In the Design Industry Since: 2021
Accreditations/Experience: Associate Manager; BFA Studio Art with minors in Business Management & Economics. Certified Sleep Expert.
Inspiration to Pursue a Design Career: My grandmother taught me how to paint and draw. In which, she inspired me to pursue a career in design. I wanted to be able to create joy in people’s life through artistic expression the way she did with me when I was young.
Favorite Design Tip: Don’t be afraid to add a pop of color to your room! Even if it just an accent pillow or artwork.
Best Advice to Clients: Try to carry your measurements with you when shopping. It will make things easier on you and your designer. Also don’t be afraid to personalize the room for you, and not a trend!
My Personal Design Aesthetic Is: Modern Eclectic.
Words that Describe Me: Bubbly, Adaptable, Ambitious, Diligent, Charismatic, enthusiastic
What a wonderful experience we had here with our designer, Emily Allard! Emily directed us to what we were looking for, providing expert advice on style, design, and color! Not to be overlooked is Emily’s kind and easy-going personality that enhanced the entire buying process for us. We trusted Emily’s advice and style techniques because she listened to us, asked questions about our tastes, and even asked to see photos of our home space to get a better feel for what we were looking for. We highly recommend Emily Allard and Walter E Smithe should take pride in having an employee of her caliber! -Wiencek Family
Our sales rep and designer, Emily, was excellent & very patient. We purchased two loveseats & two leather recliners. -Michael L.
Emily A. was incredibly helpful in our search for some new furniture. She was patient, knowledgeable, and more than willing to work at our pace. She helped my husband and I make decisions we will be happy with for years to come. We highly recommend this store and especially working with Emily! -Brynn
5-Star Google Review: We received a mailer with a couple of business cards for home designers. We called upon Smithe designer Emily Allard to help us design our new home furniture and furnishings. Emily was truly a joy to work with and a terrific professional who went above and beyond her call of duty. Her designs were thoughtful, very homely and high on function and form - a good combination. After a few weeks of an exhausting process for me, but a joyful one for my wife, we decided to go with another company based on availability and quality of products versus those at Smithe. We would give Emily 7-stars out of 5 anytime -- and a hands-down strong referral to work with us in future and with anyone else that likes to use designer services. Thanks Emily!
My husband Chris and I are repeat customers at Walter E. Smithe. We worked with a specific designer for several projects and were very happy with her and our furniture .We were ready to redo our family room and visited a couple of other stores but not being pleased decided to go back to Walter E. Smithe. We were greeted by Emily Allard at the Naperville Store.
We had just gone in to start looking with no intention of buying. Emily listened to our desires and we set up an appointment for her to visit our home. She looked at and measured the family room and then allowed me to drag her through the rest of my home. I wanted her to get an idea of what I liked. She was so patient and took the time to understand us and what we liked.
In a couple of days we returned to the store and she had created a plan for our room. Her vision was pretty much spot on with what we were looking for. The fabrics she picked out complemented the new room color and fabric on our new window treatments. I wanted to keep my large ottoman and she incorporated to fabrics to compliment it. I wanted a couple of changes and she once again was able to see our vision.
I am so excited to get my new furniture. It is exactly what we wanted and if it hadn't been for Emily I don't think we would have made a purchase as quickly as we did. We highly recommend Emily Allard! She is a delightful, fun, kind and talented designer. Her vision is impeccable in meeting your designing needs. - Leslie C
In the past few years, I have gone to Walter E Smithe Furniture in Naperville to purchase my furniture. Emily was very helpful and knowledgeable in all aspects of the furniture. If there was nothing I liked on the showroom floor, we looked through some of the many catalogs available until I found what I was looking for. I was able to buy the furniture in MY price range with no pressure to buy. Very rewarding experience. -Joe W.
A big thank you to Emily Allard at the Naperville location for her help on our furniture purchase today! Very knowledgeable, and she answered all our questions! We weren't sure what to expect when we walked in, but she made our shopping experience super easy! You may pay a bit more but you are getting quality furniture! Thank you again! Definitely recommend!! -Shirley G.
My husband and I are thrilled with the purchase of our new Smithe sofa--from the first meeting with Emily in the Naperville store to the delivery of it to our home. Emily was very friendly and listened to what we needed. She offered helpful assistance every step of the way. Our conversations while making our decisions about the design of our sofa were very interesting and engaging and put us at ease about making the purchase. The delivery process was great, as well. Getting texts with arrival time and the number of deliveries before ours was very helpful and the delivery people were very polite and careful in removal of the old sofa, allowing time to vacuum, and positioning the new one. The new sofa looks great in our living room and the entire experience was wonderful! - Mary Lou L.
My husband and I wanted new upholstered furniture for our living room and family room. We met Emily at WES when we went there to test out the sofas and chairs that interested us. Emily led us toward various items that fit our needs, and she gave us information without our feeling any sales pressure. After visiting several other furniture stores, I felt Emily would be a person we could work with and made an appointment with her for a design consultation in our home. Emily took careful measurements of the two rooms, photographed all the existing pieces of furniture that we intended to keep, and even suggested reupholstering three chairs that we were reluctant to get rid of that she felt were worthy of redoing. When we met her at the store a few days later to see the fabrics she had chosen, we were thrilled with the design. Emily had really made choices based on what she could see and hear we wanted. It was a fabulous experience! We can't wait to see the furniture in our rooms!!! -Karen H.
Emily was absolutely wonderful! Walked me through the entire process with patience and humor, I felt very comfortable and confident in ordering my sofa and chair. I would highly recommend this designer and this store. -Nancy N.
I have worked with WES designers in the past, and they have all been good. Perhaps our styles just match, but my work recently with Emily has been such a great experience -- her services are worth an additional fee! She has shared fabrics, options and overall style approaches that have made the process of refurnishing our hearth room not just so much easier, but fun! I am already thinking about my next project with her! Thanks for offering not only great furnishings, but the design services of people like Emily that make my decision to shop at WES much easier. -Sherri C.
I was in the market to replace two 25+ year old leather recliners for a downsizing move. I purchased what I thought would be a great option at a very good price. Emily M. was a great help getting this done. Then we had them in our home for about a week and decided that they weren’t as comfortable as we wanted. I called Emily and she made the exchange for two different chairs seamless. They arrived today and they are PERFECT. I will always return to WES and Emily if I have additional needs to make my new location a home. Thank you Emily and WES. -Carolyn H.