Design Within Reach Marks 15th Year in Portland with New 26,000 Square Foot Space
New location anchors North Pearl District in City of Roses' oldest surviving warehouse
STAMFORD, Conn., Jan. 26, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Design Within Reach, the largest retailer of authentic modern furniture and accessories in the world, today announces the opening of its newest retail space in Portland, Ore., located in the North Pearl District's Stagecraft Building, a circa 1890 two-story brick warehouse that originally served as a distribution center for pottery and housewares.
"We're thrilled to be a part of the vibrant, evolving Pearl District and the opportunity to support the preservation of this historic building," says DWR President John McPhee. The innovative new 26,000 square foot Studio replaces the company's previous location nearby and becomes its largest showroom in North America.
Founded in 1998, Design Within Reach made modern design accessible to the U.S. market through its groundbreaking catalog and e-commerce site and has evolved into a destination for its exclusive collection of modern furniture and accessories. The company has had a local presence in the Portland design community since 2002, when it first opened its doors in the Pearl District.
"Portland is home to incredibly talented design professionals as well as consumers who are passionate about design, and we're excited to provide them with twice as much modern design as ever before," says DWR CEO John Edelman.
Drawing upon that local architectural talent, DFA (the New York-based architecture firm) partnered with Portland's Fieldwork Design and Architecture to create an aesthetically elevated Portland House, which draws inspiration from the landscape of the Pacific Northwest. The wood-slatted ceiling and dark wood floor of the partially enclosed environment reflect the warmth and the spirit of the region.
Oriented across two floors, additional features of the Studio include:
- Forty-four room vignettes integrating iconic classics by designers such as Charles and Ray Eames and George Nelson with pieces designed by emerging designers like Egg Collective, Norm Architects and Chris Hardy.
- Chilewich Shop-in-Shop: A unique space offering woven floor mats, colorful table placemats, complementary table runners and linen dinner napkins by designer Sandy Chilewich.
- Maharam Lounge: A sprawling lounge comprising more than fifty poufs upholstered in a mosaic of Maharam textiles that expands upon the thousands of custom upholstery options available to clients and provides a cozy and informal spot to relax.
- Swatch Wall: Two 30-foot-long material and color spectrums representing hundreds of wall-mounted upholstery tiles offers a glimpse of the more than 3000 custom options available from Maharam, Knoll®, Edelman® Leather and Spinneybeck®, among others.
- Light Cloud: A multilevel, hanging installation of nearly 300 pendant lights that glow above the Studio entrance and lead clients up a grand staircase to the second floor.
- Dining Test Lab: A 50-foot-long hall flanked by back-lit runway displays of the top dining chairs. Clients are encouraged to test drive the chairs and explore mixing different armchairs, side chairs and counter stools from various collections with a myriad of tables.
- Private Showroom: Designers and clients may meet with their DWR Account Executive to build 3D room renderings utilizing DWR furniture.
- Office and café solutions for home and business.
- Extensive assortment of exclusive outdoor collections for lounging and dining.
The DWR Portland Studio is at 825 NW 13th Avenue, Portland, Ore., 97209. The Studio can be reached at 503.220.0200. Open from 10am–7pm Monday–Friday; 10am–6pm Saturday; 11am–5pm Sunday.
About Design Within Reach, Inc.
Design Within Reach, Inc., founded in 1998 and headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, is the world leader in authentic modern design. The company sells its furniture and accessories to residential and commercial customers through retail Studios in North America, via the Web at dwr.com, by phone at 1.800.944.2233 and through the DWR Contract division at dwrcontract.com. Design Within Reach, Inc., is a subsidiary of Herman Miller, Inc. For additional images and information, contact Kim Phillips at [email protected].
About Herman Miller, Inc.
Herman Miller is a globally recognized provider of furnishings and related technologies and services. Headquartered in West Michigan, the global company has relied on innovative design for over 100 years to solve problems for people wherever they work, live, learn, and heal. Herman Miller's designs are part of museum collections worldwide, and the company is a past recipient of the Smithsonian Institution's Cooper Hewitt National Design Award. Known and respected for its leadership in corporate social responsibility, Herman Miller has earned the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's top rating in its Corporate Equality Index ten years in a row, was named a 2016 Top 100 Healthiest Employer, and has earned numerous global sustainability awards. In fiscal 2016, the company generated $2.26 billion in revenue and employed nearly 8,000 people worldwide. Herman Miller trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol MLHR.
SOURCE Design Within Reach, Inc.
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