Home decor and more
Furnishings, food, wine make gallery feel like home.
RH West Palm Beach is a spectacular place.
Restoration Hardware’s new 80,000-square-foot luxury home furnishings gallery opened Nov. 19 on a prime hunk of real estate at 560 Okeechobee Blvd. It is a one-of-a-kind fusion of furniture and food, a concept the company says blends residential and retail, indoors and outdoors, home and hospitality.
The estimated $26 million, mansionlike building is nestled in the center of the boulevard across from CityPlace and the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts. It serves as a central focal point along the bustling thoroughfare. The store is one of 10 in the country (there’s another in Tampa). Each is unique, selling a macro collection of what’s found in Restoration Hardware stores in malls. But these large-scale galleries offer many amenities that cater to an elite clientele. The name’s been abbreviated to nudge the brand away from knobs, hooks and hinges.
RH features four floors of high-end furniture for indoors and out, decorative objects, bathrooms, lighting (oh, those chandeliers!), rugs, textiles, all modern and beautiful (the catalog is an inch thick). But most interesting is the rooftop restaurant by Chicago restaurateur Brendan Sodikoff. The swanky RH Rooftop eatery has a soaring glass atrium and 16-foot-tall birds of paradise situated around a large, trickling fountain in the central courtyard. That shares space with the Wine Vaults, all brass, crystal, black and white, where you can sip a glass and find a comfy spot to relax on the wrap-around patio, which has expansive views of the city. Or, nibble on confections inspired by the chef ’s famed Windy Citybased Doughnut Vault in the Pantry & Barista Bar.
There’s more: At the eastern entrance is a 14-foot waterfall inspired by the famous wall of water in New York’s Paley Park. The building’s facade is adorned with a 70-foot-by-140-foot-wide mural by Retna. The Los Angeles-based artist, whose real
name is Marquis Lewis, is known for interesting mashups of hieroglyphics, graffiti and black letter.
There is an atelier offering design services with access to a library of fabrics, leathers and hardware finishes.
The company has a $100 annual membership program that offers free design services and a 25 percent discount on all goods.
To celebrate the grand opening, Matthew McConaughey and his wife, Brazilian actress Camila Alves, were among the 3,000 guests who attended a gala preview party on Nov. 18.
The hunky actor is being spotted around South Florida while filming “The Beach Bum,” due in 2018.
RH will be right at home situated across the bridge from tony Palm Beach, where there is another grand opening at the Royal Poinciana Plaza on Dec. 1. The holiday decorations are up and the tree will be lighted at a 6:30 p.m. ceremony.
The newly refurbished 180,000-square-foot shopping center, at 340 Royal Poinciana Way, is a stone’s throw from The Breakers and Whitehall, Henry Flagler’s stunning Gilded Age mansion-turned-museum, also beautifully decorated for the season.
The plaza was designed by renowned architect John Volk in the 1950s, and has been lovingly restored.
It’s attracted luxury retailers including Saint Laurent, Cynthia Rowley, Assouline, Collective, Valentina Kova, Theory, Big Flower, Vespa, Cremieux, Magasin, Serenella. Hermès, which is moving from nearby Worth Avenue, is under construction. An opening date has not been announced.
Pop in at Sant Ambroeus, which fits right in with its chic, retro vibe, to dine on Italian specialties or have a cocktail or cappuccino at the bar.
Another tasty option coming soon: The Honor Bar at the Palm Beach Grill, part of the Hillstone Restaurant Group, which operates Houston’s.