CB2 review: Crate & Barrel’s design-led sister brand

CB2 is where Crate & Barrel puts its modern, design-forward furniture, and the catalogue leans harder on named designers than almost any mainstream retailer. The Curvo sofa from the goop x CB2 collaboration runs $2,529 to $3,104 depending on fabric. The Sydney dining table by Melbourne studio VUUE is $3,999 in 95" travertine with walnut legs. The Peekaboo acrylic coffee table, a long-running bestseller, lists at $499. Most of the range is CB2 exclusive, in-stock furniture ships in one to three business days, and the brand discounts seasonally rather than permanently.

Buy it if / Skip it if

· Buy it if you want genuinely modern furniture without going to a trade showroom

· Buy it if you care who designed it — VUUE, Studio ANANSI and Gianfranco Frattini reissues all sit in the catalogue

· Buy it if you want natural materials at the price point: travertine, Marquina marble, polished onyx, FSC-certified walnut

· Buy it if you want to see furniture in person before buying, which the store network makes possible

· Buy it if you are furnishing a smaller or more urban space, which the proportions here are designed for

· Skip it if you want the cheapest competent sofa, where Article and IKEA win on price

· Skip it if you need it this week and your choice is a custom fabric, since those take weeks

· Skip it if traditional or transitional is your style, in which case Crate & Barrel proper is the right door

Who CB2 is

CB2 is Crate & Barrel’s modern sibling, built for a younger and more design-conscious customer, and increasingly for apartments rather than houses. The clearest signal of intent is the designer roster: tables by Melbourne-based VUUE, the Rio collection by Studio ANANSI, reissues of Gianfranco Frattini pieces, work from Euga Design Studio in Italy, and the goop x CB2 collaboration with Gwyneth Paltrow.

That is a more serious design programme than most high-street furniture retailers maintain. It also explains the pricing, which sits above West Elm and well below the trade showrooms the designs are gesturing at.

The materials follow the same logic. Turkish yellow travertine, Marquina black marble, polished onyx, FSC-certified American black walnut — these are specified by name on the product pages rather than described as “stone effect.”

The customer is furnishing a first serious home, cares about how it looks, and is willing to spend $3,000 on a sofa but not $9,000.

What CB2 does differently

It names the designer, and the designers are real. The Sydney dining table credits VUUE. The Rio collection credits Studio ANANSI, designed exclusively for CB2. There are Gianfranco Frattini reissues. Most retailers at this price point credit nobody, because there is nobody to credit.

Materials are specified honestly. Turkish yellow travertine with visible pitting and tonal variation that the brand flags as making each piece unique; Marquina black marble; polished onyx; FSC-certified walnut and mahogany. When a tabletop is stone, CB2 tells you which stone and where it came from.

Almost everything is exclusive. The “CB2 exclusive” tag appears across the catalogue, which means you are not buying the same piece that six other retailers sell with a different badge. In a category full of white-label repeats, that matters.

Fabric choice is extensive without being overwhelming. The Curvo sofa alone comes in performance poly-linen, performance poly-cotton chenille, performance chenille, two boucles, cotton blend velvet, performance linen blend, lightweight cotton and Sunbrella performance — at prices from $2,529 to $3,104 depending on which you pick.

The range, decoded

Products worth your money

Curvo 96.5" Sofa — $2,529 to $3,104

Best for: The anchor purchase, and the piece that defines CB2’s current look.

Why it stands out:

· A nod to Italian midcentury design through its fluid curved lines, created for the goop x CB2 collaboration and exclusive to CB2

· An unusually wide fabric programme — Curious performance poly-linen at $2,529, boucles and chenilles at $2,759, Luca cotton-blend velvet and Kanvas performance linen at $2,989, Willow Sunbrella at $3,104

· 95" wide and 38" deep in the standard build, with a deeper 47.5" version available, so it works in a real living room rather than only in photographs

One honest limitation: In-stock fabrics ship quickly, but the custom fabric list runs to thirty options and those take substantially longer — plan around that.

Bottom line: Start with the $2,529 Curious if the budget is tight; the performance fabrics in the $2,759 tier are the sensible middle.

Sydney 95" Rectangular Travertine Dining Table with Walnut Legs — $3,999

Best for: A dining room you intend to keep, and the best-looking table in the catalogue.

Why it stands out:

· Turkish yellow travertine with tonal variation and visible pitting, which CB2 presents as character rather than defect — each table genuinely differs

· Designed by Melbourne studio VUUE, on a simple rectangular silhouette that lets the stone do the work

· A full size and material programme behind it — 72" and 95" lengths, travertine, Carrara marble, black Marquina marble and ebonised oak, on walnut, white oak or black steel legs, from $3,099

One honest limitation: Travertine is porous and will mark from wine and oil without sealing and care. If your table takes a daily battering, the marble or oak versions are the easier life.

Bottom line: The 72" black marble at $3,099 is the value entry to the collection; the 95" travertine at $3,999 is the one people actually want.

Peekaboo 44" Acrylic Tall Coffee Table — $499

Best for: Small spaces, and the cheapest way into the brand.

Why it stands out:

· Molded clear acrylic in one seamless turn, 16" high by 44" wide by 24" deep — it occupies the space without visually occupying it

· A CB2 exclusive that has been in the catalogue for years and spawned an entire industry of imitations, which is the clearest possible signal of a good design

· Shows off whatever rug or flooring sits underneath rather than hiding it

One honest limitation: Acrylic scratches. Owners report light surface marks over a few years of use, though yellowing is less of an issue than people expect.

Bottom line: The most-copied piece CB2 makes, and at $499 the easiest entry point in the range.

What owners actually say

Consistently praised:

· Design quality and the fact that pieces look more expensive than they cost

· Material honesty — buyers note that stone tops arrive looking like the stone they were sold

· Store experience, with the ability to sit on a sofa before committing cited often

· Fast delivery on in-stock items

Consistently criticised:

· Long waits on custom fabric and made-to-order pieces

· Delivery scheduling, which several owners describe as the weakest part of the process

· Price against Article and West Elm for functionally similar furniture

· Acrylic and light stone marking more easily than expected

The money question

CB2 sits in a specific gap: above the mass-market modern retailers, below the design showrooms, and selling pieces that look like they belong in the latter.

On the sofa, $2,529 to $3,104 for the Curvo is real money, but it buys a designer-credited piece with a performance fabric programme and genuine proportions. Article will sell you a competent modern sofa for less; it will not be a goop x CB2 Curvo, and whether that matters is a personal question with no wrong answer.

On the dining tables, the value argument is stronger. $3,099 to $3,999 for a Sydney with a solid stone top and an FSC-certified walnut base is competitive — the materials alone would cost that from most makers, and the VUUE design comes free.

The Peekaboo at $499 is where the brand is most clearly worth it, because the design is the entire product and the knock-offs genuinely do not look the same.

Two practical money notes. First, CB2 runs real seasonal sales — the Sydney 72" travertine has listed at $2,804 from $3,299 during a sale event, and semi-annual dining and holiday events recur. If you can wait, waiting pays. Second, the CB2 credit card offers 10% back in Reward Dollars on merchandise purchases, which on a $4,000 table is not trivial. Check the terms before applying.

How it compares

Buying it

Buy from cb2.com or in store. For upholstery, go in person if you can — fabric photographs poorly, and the Curvo alone comes in nine or more options at four different price points.

Note the stock distinction. In-stock items ship fast; custom configurations take considerably longer, and the product pages distinguish between a handful of stocked options and thirty-odd custom ones. If timing matters, filter to stocked.

Use the sale calendar. CB2 runs recurring events — semi-annual dining, summer and holiday sales — with reductions in the 15% to 50% range on specific categories. Large furniture is where this matters most.

Delivery on big items is scheduled rather than dropped, so expect a contact-and-schedule process. Factor that into any timeline around a move.

Questions people ask

Is CB2 the same as Crate & Barrel?
Same parent company, different brand. CB2 is the modern, design-led line; Crate & Barrel proper is more traditional and transitional. Products do not overlap.

Who designs CB2 furniture?
A mix. Named collaborations include VUUE on the Sydney tables, Studio ANANSI on the Rio collection, Euga Design Studio in Italy, Gianfranco Frattini reissues, and the goop x CB2 collection with Gwyneth Paltrow.

How long does delivery take?
In-stock furniture typically ships within a few business days. Custom orders take substantially longer, and large items go through a delivery scheduling process. Check the stocked-versus-custom labels on the product page.

Is travertine practical for a dining table?
It is porous and will mark from wine and oil without care and sealing. The Sydney collection also comes in Marquina black marble, Carrara marble and ebonised oak if you want something less demanding.

Does CB2 go on sale?
Yes, seasonally rather than permanently. Semi-annual dining events and holiday sales have taken individual pieces down by 15% to 50%, which is a real discount rather than a permanent markdown structure.

Is the Peekaboo table worth it over a cheaper lookalike?
The imitations are real and cheaper. The differences are in acrylic thickness and the quality of the moulded bend, which is where the cheaper versions tend to show. At $499 it is a design-led purchase, not a utility one.

The verdict

CB2 exists because Crate & Barrel recognised that its core customer’s children wanted something entirely different, and the brand has executed that premise with more conviction than most retail spin-offs manage. The designer credits are the proof: hiring VUUE and Studio ANANSI and reissuing Frattini is not something a cynical brand extension bothers to do.

The materials back it up. Turkish travertine with its pitting left visible, Marquina marble, polished onyx, FSC-certified walnut — all named and specified, all at prices where most retailers would be selling veneer and calling it stone. A $3,999 table with a solid travertine top and a walnut base is defensible on materials alone before you get to the design.

The weak point is the process rather than the product. Custom lead times are long, delivery scheduling is the thing owners complain about most, and the price sits far enough above West Elm and Article that the design has to justify it — which, for the right buyer, it does, and for a price-driven buyer, it does not.

Buy the Peekaboo at $499 if you want to start small. Buy the Curvo in a $2,759 performance fabric if you want the sofa most people are coming here for. Buy the Sydney in the 72" black marble at $3,099 if you want the collection at its most sensible price. And watch the seasonal sales — on furniture this size, 15% is several hundred dollars.