Charges are triple the average. There are hidden charges in the contract. Contracts written incorrectly to reflect most expensive options.

I have had chairs, and bolsters covered, Roman shades made and throw pillows made. They have always done a beautiful job. I have never been disappointed. I have found the customer service to be perfectly fine, contrary to some of the negative reviews. Reason for 4 stars instead of 5 stars is that their services are quite expensive. But the result is high quality. read more

Overall the experience is mixed. They change over staff at this location too often. They are typically not helpful unless you are close to purchasing something. Overall, customer service is not good. The work quality with fabrics and reupholstery has been very good though quite expensive, but other products have been extremely poor quality and a headache to deal with. I would not buy the product again nor from Calico. In the future, I will visit another location and only buy fabric or reupholstery related items and services. read more

Calico is the place to go when you want the best work and the best fabric. I needed two pieces reupholstered and needed a new chair. I looked at cheaper places prior to going to Calico, for both needs. When I walked in the door, I was reminded about how different they are. The fabric options were like night and day. The furniture quality was crystal clear. The other difference was the help I received. I was on my own at the other places, wandering around and looking for something to hit me. I didn't have a creative designer. Sharon G changed all that at Calico. She did an amazing job helping me not just pick fabric, but recreate my living room. She took the time to understand my real goal and the look I wanted. And she was patient -- after the fabric was ordered, I realized I needed to make a change in fabric on one of the chairs. That took a lot of extra time and work to redo it and some pillows. I didn't feel like a bother, even when it took another three hours to figure it all out. We spent hours together getting it right. Calico isn't cheap. But it's the best. If you are buying something you'll have a few years, you don't understand them. But if you want to invest in magic for your home -- and to truly LOVE your home -- Calico is your place. My living room is like being in my "I Dream of Jeannie Bottle," if you are old enough to know what that means! Thanks Sharon and thanks Calico team! read more

The fabrics and workmanship are amazing. However, their customer service is the worst that you will ever encounter. They charged an outrageous price for a custom bedspread and took six months to deliver it. When it was fully paid for they delivered it. It had stitching flaws and I returned it to be fixed. It has now been three months and it has not been returned. They couldn't care less because it was fully paid. If a repair is necessary, they put it at the back of the line behind billable jobs. You may never see it again! Calico is the worst customer service in the world. My next decision is when to sue them. BEWARE!!!!! read more

Pros: Incredible selection of fabrics and knowledgable sales staff. My husband and I made an appointment to look at fabrics for a very long window seat cushion. We worked with Sallie - she was very helpful in understanding our tastes and requirements (kid proof), and pulled fabrics at various price points. She did the measurements for us and was fine with letting us keep swatches for quite some time (we aren't the quickest decision-makers!). The cushion turned out absolutely perfect. Cons: It was pricey, but not that much more than other quotes we got from individuals who do the same sort of work, plus Calico had WAY more selection in store. Communication during manufacturing was less than ideal. Covid has messed up all sorts of supply chains, but we had to reach out for updates more than we'd hoped to. read more

Very disappointed! I brought an ottoman in for reupholstering in November. I received the quote and was told that there was a big back log and it would take 3-4 months to get to my piece. It was recommended that I take it home and wait for a call to bring it back in. I followed up today, 3 months later and apparently my piece was never placed in the queue. So I have been waiting in a non existent line for 3 months. Thanks for wasting my time! It was overpriced anyway so maybe I am better off. read more

Rude, arrogant, couldn't be bothered and not knowledgeable about the fabrics. I made an appointment, showed up on time. The person I had the appt with never smiled, didn't say hello, I knew in seconds that I wasn't going to have a good experience. I hope their other locations are like this. Waste of time and gas! read more

Bait and switch? I went in asking about sheers for large sliding glass doors with windows above in my new condo. After being given a ballpark estimate of $2,000, which I thought was a lot, but I was willing to pay, I agreed to pay $150 to have their person come out and measure. Eight days later the sales rep called with the "real" estimate--$3,800. Had I had any idea that the final estimate was going to be almost double the ballpark estimate, I would not have gone forward, and certainly wouldn't have agreed to pay $150 for measuring. For someone with supposedly years of experience, the sales rep's ballpark estimate was entirely out of line and misleading. read more

Calico - Sheers from The Shade Store. Installation by D&D Installations. $1,000 less than Calico. - Furniture Stores Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

All I can say they are living up to their reviews: arrogant, barely notice you in store.. but do give you insane prices...

Smug, clubby and arrogant people work here. I had a chair re-covered and ordered three pillow covers. When they came to pick up the chair, they would sign nothing saying they had taken my furniture. It was done competently, but not as well as I had hoped, as the trim was uneven. Two of the pillows were three weeks late. This without explanation or apology. PLUS, they charged me for the one pillow in the store before I had seen or approved it. Perfect for the in-group North Arlington Country-Club Freakshow. read more

Terrible service and remarkably overpriced . They wanted $600 in labor for 2 swags involving 4 hems . They should go under .

Calico created custom back and seat cushions for three new chairs, including zippers and Velcro anchors. They fit perfectly and are exactly what we needed. Outstanding craftsmanship and excellent customer service - definitely the provider of choice. Thank you! read more

Drapes, re-upholstery, slipcovers, bedding, roman shades, pillows, new furniture ... they do it all. I love this high-end designer store. They have literally several hundred fabrics to choose from. All their custom work is top quality. All their salespeople are extremely knowledgeable and helpful. Highly recommend!! read more

The Staff. THE STAFF! Seriously, when you work at a retail store, no matter what you are selling, the staff must not be rude. I always find it interesting when people in customer service don't actually like people. First, let me say that I work in the industry. I have been in and out of major apparel and decorator fabric stores for more than a decade. I spend lots of money for client at these sort of stores. I know what I am talking about and I know how people should be treated. First I walked in as someone was walking out quickly saying "No, never mind, I will just go back to McLean." That was my first sign that things would not be great. I entered the store and two staff members were talking very loudly in the MIDDLE of the store about a client that was being difficult and "unless they were in surgery, it wasn't going to change." I understand work frustration, but don't discuss it loudly in the middle of the showroom floor. A staff member approached me. I was looked up and down and made to feel very unwanted. The woman told me about the sales going on as if she was being forced. Again, after visually communicating that my shorts and sandals were not wanted in her store, she finally walked away. Stock wise, it is very minimal. They have a lot of fabric to be ordered on the back wall, but very little on hand. Overall, a disappointing fabric store, limited stock on hand, and a rude staff. Do yourself a favor and go somewhere else. read more

Manager Jane & her staff are so sweet & helpful! I love visiting this store, browsing the fabrics, and getting new design ideas. :)

Calico has a huge selection of fabrics at different price points, but the customer service is terrible. Not only are the women arrogant and rude, but they don't wait on people in a timely manner. All the women in the store seem to be consulting people on big design projects. After waiting for 20 minutes for someone to check out two pieces of fabric, I left. They should either keep samples or have one of the 4 women working the floor, available to do simple checkouts. You need all afternoon for a simple transaction! read more

I was nervous based on the negative comments about the staff. I should have realized that some people have unrealistic expectations and you are much more likely to hear from whiners than from the majority of customers. The staff was unusually (for retail) helpful without being pushy, patient and helpful. I not only appreciated their assistance and advice, I observed how they treated other customers - including handling a couple who required a great deal of tact since their problems had nothing to do with fabric! I witnessed three different salespeople with different styles but uniform competence, helpfulness and friendliness. Since they are human, I am sure they have bad moments (too many customers or demands at one time). it is inconceivable to me that anyone who judges fairly would produce some of the comments I've seen. If I owned a retail operation, I would be proud to have the three women I encountered represent me. Prices and choices seemed excellent to me although I admit to inexperience. read more

After reading some of the negative comments, I felt I had to publish my experiences at this Calico location. I've built two big homes in the Arlington area in the last 8 years, and worked with Ann on multiple projects - draperies, ottomans, sofas and chairs. Ann is amazingly friendly and totally professional! I completely trust her advice and appreciate her hard work. All of the staff here have been so helpful - they are professionals and all care very much about their clients - many of them chipping in on advising me on selections and trends. It appears that some commenters don't understand that Calico is a design service center - it's not a place to drop in and take home fabric - everything must be ordered. This requires meticulous detail and attention, and requires time and focus. It might even be prudent to call and make an appointment with one of the designers, as they often have site visits with clients. I'm sorry for those who's experiences haven't been positive - but in the greater DC area, unless you choose to use a professional designer and go to the Design Center in DC- I don't know of better resource to get such a high volume and quality selection of fabrics. Ann always makes me aware of sales, and helps me get the best pricing on labor, furniture and fabric, and has been a great help with recovering furniture that I may have purchased elsewhere. read more

The "Susan" chair is NOT comfortable! Looks like the perfect chair to relax in and read a book or watch tv. It is NOT! Back and neck pain after 15 minutes. I picked out a bright mustard yellow patterned fabric which worked perfectly for me. I expressed concern that it may show dirt/wear easily and I was assured that it would not. Wrong. 2 weeks and it was a problem which no amount of cleaning will fix. Not only that but I can see a few threads breaking. It should not have been used to upholster a chair and the lady who helped me should have known that. With all costs including fabric and labor it was a pricey chair. So disappointing. read more

Worked with Sally on some romans for my daughter's room and reupholstering of some pillows and a box mattress for a porch swing. Sally is very personable. I was assured that if I let Calico do all my measurements that they would do it all right and stand by their work. I paid $120 for measurement fees. Someone came to measure my daughter's windows and then Sally came to my house to help with design and look at my pillows and mattress. We picked fabrics. She gave me a price quote, I agreed. And that was that. When I got my final product back -- the pillows were much smaller than the original pillows that I had given them. I went back to the store, the manager immediately acknowledged the problem, took full responsibility for it and then was very helpful, reassuring me that they would correct the problem. I asked her if there would be any additional costs and she said "No, we will make this right". Then a month later my CC is charged for another $300+ dollars. Thank god my husband noticed and asked me to look into things. I asked for all our bills so I could review them and sure enough they had charged me for the correction. I assumed it was a mistake and called Sally. I was extremely disheartened when she tried to 'talk me into' paying for the correction, saying "this is what you should have paid for it in the first place". That wasn't the price I was quoted and it's not my fault that you didn't measure the pillows correctly. I informed her that it was illegal to charge my card without my consent and she went back and forth putting me on hold to talk to her manager before finally agreeing to refund the charge. A very disappointing end to what otherwise was a decent experience. I won't go there again. read more

I agree with Randi from springfield, poor customer service. Never again. I was looking to spend at least $900 dollars on fabric for 6 dinning room chairs. I couldn't get anyone to help me! read more

Went back to Calico today looking for a piece of fabric to match a tablecloth I am making. When I asked about red fabrics I was told that they were all displayed up front. I told the lady that obviously I had seen those but they were not what I was looking for. The lady then got me a book of swatches to check. I didn't find in the book what I was looking for but then again I decided not to try too hard given the low, recurrently dismissive and condescending, sales effort on their part. I can't figure out how they stay in business. read more

Wondering if this store has a policy of charging you for twice the amount of fabric that is actually needed? I wanted a valence and 4 small kitchen chairs seats covered. The amount of fabric needed for the 4 chairs was 1 and 3/4 yards but Sally insisted that I needed 6 yds. I finally agreed but stated that I wanted all left over fabric back, which she agreed to. I had to go up to the manager level before the left-over fabric was returned, but got only 1 and 3/4 yds back, although it was clear that there should have been an additional 2 yds. left over. The manager immediately offered to refund for the 2 yds that had "disappeared." Same thing for the valence. Only 3 yds needed but was forced to order 6 yds. The manager again refunded 3 yds. of the lining and 2 yds. of the fabric--over $200.00 refunded. Sally was arrogant and dismissive and insisted on a cotton lining (more expensive) for the valence rather than the normal curtain lining that I wanted. The valence ended up thick and bunchy because of the thick lining material. Never again will I shop there. read more

Work with Sally at the Arlington location, she's good.

I love this store. The inventory is beautiful, but more importantly the people who work here are top notch and the customer service is outstanding. Very comfortable, personable and extraordinarily helpful. Jane goes the extra mile and it appears the entire staff do as well. We called for a very minor (low $) item and they could not have been more helpful and found a way to make it work. Saved us hours and hours of work and searching for another solution. I am so impressed, I had to add a review. It is the least we could do. We will be back. They earned our future business for sure. read more