The larger products such as sofas and beds are only displayed in stores for customers to see and feel in-person, likening West Elm to a pure catalog/online retail company.

West Elm was founded in April 2002 with the launch of a catalog, with the concept of "great design at affordable price points".

The Toronto King Liberty store opened in October 2008, Vancouver on the South Granville strip in September 2012, and Montreal at 995 Rue Wellington in June 2013, Calgary’s Mount Royal Village shopping centre Summer 2015.

[3] In Mexico, El Puerto de Liverpool retail group operates the West Elm stores there, which number 10 as of January 2024.

[4][5] In 2010, Jim Brett began as president and sought to "humanize" the products which he characterized as machine made and "soulless" to be more creative.