Explore eight recently opened showrooms around the globe that shine a spotlight on their products—from spaces that intrigue with timeless elegance to those that ignite the imagination with bold, dynamic designs.
Phillip Jeffries Dallas
At more than 4,000 square feet, Phillip Jeffries’ new Dallas showroom is the wallcovering brand’s largest to date. The space, located in the heart of the city’s Design District, was designed by Phillip Jeffries’ in-house team in collaboration with Atlanta-based architecture firm Rabaut Design Associates. The goal of the sprawling space is “to inspire designers,” says Philip Bershad, president of Phillip Jeffries, “while at the same time, [we wanted to] create an environment that speaks luxury and provides spaces for the eye to rest.” The team leaned into light, airy wood tones for custom millwork and flooring so the displayed wallcoverings—from classic neutrals to earthy terracotta and shimmering metallics—take centerstage.
Indeed, this meticulous and thoughtful curation is evident the moment guests arrive, with the welcome area wrapped in the Adorn wallcovering, a handcrafted paulownia wood veneer gilded with a luxe metallic leaf detail inspired by the ancient Japanese art of kintsugi. “The journey is so important to designers,” points out Bershad. “They start at the showroom entry and are greeted by a soaring statement wall of Cumulus Capiz. From there, clients flow through the space to a series of rooms separated by wallcovering categories. This way, the showroom is not only viscerally exciting, but it’s also easy to shop.”
Toward the rear of the showroom is a sample bar surrounded by custom banquette seating, worktables, and a hospitality bar, while touchscreen TVs are available throughout for easy access to design tools. “We have some ‘wow’ installations,” Bershad adds, “that we hope will truly give designers a sense of how it will look in their client’s spaces.”
RH Palo Alto, the Gallery at Stanford, California
A cream Venetian plaster exterior is punctuated by glass and steel French doors that open onto lush courtyards and terraces framed with century-old heritage olive trees at the RH Palo Alto, the Gallery at Stanford in California. Conceptualized and designed in-house, the 60,000-square-foot multilevel space is more than a showroom, boasting a rooftop restaurant, wine bar, and park.
Guests enter the central arrival hall under soaring 13-foot-high ceilings with natural light pouring through an expansive skylight on the third floor. The space is framed by barrel-vaulted passageways that lead to rooms showcasing the brand’s furnishings, lighting, and décor with antiques and artifacts from RH chairman and CEO Gary Friedman’s global travels interspersed throughout.
On the second floor, an interactive atelier is paired with lifestyle installations of RH Collections by globally renowned designers and the RH Interior Design Studio.
A grand champagne-hued double floating staircase ascends to the Gallery’s crown jewel, the rooftop restaurant encased within a dramatic glass atrium, complete with glittering chandeliers and a solid Biancone limestone fountain. The dining room extends out into the rooftop park, reminiscent of classical European gardens, where landscaped greenery surrounds RH Outdoor lounge spaces set against a backdrop of Kings Mountain in the distance.
“RH Palo Alto reflects our commitment to creating architecturally inspiring and immersive spaces that blur the lines between residential and retail, indoors and outdoors, home and hospitality,” says Friedman. “[They are] spaces that activate our senses and cannot be replicated online.”
Design Holding, New York
In 2018, investment groups Investindustrial and Carlyle founded Design Holding in an effort to bring together like-minded brands in an otherwise fragmented sector of high-end design—those guided by strategies like accelerated scaling and multi-channel distribution. Now, some of its companies are expanding their presence via a newly opened showroom in New York.
Situated on a bustling corner on Madison Avenue, the two-story, 25,000-square-foot flagship features collections from Maxalto, Azucena, and B&B Italia, which ascends to the second floor, where it is joined by Flos, Louis Poulsen, and Arclinea. The challenge for Lissoni Architecture New York “was designing a showroom for four different brands with very strong identities [without being] confusing or too busy,” explains Stefano Giussani, the firm’s COO.
With that in mind, a muted and timeless color and material palette of concrete, stone, metal mesh, and wood “chromatically connects” the brands, he says, creating a canvas on which each one expresses its individual identity.
Flos, for example, features suspended metal screens for its contemporary light fixtures, while Louis Poulsen’s area is rendered in a bleached wood typical of Scandinavian homes, a perfect backdrop for its Danish-designed lighting. Arclinea, meanwhile, flaunts clean lines for its modern kitchen displays, and the B&B Italia display is accented with bright colors. Further, curved metal walls partition designated areas, like an outdoor lighting section and a meeting room.
Guided by exploration, the multi-brand showroom was also “designed with a special focus on the design community and not just the end buyer,” Giussani adds. “It’s a studio experience where designers can play with iconic design masterpieces as well as light technology to build lighting creations into any project. This place is unique and worth a visit for design lovers.”
Beton Cire Paint Showroom, Chengdu, China
While decidedly minimalist in nature, the Beton Cire Paint Showroom in Chengdu is infused with a touch of avant-garde playfulness. A grass broom suspended by a strip of mint green tape against a contrasting black hallway guides visitors from the entrance into the main showroom.
In one display area, a series of pastel-toned objects sit beneath a transparent plastic sheet, similar to the kind used during construction projects, while in another area, a white ceiling-height curtain hangs on a circular track covered in brightly hued splatters of paint.
Ni Dongbo, founder and design director of NDB Design Studio, which brought the space to life, says “the details lie in the fact that paint is not limited to walls, ceilings, and floors, nor can it only be attached to flat surfaces. By integrating functional forms, commercial art, and fun applications, the products are presented in a vivid manner.” The painted objects, curated in a series of pared-back vignettes throughout the showroom, are organized in such a way that it “creates a step-by-step scenic effect,” says Ni, “attracting visitors to experience the space according to the flow of movement.”
Casa Gessi, New York
After two years of searching for the perfect spot for its first U.S. outpost, browsing nearly 150 buildings across New York, Italian company Gessi found the perfect home for its kitchen and bath fixtures in a dramatic five-story building in the heart of SoHo. Remnants of the building’s past lives echo throughout the Manhattan showroom, which was originally built as a power substation in the 1920s, converted into an art gallery in the ’80s and later turned into the home of a Hollywood film director.
Casa Gessi New York, the brainchild of company CEO Gian Luca Gessi and his sons Nicolò and Emanuele, is centered around the simple act of dispensing water. “Guests are met with a crescendo of unexpected spaces and layouts,” says Nicolò Gessi, head of digital brand experience. “While all the areas are connected by a similar theme—floral motifs in shades of amber, rose, burgundy, and dark green—each floor is created for a different experience.”
Original exposed brick walls from the building’s industrial past and movie props left behind from the former occupant were given new life, creating a space that “juxtaposes the lived-in feel of the building’s shell with the clean elegance of Gessi’s identity,” Nicolò explains. One floor reveals an unexpected indoor pool illuminated with dimmed blue lighting, while another showcases the brand’s customizable water fixtures in a series of upholstered floral trunks in a lofty, double-height lounge. Crowning the showroom is a private bar and open kitchen that extends to a rooftop terrace. “More than anything,” Nicolò says, “the desire to convey a home and welcoming feel has guided the design language through a path that expands from the product itself to an immersive culture of beauty and wellbeing.”
Nathan Litera, Paris
Nathan Litera’s newly debuted Paris showroom, Il Nostro Sogno, is a testament to the architect-designer’s deep reverence for Italian architecture.
Doubling as a home for Litera and his wife and business partner, Lyatt Samama, the space channels the grandeur of Venice and Rome, reinterpreted through plaster arches, antique marble marquetry, and marmorino paint in soft hues of light pink, beige, and ivory. Structured yet delicate moldings are a nod to traditional Haussmannian design through a lighter, more contemporary lens. A palette of bronze, pink, beige, almond green, and amber wood sets the backdrop for Litera’s Altana collection—featuring Venetian-inspired pieces like velvet swivel chairs and elm burl coffee tables—which is artfully paired with vintage midcentury furniture from Italian and French designers.
The showroom flows seamlessly through its unique triangular layout, reminiscent of New York’s Flatiron building. Visitors are greeted by an entrance that opens to an enfilade of arches, guiding them through public spaces, including a family room, formal kitchen, and living area, before transitioning to the private quarters.
“The arches added grandeur and softness, strengthening the enfilade perspectives on both sides of the public rooms,” notes Samama, cofounder of Nathan Litera Studio. The master suite, with its closed wooden dressing room leading to an open marble and fluted plaster bathroom, overlooks the lush surroundings of Boulevard and Parc Monceau. “We spend the most time not in the largest spaces, but the areas with banquettes, whether in the family room or my wooden dressing room,” Samama adds. “These are among visitors’ favorites each time.”
Lucifer Lighting, New York
Designed by Gensler’s Dallas team, the Lucifer Lighting flagship showroom in New York’s Tribeca carries the “duality of a museum and SoHo loft,” says Ross Conway, design director and principal at Gensler, thanks to its sleek, all-white surfaces set against exposed structural masonry and pipes. The linear layout of the two-story space guides visitors intuitively through a journey that begins at the street, where “everything you see is about light and art, not sales,” Conway notes. “This isn’t a mere trick of the trade—light and beauty are core to the Lucifer brand.”
Inside, an art collection curated in partnership with Berry Campbell Gallery showcases works by Ethel Schwabacher, Yvonne Thomas, and Dan Christensen, all available for purchase. The pieces are complemented by a striking installation crafted from repurposed Lucifer lighting components. This sculptural work, visible from the street, transforms from a sphere into an array of suspended, illuminated elements as one moves closer. The ground floor also features a selection of artworks—curated by Lucifer Lighting director and former gallerist Suzanne Mathews—from the family’s collection, including pieces by Francisco Toledo and Jim Sullivan.
The dynamic showroom is as much a venue for product education as it is for hospitality, with the ability to host intimate dinners to design seminars. “Spatially, the most significant issue was how to create clarity out of chaos,” Conway shares.
A continuous volume from the front doors to the rear windows establishes a hierarchy, with the surrounding spaces playing supporting roles. “The main volume is all energy, action, and light,” he adds. “The side parlor is about comfort, relaxation, and repose. The physical conflict at the threshold between the two spaces creates an emotional conflict between choice and wanting.”
Color Atelier, New York
Color Atelier’s new showroom in the Industry City section of Brooklyn is a celebration of artisanal, old-world craftsmanship and modern design.
Helmed by cofounders Burcu and Olivier Garnier, the appointment-only space showcases the company’s small-batch, eco-friendly limewash paints and mineral plasters, created with traditional European techniques and all tinted onsite.
The showroom is thoughtfully designed to engage visitors through “a curated palette, unique natural handcrafted finishes, and tactile textures,” says Burcu Garnier—from rich, velvety Tadelakt to innovative Resurface plaster applied to the floors. The showroom is not only a place for inspiration but also a hub for educational programs and workshops.
Photos by Sean Davidson, Chris Little, Yuuuunstudio, Matt Harrington, Brett Beyer and courtesy of Gessi, RH, and Nathan Litera
A version of this article originally appeared in HD’s August 2024 issue.
