interior designer

design consultant

warehouse worker

operations administrator

visual merchandiser

Ethan-Allen

There actually was never a typical day at work . . you never know what was going to happen.  The versatility of managing a design showroom was the most exciting part of my experience with Ethan Allen.  I loved working for them.  There were everyday tasks that needed completion, such as going over the numbers for the month during daily sales meetings.  Getting projections from designers and working one on one with designers in order to formulate a sales plan so that they would meet their goals and the Design Center would exceed budgets and benchmarks.  I learned that I needed to treat each designer differently, but the same to be consistent and fair.  Differently, based on their different personality styles so that they would understand and process what I was saying to them in the most comprehensive manner for both of us.  I learned how to be persuasive without having to shout.  Each designer was treated with respect and humility no matter how good or how poor their sales were in any given month.  I also learned how to motivate the designers to be the best that they could be.  Working side by side with them and their clients from meeting until the close of a project and through their follow-up process, we were able to create a very high percentage of client retention.

My co-workers were some of the best designers that I have ever worked with.  Everybody got along very well and cared about each other and would work in a team environment for larger projects.

The hardest part of the job was having to let people go.  There were times when we hired someone who at the interview was outgoing, enthusiastic and did everything "right" to get the job done, yet when they showed up for work, there was a whole different personality than the one that we interviewed.  All the designers worked with me for 90 days in training, I would either change my schedule to theirs or they were fine with my schedule and usually by 60 days you would know whether or not they had the "passion" or as I like to say
"a fire in their belly" to be successful.  You can teach design, but it's very hard how to teach people how to engage with their clients within minutes of meeting them.

The most enjoyable part of the job was to watch both client and designer react when a project has come to fruition . . .most of the time you could see this at the presentation.  Both parties get super excited when we have done our job, by listening to the client and finding solutions that fit their budget.  It's always been an exciting environment for me to be in and I have always loved being in this business.




Management.  This location has a manager who has no understanding of the style of client in the area, and is extremely clueless about client traffic in the store and the repercussions it has on design consultants.  She also openly and repeatedly showed favoritism to certain employees.  She would discuss issues about employees behind their backs with other employees under her management.  Also she blatantly swept rampant racism and inappropriate behavior in the office under the rug rather than address it and try to make changes. 

The office environment was terrible.  As design consultants were were always told you are not allowed to call yourselves interior designers.  However, when anyone voiced the opinion that we are only seen as sales people the company turns around and says no, you are designers.  What exactly the position is at the company is not explained, it is a grey area.  We are encouraged to take opportunities to steal each other's clients.  It is a "shark-y" environment that does not encourage employees to work as a team or help each other.  Other design consultants do not think twice to talk behind your back or to insult your work.  If you ever went above and beyond to be helpful, organized, or plan an event you were from that moment forward expected to continue that behavior while other employees slacked off.

Pay and work/life balance were just as terrible.  Your recoverable draw before commission is barely minimum wage.  Though you do not make much you are pressured to drive a new vehicle and have an expensive wardrobe.  If you do not meet sales goals management will not allow any weekend days off, no vacation time, and will pressure you into working 6 day weeks.  If you were lucky enough to be approved for vacation time in this situation, you were expected to work extra days to "make up" for the time off but still use your vacation hours on payroll.  You are always pressured to complete client home appointments outside of store hours pushing work days to 10 hours regularly.

Overall it is not a great company to work for.  As such an established company I expected a much better work environment and treatment of employees.

I was fortunate to find a company like Ethan Allen to work for 15 1/2 years ago.  When I came to Ethan Allen I loved that the staff had been working here for many years, indicating it's a good work enviroment.  That is still the case today. When I applied for the position in 2005, I was looking for a career in Interior Design that would allow me to help people create stylish rooms in their home.  I got that and more coming to work for this company.  I was very successful in the Design Consultant Position, and as a result was promoted into management after 3 years.  I have enjoyed the growth opprotunities this company has had to offer.

As far as the earning potential....anyone starting out at Ethan Allen as a Designer comes in with an equal earning opprotunity to Designers that have been here for years.  I have always loved this fact.  I have seen designers earn anywhere from 60k-120k with our salary + bonus structure over the years.  Your own skill set is what will dictate your earning potential.  

The traffic is excellent, but if you are not good at connecting with people and making design recommendations then you will not be successful.  
We have seen a higher volume of projects during the COVID pandemic, due to clients being in their homes more.  

You must be strong in technology, powerpoint, excel, as we spend most of our time working on the computer to put our projects together.

Another good point in working here is you can have piece of mind that clients are making an investment in furniture that will last for years to come. It may cost a little more that other furniture, but the quality is there.  Ethan Allen vertically intergrated company that specializes in building furniture using top constructions methods.

The support and management team is fantastic, and everyone truly just wants to see you be successful.  Including your own co-workers.

Overall the Ethan Allen in Orlando is a fun, and enjoyable place to work!




I am a Certified Interior Designer with a college degree in design and have worked for design firm before. If you are an aspiring Interior Designer don't waste your time. It will turn you away from what could be a wonderful profession.

Ethan Allen is a company that had amazing product and beautiful fabrics. All the pricing is fairly priced for the quality however in this economy people are not purchasing a 8,000.00 sectional that they can get one at Pottery Barn for almost the same look. (pottery barn sometimes even has more attractive styles)

As a designer you have a wonderful opportunity to meet many clients and help many people. However, due to the 'FREE DESIGN SERVICE' Ethan Allen offers, the Customers get a free floorplan and free ideas that they can take with them and purchase elsewhere for a 1/4 of the price. THIS WOULD NOT BE ALL BAD IF WE GOT PAID FOR OUR TIME.

THIS POSITION IS COMMISSION ONLY.

6% COMMISSION

$6.00 PER HOME CALL (yes, 6 dollars) even if the home call is an hour away.

MUST WORK EVERY OTHER WHOLE WEEKEND - SAT/SUN (non- negotiable)

EVERY SATURDAY (non-negotiable)

2 NIGHTS A WEEK (until 8 or 9 depending on location)

MUST ACT AS RECEPTIONIST PART OF THE DAY (Limiting your time developing leads and/or working on projects because your tied up at the front greeting customers)

They will tell you there is a bonus if you hit the sales goal for the month. That goal is $95,000.00 (yes you read that right) This wouldn't be bad if there was 5 people working. But there are usually 10 people working.

GAS,TIME, CRABBY OLD LADIES STUCK IN THERE WAYS, AND NO PERSONAL LIFE.

DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME.

I hear things are better now, but when I worked there I saw countless HR violations from my local level managers. Thankfully everyone at corporate in Danbury CT seemed pretty awesome or I never would have lasted as long as I did. You're called a designer (and they want you to have a bachelor's in interior design) but it's really just sales when it comes down to it... that works for some but it didn't for me. Commission structure changed constantly, and restructures were rampant - so if you even had a job at the end of each month, you took home roughly minimum wage. Despite this, you were expected to dress and accessorize like you were pulling in a 6 figure income. Working weekends and nights is the norm, which is to be expected from retail. Most customers were rude. The clients you actually liked, you had to keep an eagle eye out so that other "designers" wouldn't steal them from under you. I still have close friends from this job, but there were lots of competitive and catty coworkers. Some days you wouldn't get to talk to a single customer it was so dead, and others were so busy you didn't get a break for 10 hours - also par for the course with retail. At least the showrooms are gorgeous and the product is great. A bit overpriced, sure, but still good quality. The design center is well appointed - the one part of this job that actually made me feel like I was doing real designing. Hot tip: if you're set on working here and don't want to be in sales, get a job as a visual merchandiser. You'll do more design and make more money with better hours.

Ethan Allen used to be a great company. However, COVID showed them that they could eliminate crucial positions and operate on a skeleton crew. They put the burden of the work of five people on one person, everyone in meetings is angry and stressed out, and you never see or hear from anyone in leadership. They will not maintain their buildings, so they are often dirty, falling apart, and an embarrassment. Don’t expect work life balance, as they will work you to death and not think twice about it. You will work from home, but only in addition to your 40 hour work week, if you hope to be successful. They will expect you to travel all over but won’t pay for hotel rooms. Don’t expect to be able to buy office supplies, like pens, because the corporate operations person won’t allow it.  Be prepared to spend a fortune out of pocket on what you will need to do your job. The leadership at the district level is totally disconnected, and you will never see them unless you are in a major metropolitan area.  The most reprehensible part? They will send out orders with damages from their manufacturing plants, and then deny any wrong doing, hoping that customers just keep the overpriced, sub-par quality furniture.  It’s sad really.  They were once great, but like many corporations, they only care about profits and they will treat you like an expendable number, not a valued employee.  It’s an absolute nightmare of a work environment. My advice: RUN! 

Over the three years of working, I have learned various tasks while working in the finishing department. The day starts out with a list of the number of product legs that has to be pulled from inventory, stapled, and sorted by finishing color and style number. After these tasks are completed, the legs are loaded onto the monorail line, which takes about three hours to complete the product. During those three hours the product legs are sprayed with toner, hand sanded, stained, sprayed with sealer and laquor, and then taken down to be inspected, put into bags, and labeled before shipping them to the designated departments. The day is most enjoyable when all of the co-workers work together by delegating the tasks according to each team member's skill and work hard to maximize production. The hardest part of the job occurs when the temperatures are extremely cold or extremely hot in the buildings. During the winter time, the ovens help to keep us all warm, but if it is too cold, the finishing product takes longer to completely dry. On the contrary, it is extremely hot during the summer and this causes the stain to absorb quicker in the wood, which causes employees to work faster. The heat along with the ovens has also caused employees to experience health issues pertaining to the heat exhaustion, fainting, etc.

The designers take ALL the hits at the company for the company's horrible lack of quality control. Not fair that we lose income due to the mistakes of others. Working is a grind, and you have to give up ALL quality of life with family. Forget vacation time -- yes, they back out your quota slightly, but you will NEVER recover from it. Unfortunately, it is not sustainable for most people who have families and value balance in their lives. Can you make 6 figures? Yes, but, you give up your soul to do so. I'd rather have a base that's respectable (60-70k), and then a smaller amount based on going above and beyond with individual commissions. Metrics are a joke with hitting housecall numbers -- who cares, other than mgmt! I don't get paid more or less for hitting their dumb numbers. My income is solely based on sales. Management is clueless, and frankly, the company wastes too much money paying people who have no idea what we do on the front lines. Quality has been awful lately, and I see NO attempts from managment to solve the issues that are commonplace. Instead of fixing the quality, they dump everything back onto the designer that we're supposed to "clean sell." Which pretty much means to set customer expectations that their furniture may come out looking bad when the stain is the wrong color or unevenly applied. Very frustrating.

Heed the warnings of so many others - RUN! Quality of life could not be worse. Designers are not allowed to take off on holidays, the last day of the month, the last weekend of the month and the entire week between Christmas and New Year's. Say goodbye to spending time with family and enjoying special holidays like the rest of the human population. They only care about profits and numbers, nothing else. You will work an insane schedule and put in over 80 hours a week if you want to be among those that earn a respectable pay. But, at that level of sales, you will lose your mind dealing with all the customer service issues and complaints. Yes, designers are responsible for all this as well. You will need to go out on service calls to take pictures of wrinkled upholstered pieces or take videos of sqeaking frames. All this pulls you away from the showroom, so you miss getting new opportunities. You end up doing house calls on your days off because so you don't miss new opportunities. Company is like a dinosaur when it comes to modernization of systems and advertising. They have no idea what they are doing. There are no stored client records. All paper files stacked up in boxes in the back. Horrifying lack of CRM. Company very cheap. We had to chip in to cover the cost of our all hands on deck company meeting lunch because they only allowed $10 head (which doesn't even cover a mcdonald's meal and drink). 

Fair pay and multiple commission plans options are balanced with long hours, your client's deliveries, which you must attend, scheduled without regard for your days off, endless paperwork, and items you sell inhouse cannot be scanned-- they must be painfully entered in detail on an older sales computer program. Discontinued items and fabrics are frequent even after order is opened and client has paid.

Clients who call the store for touchups must wait for the request to go through the designer, office person and branch mgr. before repairs are approved. Corporate springs mid-month promotions with 2 days notice and asks designers to stop all other work to write emails, postcards to clients to let them know. Very hectic. Many project status and networking spreadsheets must be kept up to date. Drawing sketches for instore walk-ins and weekly requests for anticipated $ closings for the month to report weekly to corporate.

Also, even the most successful designers have months where they don't make much over their draw, so pay is unpredictable from month to month. Local management is caring but very pressured by corporate since the company is public. Still, lots of prestige with the company name for the next company you interview with...

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Interior designer 321 salaries reported	$111,953 per year
Design consultant 40 salaries reported	$120,394 per year
Warehouse worker 4 salaries reported	$18.00 per hour
Operations administrator 12 salaries reported	$24.67 per hour
Visual merchandiser 2 salaries reported	$27.25 per hour

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