Monday, December 18, 2017

Exclusive Design Report: RH Opens a Dramatic New Gallery in West Palm Beach

RH unveils RH West Palm, The Gallery at CityPlace — a four-story, 80,000-square-foot compound in Florida that reflects a dynamic new RH direction.

RH West Palm integrates all of the RH departments and businesses – RH Interiors, Modern, Outdoor, Baby & Child, TEEN, Interior Design and Hospitality. It also debuts a new concept, the Rooftop Restaurant, Wine Vault and Barista Bar by celebrated restaurateur and founding president of RH Hospitality, Brendan Sodikoff.




Public Art: The dramatic black-on-umber mural on the exterior of RH West Palm is by RETNA, the noted Los Angeles artist, Marquis Lewis. The imagery/graffiti, inspired by ancient texts and writings, greets guests as they arrive at the gallery.




The Gallery

Customers arrive at the new RH West Palm and valet park their car. This private entrance is cooled by a 14-foot-high wall of water inspired by the refreshing wall fountain in New York’s Paley Park.

On the exterior walls of the gallery is a 70-by-140-foot art installation by international contemporary artist, RETNA.

Customers arriving at the south entrance can walk through tropical gardens with loggias and terraces displaying RH outdoor collections.

An extensive designer service is offered here, so that customers arriving to plan a new bathroom or kitchen can spend a morning with a designer selecting hardware, flooring, accessories, and materials.

Three floors of interior installations include new chandeliers, walls of mirror styles, multi-media storage, handsome lacquered bamboo cabinets and tables, vignettes showing variations of bedroom , and arrays of sofas and dining tables.

RH rugs and carpets and inventive floor coverings are displayed.



RH Modern

RH Interiors

RH Interiors

RH TEEN

RH TEEN

RH Baby & Child

RH Baby & Child


Rooftop Restaurant

Guests dine beneath a soaring glass atrium with heritage olive trees, with to the sound of fountains in the rooftop restaurant. On offer: a glass of Rosé or Cabernet in the dramatic Wine Vault, or a favorite coffee drink and pastry from our Barista Bar.

“This is an experience that activates the senses and cannot be replicated online,” said Gary Friedman.

RH West Palm marks the ongoing RH signature collaboration with architect James Gillam of California-based Backen, Gillam & Kroeger. The architects have designed most RH galleries around the US.



Rooftop Restaurant

The Vault

Barista Bar


An Interview with Gary Friedman: Future Plans of RH

In a series of conversations with Gary Friedman, he spoke of the forward momentum of RH. It’s ambitious and exciting.

Friedman believes in galleries and stores. For in-depth design knowledge and for customers to understand the design process, an in-store experience is essential, he said.

“A consultation and the on-going planning process with our designers result in better planning and creativity for bathrooms and kitchens,” he noted.

RH, which is based in Corte Madera in Northern California, has plans in the Napa Valley.

Friedman described the concept for a new design/wine gallery and a Maisonry community gallery/garden in Yountville, Northern California (very close to The French Laundry).

Opposite the inventive new Yountville gallery (now under construction) there will be a series of small discreet guest cottages, hidden behind tall hedges and beneath native oak trees. It’s all very much in keeping and style with the ‘small town’ and low-key aesthetic of Yountville. Guests there can enjoy the Wine Country with an understated RH design aesthetic.

New RH galleries are set to open in Aspen and Portland.

And, most ambitious of all, RH is set to open a new gallery and a 14-room ultra-private guesthouse, all designed by RH. Hermes is also said to be planning a new store in the neighborhood.

Early elevations and plans and ‘virtual reality’ presentations of the low-key RH guesthouse offer insights into the elegant, chic and forward-thinking ways Friedman wants to approach the concept of hospitality. The plan includes a discreet, hidden-from-view rooftop terrace.

The guesthouse location at 55 Gansevoort Street (the former meatpacking district, reflects a downtown vibe and a Manhattan adventure. The evolving historic neighborhood will be a discovery for many guests.

There will also be a highly original donut counter, as part of the concept for this location. Very witty, very delicious and with limited daily production is the plan. ‘When it’s sold out, it is sold out,” said Friedman, with a smile.



Gary Friedman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer RH

“RH West Palm reflects our quest to blur the lines between residential and retail, indoors and outdoors, home and hospitality, and to integrate food, wine, art, and design.

At our galleries, clients can touch and feel and review all products in person. They can have an in-depth consultation with our designers. They can examine bathroom and kitchen hardware, and touch sheets and test sofas and chairs.

They can be inspired by our accessories and mirrors.

We want our clients to learn and see new ways to decorate, and understand new styles, to expand their design knowledge and information. They can linger, enjoy lunch, meet friends, try a new wine, get an espresso with the newspaper, plan a new home, learn about materials and proportions, find new inspiration, dream, budget, and discuss. All at West Palm. 
In particular, our clients can become experts by consulting with our designers. And designers can find us a useful resource as well. Getting new ideas is just the beginning.” 
–RH Chairman and CEO Gary Friedman

On the Menu at the Rooftop Restaurant

At the opening party for RH West Palm, guests walked through the store—and gravitated to the top floor Rooftop Restaurant. Many gathered around the handsome standup espresso bar, and others decided to taste the wines.

Backen, Gillam & Kroeger Architects created a dazzling rooftop restaurant that is both indoor and outdoor. Guests can dine alfresco in a leafy loggia—or gather at a table beneath vaulted ceilings. Chandeliers add dazzle and a tongue-in-cheek counterpoint to the seriously traditional inspiration for the interior architecture.

Wines from California, New Zealand, Argentina, France, Spain and Italy are on the menu.




Cuisine includes casual morning preparations. The ‘RH Scramble’ (Gary Friedman’s favorite) includes scrambled farm eggs, crème fraiche, avocado, and chives, on Texas toast.

As well, highlights include salads and vegetables, cheese boards, a Lobster Roll, Chilled Stone Crab Dijonaise, as well as a massive burger, a Prime Rib French Dip, and other classics.

The menu, which also includes morning and afternoon tea, and a series of elegant coffee preparations, includes cold pressed juices.


RH Design Atelier


About RH

RH is a designer, manufacturer, curator and retailer of luxury lifestyle products including furniture, floor coverings, hardware, leather collections,

The company offers exclusive collections through its retail galleries, source books and online at RH.com, RHModern.com, RH Baby&Child.com, RHTeen.com, and Waterworks.

The company is based in California. Modern new retail galleries are located in major markets, including Houston, San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York.





CREDITS:

Photography courtesy RH.



FOR MORE INFORMATION:

RH.com

RH West Palm is located at ‪560 Okeechobee Boulevard‪ in West Palm Beach, Florida.

The gallery offers valet parking and can be reached at ‪561.804.6826. Open Monday through Saturday from 10am–8pm, and Sunday 11am–6pm.