I will not put a sofa in front of a client until I have sat in it myself, so before I took on a new brand I got on a plane and went to sit in all of it.
Yes, Eichholtz is good quality for what it is. The Dutch brand, founded in 1992, makes ready designed furniture, lighting and accessories that are comfortable, well finished and full of detail you would not expect at the price, which sits at roughly half that of the Italian houses. What you trade for that is bespoke choice: pieces come as designed, usually in a few options rather than hundreds. In return, much of it ships in about a week rather than six to eight.
We have just taken on Eichholtz, and people keep asking me the same two questions about it. Is it actually any good? And how does it compare with the Italian brands we are known for?
I could have answered from the catalogue. But I have a rule: I do not specify a sofa or an armchair for a client unless I have tested it. A picture tells you almost nothing about comfort, and a fabric swatch tells you nothing about how a seat feels after an hour. So before signing anything, I went to their showroom in the Netherlands and spent the day sitting, prodding, opening drawers and turning things over. This is what I found.
Who Eichholtz are
Eichholtz is a Dutch company, founded in 1992 by Theo Eichholtz, an antique collector who started out importing Asian furniture and accessories into Europe. It has grown into a very large house: furniture, lighting, mirrors, art and accessories, nearly four thousand designs, with two full collections launched every year from its headquarters in Noordwijkerhout. You will also find it at Harrods, which tells you where it sits. It is not a budget brand, and it is not trying to be.
What surprises people is that it is a mass producer in scale but not in feel. Almost nothing is plain. There is a detail on nearly every piece, and a lot of it has an old meets new quality that I love: vintage shapes and old fashioned prints brought up to date with modern colours and frames.
The showroom
The agent had told me it would be amazing. I did not expect it to be on that level. There are something like twenty rooms, each one dressed completely, and a restaurant in the middle of it all with properly good chefs. Every room was curated beautifully and nothing had been overlooked. Even the functional lighting in the ceiling, the lighting you are not meant to notice, was beautiful.
One room had every sofa in tiger print. There was so much going on, and yet it all worked together. You would never think to put all of it in one room, and that is exactly what makes a showroom like this so useful: it is an education in how far you can push something before it stops working. I came home with pages of ideas for clients.
Is Eichholtz good quality?
This was the whole point of going, so I will be direct. I was shocked, in a good way. Every sofa and armchair I sat in was comfortable, including the ones that look as if they might not be. I looked closely at the detail, the handles, the metalwork, the stitching and the fabrics, and it was impressive. The textures in particular are very good.
I should also say that I am not taking it on only because I think it will sell. I genuinely love a lot of it. It is fashion forward in a way furniture often is not, very cool and a little bit quirky, and I would happily live with many of these pieces myself. That matters to me, because I cannot recommend something honestly if I do not believe in it.
They also do something I thought was clever. New pieces are often rolled out in a small way first, tested with customers, and only pushed properly once the feedback is in. It is one reason so little of the range feels like a miss.
How it compares with Italian furniture
It is a completely different pricing structure to the Italian brands we carry, such as Cattelan Italia or Bontempi. As a rough guide, you are often looking at around half the price. It is not cheap, but it is not crazy expensive either. It sits somewhere in the middle.
The reasons are the obvious ones. It is not made in Italy, and it is not made to order, so you are not waiting for a factory to build it for you. If you want to choose the exact fabric, finish and dimensions of a sofa, the Italian houses are still the answer, and I have written about the Italian brands I would choose for a family home.
But the two work beautifully together. My favourite way to use Eichholtz is alongside Italian pieces rather than instead of them: go properly high on the things that matter most, a sofa or a dining table, then accessorise with Eichholtz side tables, lamps and occasional chairs. It is a great marriage, and it lets a room feel layered and personal without every piece carrying an Italian price tag. If you want to understand where the money goes on the other side, I have broken down what luxury furniture actually costs.
How fast Eichholtz delivers, and the trade off
This is the part that changes what I can offer people. Most made to order furniture takes six to eight weeks, sometimes longer, which I explain in my guide to lead times. Much of the Eichholtz range can ship in about a week.
They deliver directly to the client, on a day you choose, which is even better. There is no separate transport company to book and no extra fee for that step. There is a minimum order if you want free shipping, but it is easy to reach on most projects. For anyone who needs a room finished now, or a developer staging a flat against a deadline, it is the perfect brand.
The trade off is that it comes as it is. You are not configuring a piece from scratch. That said, there are usually at least three options of each thing, and the range is so big that there is almost always something that fits. They are very on the nose with trends, but there is plenty that is evergreen too.
Who Eichholtz is for
I think it is brilliant for younger buyers, especially anyone a little creative. I can see people who work in film, art or fashion loving it, because it has that fashion girl, cool quality to it. It is also a good fit for anyone who does not want all the bespoke decisions and would rather something is done for them, and for anyone who simply wants a piece that is a bit different.
On the trade side, it is a strong alternative for high end residential developments and show flats, where the budget is real but the timeline is tight. Designers can order it through our trade service like any of our other brands.
The prints, and why I could not stay away from them
I am a sucker for animal print, and I was drawn to every piece of it in the building. The team were laughing at me. But I will defend it: leopard is black and brown, so if you think about it for a second, it is a neutral. It is just a neutral that is still fun. Eichholtz had a neutral leopard, the true leopard colourway, a tiger print, and plenty with a retro or vintage flair to it.
They are known for being quite neutral, which is why their colour collection was such a nice surprise. And if you love a silhouette but not a loud print, nearly every shape also comes in a neutral. Chocolate brown was everywhere, and I loved it, because it feels rich and decadent. If you are wondering whether a colour like that will date, I wrote about choosing a colour you cannot repaint.
What I am bringing to Barnet
At the end of the visit they hand you an iPad with your basket on it. I looked at the total, asked for the iPad back and spent a long time deleting things. These are the pieces that made the cut for our showroom:
- Side Table Pierre. Vintage brass with a thick, clear, handmade glass top that looks almost like ice. Beautiful.
- Side Table Albany. An antique brass base under a straw marquetry top, very vintage and retro.
- Side Table Manuel. High gloss grey, with a clear top over it. An interesting one.
- The Cordoba stool in leopard. The neutral leopard, and I am going for the version with rope tassels. New meets old, and such a statement.
- A three tier leopard swivel stool. Each tier moves. Unique and cool, but not so different that it tips into gimmick.
- A drinks trolley. One of my favourite things there. The shape is unusual and it doubles as a side table.
- Swivel Chair Galiano. Three different textures in one chair, and a shape I love.
- A cherry red lacquered floor lamp. I spotted it in a magazine in London before I went, then saw it in person and that was that.
Some will be on the floor for you to see and sit in, and anything in the Eichholtz range can be ordered through us. If there is an Eichholtz piece you have had your eye on, ask me and I will tell you honestly whether I think it is worth it.
Why the Netherlands
Dutch design is well known, but I do not think people here give the Netherlands enough credit as a furniture country. Everything I saw on the trip felt independent and curated, down to the boutiques and the clothing shops. Rather than lots of the same thing in one place, it was all a little bit different. The whole city reminded me of Notting Hill.
That is what I wanted for our floor: something that sits alongside the Italian and Spanish houses and slightly unsettles them. Come and see it at our showroom in High Barnet, a short trip from anywhere in North London and Hertfordshire.
Frequently asked questions
Is Eichholtz good quality?
Yes. The sofas and armchairs are comfortable, and the handles, metalwork, stitching and fabrics are well finished, with far more detail than you would expect at the price. It is not bespoke, so you choose from set designs, but the quality of what you get is high.
Where is Eichholtz furniture from?
Eichholtz is a Dutch company, founded in 1992 by Theo Eichholtz and based in Noordwijkerhout in the Netherlands. It is not made in Italy, which is part of why it costs less than the Italian houses.
Is Eichholtz cheaper than Italian furniture?
Generally, yes. As a rough guide it is often around half the price of the Italian brands, because it is ready designed and not made to order. It is still a premium brand rather than a budget one.
How long does Eichholtz take to deliver?
Much of the range can ship in about a week, delivered directly to the client on a chosen day. Made to order furniture from the Italian houses usually takes six to eight weeks.
Can Eichholtz be mixed with Italian furniture?
Yes, and it works very well. Spend more on the pieces that matter most, such as a sofa or dining table, and use Eichholtz side tables, lighting and occasional chairs around them to make the room feel layered and personal.