Description
INSTRUCTIONS:
• Choose two furniture retail stores or showrooms in your area to visit. Allow
enough time to visit and evaluate each store, take notes and photos for your report.
• Visit each store and record general impressions, furniture evaluations, and overall
experiences. Look carefully at the construction methods and materials of furniture
pieces. Observe the types of accessories on display. Check the prices. Don’t be afraid
to ask questions of a sales person about the construction and finishes of furniture
pieces. Explain to the staff that you are a student and would like to explore and
observe their store for a class assignment.
• Spend at least 20 minutes in each store observing, evaluating, and taking notes on what
you see.
• Use the criteria on the next page to write your evaluation report. Write 3–5 sentences
for each evaluation criteria point in professional and objective way. Avoid comments
like: “I hated everything in this store” or “everything is old” or “this is not my style”.
Remember, as Interior Designers, we shop for our clients’ projects, not for ourselves
or for our own homes.
• Include photographs of each store into your report. This will make the assignment
more valuable and help you later recall details.
-No images from store’s online website
– Approx. image size: 3” x 5”. Label each image.
–Include 4 photos minimum from each store:
General photo of the store/ store display
Photo of the upholstered furniture evaluated
Photo of the case good evaluated
Photo of accessory item evaluated
• Add a COVER SHEET showing the assignment title, retail store names, your name, and
semester info.
* Size: letter size (8.5”x11”)
CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION
• Use the 10 criteria below to evaluate and record your visits to each store. Write these
10 questions in your report in bold texts and answer each with your observations in
complete sentences.
• Evaluate EACH STORE SEPARATELY.
• Write 3–5 sentences minimum for each evaluation criteria point.
1. General information of the store. (Name, address, specialty, contact info, etc.)
2. What was the overall image, mood, ambience, or feeling of the store?
3. Describe how the store displays furniture and accessories. Are they
organized by furniture types, rooms, or styles? Are they placed on the floor or
eye level?
4. What is the general quality level of furnishings / accessories for sale?
5. What is the average price range of merchandise sold? What is the price of
items you evaluated?
6. What is the general “style” of furnishings being sold at this store?
7. Evaluate 3 outstanding items from each store. Look carefully at the
materials and construction methods used in the furniture pieces. Observe the
types of accessories being sold. Check the sizes, finish options, and
prices. Don’t be afraid to ask questions of a sales person about the
construction and finishes of the furniture pieces.
a. one upholstered item
b. one case good item
c. one accessory item
8. Was the staff welcoming and friendly? Conversant and professional? Aloof
or cold?
9. Will you consider this store as a resource for your future design career? Why
or why not?
10. (Answer only once.) Compare and contrast furnishings/ fabrics/
accessories between the two stores that you visited. Compare your
experiences between the two stores.
PLEASE USE 2 STORES THAT ARE COMMON LIKE TARGET, NORDSTROM, MACYS, IKEA, JEROMES, MOR FURNITURE, WEST ELM. SO THAT IT CAN MAKE SENSE AS IF I VISITED THEM, BECAUSE I AM IN SAN DIEGO.
