Retro Inferno

First, This store is one of the amazing stores I have ever been in anywhere. The customer service Rod delivers is second to none. My Eames chair is perfect and exactly what I always wanted.Thanks Rod!

I have to say, AMAZING customer service. Quick, responsive, and willing to resolve any customer sat issues that may arise. I don't write yelp reviews much, but this one deserves it. Please help support this business, especially in times like these! Thanks Rod!

Snap, baby, snap- Retro Inferno!This store embodies the word, "sharp." I know not much about furniture "except what I like" and "what I like" generally that falls into the Art Deco/Victorian with a splash of vintage Chinese (a "splash" because I can't afford more than an accent piece or two) category. My perfect room looks like it would have been in an EJ Bellocq photograph (sans prostitutes), just to give you an idea.Of course this is the antithesis of what you'd find in Retro Inferno, but I can still admire... and appreciate. Sometimes, I enter a home that is the perfect Mid-Century Modern time capsule and for minutes, perhaps hours, I consider putting out all my furniture at the curb. If I were to ever follow through, I suppose I cold then hit up Retro Inferno and re-outfit my digs.Although the price tags here give me pause (keep in mind these are designer pieces in PRISTINE condition, so it's to be expected and this is not at all a complaint) I was incredibly impressed by the composition of things (on the main floor, which is the showroom. Upstairs there's plenty more to look at and downstairs seems to be the area that is less artfully placed and more affordable).The people who run this place are design phenoms, I tell you. Speaking of disco (sorry, this store really has nothing at all to do with disco), I kept looking around thinking that when Mr. and Mrs. Roper from Three's Company were newlyweds in their younger days, their house would have looked just like many of the "sets" in Retro Inferno. That is, I presume they had slightly loud. slightly swanky, yet outrageous taste back in their day, only by the time they were on Threes Company, the bamboo inlay dining room table with glass top got put to the curb for a wicker dining room set. It's just the natural progression of things when you are in your late 50s and down to make whoopee, you know?

There's retro and then there's Retro, folks.Knock-offs have their place, they do. But if you want the substance, you know, Herman Miller chairs that you might have actually been conceived on. This is the place.There's this teak danish desk upstairs that I'd buy in a second if I had a couple thousand laying around in my underwear drawer. The Art Deco pieces...ummm, I don't need to say anything here, frankly. You know what I mean.They have a basement full of junk too, but the quality pieces are on the ground floor. But just for the fun of it, do ask to see the basement as it's open to the public. The lamps. The Lamps. THE LAMPS!If nothing else, it's a museum and it's free. Grab your favorite squeeze, have a martini lunch, and drop in for a browse before you rush back to the office. You won't regret it.

One of the best Mid Century furniture stores in the nation, right here in downtown. Retro Inferno is the place to find authentic, mid century furniture and accessories in Kansas City. This is also a great place to casually check out when downtown, if nothing more than to see design history and how well furniture used to be made.I have been browsing and shopping at Retro Inferno for at least 5 or 6 years (back when he was on Main Street ) and have always been very satisfied with both the service and value I have been given.I think it is important to understand what the store is not first to appreciate what it is. It is not a used furniture-junk store where you can go in with $200 and furnish your apartment. Retro Inferno is all about offering original, iconic and flat out hard to find pieces you can't easily find on your own. The prices for the best pieces certainly don't seem cheap, especially when you don't know what it is you are looking at, but they are much more affordable than anywhere else in the country I have shopped. I just got back from a business trip to LA , while there I sought out some similar sort of stores (in search for the Egg Chair with my name on it!!) and Retro Inferno was easily 40-50% less than most of what I saw out there. I have been able get great prices on some awesome furniture at Retro, including an amazing vintage 670/671 Eames Lounge Chair that I am writing this review in! Most of the items are priced in line with the national market for vintage MCM furniture (they have a web-site and work with dealers across the country) but I have found that they are easy to work with and will listen to any reasonable offer by someone in the store ready to buy! And unlike most other MCM shops I've been to, the owner and whole staff is welcoming, helpful and unpretentious, which makes browsing and buying much more pleasantWhile the flashier pieces on the first floor are not cheap, there are some very good bargains (mainly in the basement) on solid, well made but less well known furniture, especially when compared to the what you can get when buying new. I have bought furniture and art from Retro Inferno across a very wide price range over the years and can tell you there are certainly good deals to be had if you look.

This is a really cool store to find all the retro furniture you want to fill your loft. Most pieces are in great shape, and the selection is huge. Their new space is really appropriate, being housed in a 1960s mod building. Don't forget to look around in the basement where they keep their less well kept furniture (those pieces sell for less!)

So...it's original mid-century/modern. The prices? High. Customer service? Not great. Store set-up? Cluttered. Neighborhood? Sketchy. Other than that, it's an experience worth waiting for. Good for that one special item you've been saving years for. Would like to meet their buyers and see their warehouse.