- RH, formerly Restoration Hardware, just opened a stunning new flagship store in New York City.
- The store has fine art installations, a café, rooftop restaurant, in-house design consultants, and more.
- We visited the store to see just how over-the-top it is for ourselves.
RH, formerly Restoration Hardware, just opened its six-story flagship store in New York City’s Meatpacking District – and it is absolutely stunning.
The store, which RH describes as a gallery, sells everything you’d need to furnish a home in a very high-end setting. It isn’t anything like stores like Ikea or Pottery Barn.
The gallery’s opening party had more than 1,500 people in attendance, according to Architectural Digest. In addition to the high-end furniture showrooms, RH New York has a coffee bar and a rooftop restaurant. It also has a team of in-house interior designers, art installations, marble sculptures, and a glass elevator at the center.
RH CEO Gary Friedman has emphasized the company’s commitment to physical retail.
"While most in our industry are closing or downsizing stores, we remain committed to our quest of revolutionizing physical retailing," Friedman wrote in a letter to shareholders in September.
He continued: "With three of our four restaurants trending to generate $5 million to $6 million annually, and our fourth at approximately $4 million, we believe RH Hospitality is now a proven scalable business, and we plan to increase the number of new Galleries with integrated restaurants, wine vaults, and barista bars going forward."
Take a look inside the gorgeous new RH New York gallery:
RH New York, formerly Restoration Hardware, opened its flagship gallery earlier this month in Manhattan's Meatpacking District.
In the entryway were gold mirrors and recreations of marble sculptures. Most of the first floor was lit with natural light. Everything was very elegant.
Each showroom was very similar. Everything in the store had a very elegant, high-end feel to it, thanks in part to the sculptures and fine art on display and giant chandeliers hanging in each room.
There were some showrooms that were specifically catered to either a living room, bathroom, or bedroom, but others had similar collections grouped together. Throughout the store, there were shoppers lounging around on the couches.
The floors were connected by a grand spiral staircase featuring an art installation from artist Alison Berger, who in the past has worked with Hermès and Comme Des Garçons.
Downstairs in the basement level was the kids' furniture, set up just as elegantly as the ground floor. Everything in the store was white, gray, or gold.
Each floor was pretty similar to the last, with displays at the top of the staircase that represented what each floor carried, and design consultants waiting to assist you at each floor.
There was also an office space for interior design consultations.
It felt like a gallery rather than a store. Each piece in every showroom was for sale, but the price tags were hidden, and there were no signs advertising promotions throughout the store.
Nothing in the store was cheap — a chandelier cost $7,395, and one pillow cover cost more than $200. Most furniture cost well over $2,000.
There was an entire floor dedicated to outdoor furniture, complete with sculptures and fountains.
RH is emphasizing hospitality at its stores. The gallery has a coffee bar serving coffee, tea, espresso, and pastries ...
... and a gorgeous rooftop restaurant with skylights and a ton of greenery. There was also an outdoor space separate from the restaurant.
The restaurant's menu lists everything from toast and jam to lobster rolls. It serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and it has a lengthy menu of desserts, juices, sodas, and coffee. Most meals cost at least $20, and most drinks cost around $4-8.
There were a ton of people shopping when we visited, though it really felt more like a gallery than a store.
