Between grand openings of new spaces and renovations of old haunts, the design industry has spent a busy month setting up shop. In our November roundup, BOH gathers all the showroom happenings to have on your radar.
Showroom Spotlight
The Little Greene Paint Company’s roots go back centuries: Records dating to 1773 illustrate the early days of a small pigment and dye purveyor operating in the tiny English hamlet of Little Greene, just outside of Manchester. Generations later, that “little” company, headquartered down the road from its original spot, is one of the leading heritage paint and wallcovering brands in the United Kingdom. This fall, the brand decided to take that legacy across the pond, debuting its first stateside showroom in the heart of Greenwich, Connecticut.
“It has a lovely village feel, and the design district of Greenwich felt like a natural choice for us,” says Little Greene creative director Ruth Mottershead. “It really is the perfect springboard for us to begin our U.S. business.”
The 1,100-square-foot space, which opened on October 20, displays the brand’s complete paint palette and current wallpaper collections, along with providing expert color advice via an in-store team and color consulting service. The Little Greene team wanted visitors to have personal contact with colors and patterns, so the space includes a variety of tools—including a full-color wall displaying the available range of hues, paint-sample boards, and a sliding display of wallpapers showing each pattern on a larger scale. “The atmosphere is informal and cooperative to allow people the real freedom to make the best choices,” says Mottserhead.
The brand is also actively weaving its heritage into the new space. In the store, visitors can peruse and purchase a number of period wallpaper patterns and paint colors, the latter of which have been accurately recreated from paint analysis in historic properties through key ages of design—spanning the Georgian, Regency and Victorian eras, through the second half of the 20th century. Combining its storied traditions with a mission to keep up with contemporary industry trends (including an eco-friendly commitment to lowest-possible VOC content in its water-based paints), Little Greene is ready to tap into the U.S. design market—a journey that’s starting with its New England outpost.
“The opening is very important for us, as it announces our arrival to the American market,” says Mottershead. “We are delighted with the reception we have had in Greenwich so far. We are looking forward to welcoming people into the showroom and helping them with their projects.”
9 E. Putnam Ave., Greenwich, Connecticut
California
Il Buco Vita debuted its first shop outside of its New York headquarters with a new location in Culver City. The lofty space—complete with a wraparound terrace and outdoor seating—serves as the new West Coast destination for the brand’s home decor and antiques.
8820 Washington Blvd., Suite 101, Culver City
Armadillo’s new American flagship and head office opened last month in L.A.’s La Cienega Design Quarter. The 3,770-square-foot warehouse space, designed by Studio Goss, showcases the brand’s full product portfolio in a gallery like setting inspired by the high fashion ateliers of Paris and Tokyo, with rug samples arranged along hanging rails like garments. The new showroom also runs on 100 percent renewable energy, in alignment with Armadillo’s B Corp status.
937 N. La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles
New York
RH unveiled the new Champagne & Caviar Bar at the RH Guesthouse in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District. Along with a menu of curated dishes topped with Petrossian caviar, the 32-seat lounge includes design details such as a European white oak staircase, iridescent champagne-lacquer walls, hand-blown amber glass ceilings and Calacatta gold-marble tables. The company plans to replicate the concept with outposts in Paris, London and Aspen, Colorado, over the next three years.
55 Gansevoort St., New York
Kasthall debuted a new flagship store in SoHo, containing its extensive rug collections as well as collaborations with architects and designers from around the world. The space marks the 135-year-old Swedish brand’s first brick-and-mortar location in New York, adding to its existing stores in Stockholm, Malmö, and Milan.
29 Howard St., New York
International manufacturer Andreu World revealed its newly renovated flagship store at the New York Design Center. The expansion marks the furniture company’s second largest showroom behind its headquarters in Valencia, Spain—at over 10,000 square feet, the location now features a broader selection of Andreu World’s contemporary pieces created in collaboration with designers from across the globe.
200 Lexington Ave., Suite 1111, New York
Rosemary Hallgarten expanded her brand’s showroom in the New York Design Center. The 2,053-square-foot redesigned space houses a vast variety of the alpaca the designer is best known for, along with the company’s entire product categories of rugs, fabric and accessories, spanning alpaca, shearling, an indoor-outdoor collection and more.
200 Lexington Ave., Suite 409, New York
Furniture gallery Garde opened a new location in midtown Manhattan, adding to its existing ones in Dallas and Los Angeles. The 2,400-square-foot space spans two levels, exhibiting the work of a variety of artists and makers, including Apparatus, Bec Brittain and Matter Made.
223 E. 60th St., New York
Global design marketplace Baboo unveiled its new showroom and retail space in Tribeca. The 1,100-square-foot space situates the platform’s offerings within immersive vignettes that display a range of hand-crafted items from around the world, including furniture, kitchenware, decorative objects, children’s products, lighting fixtures and rugs.
90 Franklin St., New York
Minneapolis-based furnishings brand Blu Dot unveiled its second New York showroom: a new 14,000-square-foot flagship in the Midtown East design district. Designed by Brooklyn-based architecture and design practice Peterson Rich Office, the two-floor space includes a rooftop terrace, a bold tomato-red paint scheme and perforated felt wall panels, providing the ideal backdrop for the company’s selection of residential and commercial products.
715 Lexington Ave., New York
Crate & Barrel debuted a new 23,000-square-foot flagship store in the Flatiron District. Located within the historic Palace of Trade building, the space features restored columns and updated modern design touches, along with two Design Desk areas where visitors can visit monogram stations and a botanical shop, or explore intricate fixture walls for swatches, hardware, lighting and more.
881 Broadway, New York
Modern furniture brand Industry West revealed a newly renovated version of its SoHo showroom. According to co-founder Anne England, the space’s new look showcases the brand’s collections as a museum installation experience, removing a large shelving area and checkout booth to display Industry West’s product portfolio in an airy open-format setting.
14 Crosby St., New York
Up in Dutchess County, Hudson Valley Lighting Group revealed its newly expanded Wappingers Falls headquarters, debuting a more comprehensive selection of the brand’s lighting and adding roughly 16,000 square feet to the original site. The space now spans 26,000 square feet and features new additions such as a state-of-the-art product design studio, an expanded sample library and a 3D printing machine.
151 Airport Dr., Wappingers Falls
Florida
Adriana Hoyos debuted a new design atelier in Coral Gables. Along with a variety of customizable furniture selections—including pieces from the designer’s 14 namesake collections—the 2,500-square-foot Miami-area location allows visitors to work with in-house designers to plan their spaces.
2725 Salzedo St., Coral Gables
Indiana
RH unveiled its latest retail location: in a Palladian-inspired villa on a 151-acre Indianapolis estate. The Gallery at DeHaan Estate—the former home of the late businesswoman and philanthropist Christel DeHaan—features a restaurant, wine bar and lakeside terrace, along with home furnishings collections from RH Interiors, Contemporary, Modern and Outdoor, as well as art and antiques.
4501 North Michigan Rd., Indianapolis
North Carolina
Caesarstone has reopened its flagship in Charlotte as the brand’s newest design center. The space now functions as the only site in North America where professionals can shop the company’s entire product portfolio—including quartz, porcelain and natural stone—while also enjoying a place to work, plan and source inspiration for projects.
11415 Granite St., Suite B, Charlotte
Texas
L’Atelier Paris Haute Design opened a new flagship showroom in Dallas, adding to its existing direct-to-consumer locations in Miami, New York and Los Angeles. Inside the space, French white oak floors and nude walls highlight the brand’s array of kitchen vignettes, including its outdoor BBQ cooking suites, Au Café coffee bar and La Grande Cuisine Professionnelle cooking range.
150 Turtle Creek Blvd., #102, Dallas
Washington, D.C.
Boffi|DePadova revamped and expanded its showroom in Georgetown’s design district, doubling the floor space to 6,275 square feet and bringing all of the company’s brands under one roof. Complete with exposed brick, soaring skylights and an outdoor terrace, the historic two-floor building in Cady’s Alley displays kitchen, bathroom and wardrobe systems from Boffi; partitions from ADL; furniture pieces from DePadova; and more.
3320 M St. NW, Washington, D.C.
B&B Italia debuted a new flagship space in Cady’s Alley, marking its sixth brick-and-mortar location in the U.S. The 12,809-square-foot, three-story showroom offers full-home design services ranging from kitchens to closets and lighting, along with a selection of products from brands under B&B Italia Group’s umbrella, including Maxalto, Azucena and Arclinea.
3330 M St. NW, Washington, D.C.
