Design Within Reach Returns to Westport, Connecticut, with New Space in Former U.S. Post Office

New location on Post Road East is nearly three times the size of previous Elm Street Studio

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Feb 22, 2017, 14:53 ET

STAMFORD, Conn., Feb. 22, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Design Within Reach, the largest retailer of authentic modern furniture and accessories in the world, today announces its return to downtown Westport with the opening of its new retail space in the former U.S. Post Office on Post Road, two blocks east of Main Street. Built in 1935 by architect and WWI veteran Lansing Holden, the U.S. Post Office building was a project completed under the New Deal.

The new DWR Westport Studio looks to provide design enthusiasts with nearly 10,000 square feet of engaging design innovation and exceptional client experience.

A 30-foot-long material and color spectrum called the Swatch Wall comprises hundreds of wall-mounted upholstery tiles and offers a glimpse of the more than 3,000 custom options available from Maharam, Knoll(R), Edelman(R) Leather, Spinneybeck(R) and more.

Oriented across two floors, the Studio's 20 room vignettes integrate iconic classics with work by emerging designers.

"As a Connecticut-based company, we're pleased to broaden our presence in the local community and simultaneously continue the company tradition of historic building preservation," says DWR President John McPhee. "Our Stamford headquarters are also located in a historically significant building, which was part of the Yale & Towne Manufacturing Company complex, built in 1913."

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 previously operated a Studio on Westport's Elm Street, but the small retail footprint could accommodate only a limited product assortment. The new DWR Westport Studio looks to provide design enthusiasts with nearly 10,000 square feet of engaging design innovation and exceptional client experience from best-in-the-industry design account executives.

"We're so excited to be back in Westport," says John Edelman, DWR CEO and local member of The Glass House Advisory Council. "This town has a vibrant design community and consumers who are passionate about design. We're looking forward to engaging with them in a new space that provides three times as much modern design as before."

Oriented across two floors, features of the new Studio include:

Twenty 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 Jonas Wagell.
Swatch Wall: A 30-foot-long material and color spectrum comprising hundreds of wall-mounted upholstery tiles offers a glimpse of the more than 3,000 custom options available from Maharam, Knoll®, Edelman® Leather and Spinneybeck®, among others.
Light Cloud: A multilevel hanging installation of nearly 100 pendant lights that glow above the Studio entrance and lead clients down the grand staircase to the lower level.
Office and café solutions for home and business.
Extensive assortment of exclusive outdoor collections for lounging and dining; exterior display terraces to open in March 2017.
Private customer parking behind the showroom.

DWR continued its partnership with New York-based architecture firm DFA to bring the Westport Studio to life, as well as enlisted the help of Light Studio LA in creating dramatic lighting design throughout the space. Westport-based firm JMKA | architects facilitated locally.

Greenwich-based James Ritman and Nick Marona of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank represented DWR in the acquisition of the space.

The DWR Westport Studio is at 154 Post Road East, Westport, CT, 06880. The Studio can be reached at 203.557.6611. Open from 10am–6pm Monday–Saturday; 12–6pm 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.