times and released an augmented reality app in 2017 that allows customers to virtually place Pottery Barn furniture in their homes to see how it fits and looks before purchasing.
What Products Do Restoration Hardware and Pottery Barn Offer?
Both companies are marketed as being upscale home furnishing stores, so they tend to offer similar products. Restoration Hardware and Pottery Barn also both have a complete line of baby, children, and teenager furnishings.
We’re going to break down the types of products each company offers based on category so you can get a feel for which areas of the home Restoration Hardware and Pottery Barn and the styles of furniture they offer.
Restoration Hardware Products
Restoration Hardware mostly has a classic, timeless style, although they do offer some rustic and antique products as well. Here’s a complete list of the categories of products they offer:
- Living Room
- Bedroom
- Dining Room
- Bathroom
- Lighting
- Textiles
- Rugs
- Windows
- Décor
- Art
- Outdoor
Each of these categories has dozens of items customers can browse through. All their products are made from high-quality materials such as marble, aluminum, or strong wood. You can also filter the results in each category based on a range of preferences including price range, color, material, and more.
Pottery Barn Products
Pottery Barn is well known for their high-quality rustic style of furnishings. However, they also have products that follow a more mid-century modern or contemporary style. These are the categories of products Pottery Barn has available:
- Furniture
- Outdoor & Garden
- Bedding
- Bath
- Lighting
- Rugs
- Windows
- Pillows & Décor
- Art & Mirrors
- Tabletops & Bar
- Storage
- Holidays
- Gifts
Pottery Barn has some more specific categories than Restoration Hardware, which earns them a point for a more user friendly experience online. Each of their categories contain a wide variety of products, and you can filter your results further based on things like preferred price range, color, materials, features, and more.
How Does Restoration Hardware Furniture Compare to Pottery Barn’s?
The best way to determine which is the better upscale furniture store is by directly comparing some of their similar products! We’re going to compare a few of their most similar product categories to analyze which company offers better products and a better deal.
Restoration Hardware Outdoor Chairs
Restoration Hardware has an impressive 221 outdoor chairs available on their website. Most are made of strong aluminum wrapped in resin or basket weave, which gives them a durable yet elegant design. Their chairs feature comfortable cushion inserts that are easily washable and match with any other outdoor furniture you may have.
The style of Restoration Hardware’s outdoor chairs is classic, timeless, and elegant. They don’t stray from this style, so if you’re looking for more modern designs, then you may not find what you’re looking for here.
Price Range: $414-$4,295
Pottery Barn Outdoor Chairs
Pottery Barn has a wide range of outdoor chairs available, and they have several different styles as well. You can find outdoor chairs with the classic wicker appearance, as well as sleek aluminum and more modern designs.
They have a solid selection of materials you can choose from as well. They have chairs made of metal, wood, teak, aluminum, wicker, and more! If you like variety when you’re shopping for outdoor furniture, then Pottery Barn is the place for you!
Price Range: $79-$5,000+
Restoration Hardware Dining Room Tables
Finding the perfect dining room table can be a struggle. Finding something that fits your space, looks great, and is made of a durable material takes some serious shopping! Restoration Hardware has a ton of options that can meet nearly anyone’s needs.
You can find rectangular, round, and oval tables here. All their dining room tables are made of the finest materials, including solid wood, marble, concrete, and Italian travertine. Their tables follow the rest of their furniture’s classic, timeless styles.
Price Range: $2,265-$14,000+
Pottery Barn Dining Room Tables
You can find oval, round, and rectangular dining room tables at Pottery Barn as well, but they have more style choices available to choose from than Restoration Hardware. They have modern, contemporary, rustic, and more dining room table styles available, so there’s truly something for everyone here.
Pottery Barn uses solid materials for their dining room tables, and their options include metal, woven, wood, marble, concrete, and glass. Whether you’re looking for a sleek, solid marble table or a simple metal one, Pottery Barn has options for you.
Price Range: $299-$9,000+
Is Restoration Hardware or Pottery Barn More Affordable?
Restoration Hardware has a targeted focus on selling high-end, upscale products made of only the finest materials. While Pottery Barn does market themselves as selling upscale products, they have a broader range of materials and styles available than Restoration Hardware, which makes their price ranges more varied.
For nearly every category of furniture, Pottery Barn has a lower starting price range than Restoration Hardware. So, if you’re looking for something upscale but still affordable, Pottery Barn is the place for you to shop.
Does Restoration Hardware or Pottery Barn Use Better Materials?
There are some materials that Restoration Hardware and Pottery Barn both use. Each uses metal, aluminum, marble, and concrete for certain furniture items, but there are some materials unique to Restoration Hardware.
An example of this would be their furniture made of Italian travertine. This solid stone is an expensive, but extremely durable material. For those looking to shop at a place that only uses the best materials, you’ll definitely want to check out Restoration Hardware.
Which Furniture Store Has Better Customer Service?
Customer service is such an important piece of deciding where to shop, especially when you’re spending thousands of dollars on a single dining room table or other piece of furniture! Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware both state on their websites that they have excellent customer service agents who are eager to help customers with any potential issues.
However, when looking at reviews across various online platforms, you’ll see that Restoration Hardware has much better reviews than Pottery Barn concerning their customer service. They appear to respond to customer concerns more quickly, and resolve them more efficiently.
The Verdict – Which is Better?
Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware may sound like very similar stores, but they have plenty of differences. Restoration Hardware uses more high-quality materials and has better customer service. However, Pottery Barn has more affordable prices, more style options, and a wider variety of materials to choose from. If you want furniture that you know is going to last from a company you know you can rely on, then you should go with Restoration Hardware.
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Jamie is the Founder of My Home Dwelling. He is a homeowner and enjoys sharing his homeowner tips with others. He has real estate experience working as a new home construction Realtor. Jamie has worked on numerous residential construction sites helping with interior and exterior renovations. He loves refinishing furniture, DIY home projects, and sharing his knowledge online.