The Swatch Box Review: the Best Personalized Home or Office Decor Option?
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To make your home or office look good you need time, good taste, talent, confidence, access to cool and unique stuff… the list goes on. I’ve moved several times in my life and there have been many times where my walls sat blank because I was either too busy or lazy to get things looking right. Plus, I’m no interior designer.
And it’s not just me: there are plenty of guys out there who want to wake up one day to find that their home or office is suddenly a stylish reflection of their personality. And there have to be lots of women out there flooding Pinterest with ideas they’ll never have time to implement.
But now there is a good solution to finding home and office decor you’ll love whoever you are, whatever you do and wherever you need it.
The Swatch Box is a new company that asks you to take a style survey, matches you with a home stylist who will send you a box full of handpicked home goods which you can either buy or send back in part or in whole. Essentially, finding high-quality, on-trend and personalized home (or office) decor couldn’t be easier.
But that convenience comes with a cost: there’s an $85 styling fee. But for people looking for one-of-a-kind, curated luxury goods, that’s no big deal. For people who may be on tighter budgets (say a person in a studio in NYC with just one main room to decorate), the $85 fee can definitely be worth it to find something thoughtful and personalized for your space.
When I signed up for The Swatch Box I was contacted (via email) by my stylist, Lauren, who presented me with 4 photos, each of a different room decorated with contrasting styles. I was asked which room was my favorite, which items I liked best from all of the rooms and had an opportunity to give some context as to why I made these selections. Also, Lauren said I was free to send over a photo of my space as well.
Here are the photos Lauren sent me along with my response:
“I like the art in pics 2 and 4. I like the rug and modern chair with the angles in pic 3. For sure. I’m really looking for smaller pieces to fill out the space right now. Stuff that can fit on a desk or side tables, be hung on the wall, etc… accessory type items.”
Shortly after I received an email letting me know my Swatch Box was scheduled for shipment and letting me know how to proceed. I’d have 5 business days to choose my selections one the box arrived; if the company didn’t hear from me within 5 business days my credit card would be charged in full (my Swatch Box was loaded with $1,500 worth of merchandise). Finally, I was given a tracking number which is always helpful.
When the Swatch Box arrived it was larger than I expected (which just made me all the more excited to see what was inside). Upon opening the box I found that the items were all neatly packed. All the items seemed brand new to me; not sure if this is because the company is still so new or not.
Here’s what was inside:
- 2 pieces of handmade Nepalese artwork framed in white on white shadowboxes ($200 each)
- Moss throw ($104)
- Weekender stripe charcoal/gold blanket ($190)
- Small horn desk tray ($24)
- Bone tray ($100)
- Slate picture frame ($55)
- Oval oak candle holder ($24.99)
- Smooth pillar candle ($16)
- Buffalo horn on stand ($120)
- Corvine wine preservation system ($299)
- Crest bottle opener ($60)
- Large handmade acacia rectangular board ($44)
- Golden candleholder ($45)
I also found a handwritten note from Lauren (featuring insanely cool calligraphy, nonetheless) explaining why she made the selections she did. I was blown away by the level of thought she put into my Swatch Box: she even took into account my geographical location (something we hadn’t even discussed in our conversations).
Accompanying the note were easy-to-follow return instructions along with some tape to help facilitate a hassle-free return.
And this is the only part of the Swatch Box experience that is less than fun (although they’ve certainly done everything they can to make it go smoothly): re-packing the box. A word of advice to new Swatch Boxers: pay attention to the arrangement and order of items in the box when you unpack it as that knowledge will serve you well when it’s time to ship things back.
The items Lauren sent me were amazing. It’s that simple. The quality, the craftsmanship, the variety: all spot on. It’s like getting a Crate & Barrel delivery to your house (which is convenient for me since the nearest one is 45 minutes away), but better: C&B doesn’t have a stylist, they don’t know anything about me, they don’t have as many items for guys and not having to go to the store is far, far more convenient.
The only improvement I can think of would be to possibly include some additional background information on each item: what it is, where it comes from, why it’s unique, etc.
Something that stood out to our team about the items we received was that many were made in America (which we really like). Those that weren’t, however, were still quite welcome as they were all the more exotic (Nepalese art, for instance).
We also concluded that this was a really great way to discover new items and brands you might not ever come across otherwise. In our area, there are a LOT of boutique stores along with the larger home goods chains — and there are certainly some interesting apps to look through — but to browse through them all (physically or digitally) to find similar items on par with those in the Swatch Box would take an impossible amount of time.
Discovering the Swatch Box is a boon, a windfall, a stroke of good luck. Highly recommended by the DailyTekk team if you’re looking for the best, highest-quality, unique and personalized home or office decor.
