Has anyone been to Restoration Hardware (RH) lately? I went there to pick up some shower curtain rings, and when i got there i barely recoginized the place. So i thought i'd give a Roncy Vic review of the new RH.
First impressions:
As i walked in i had this weird feeling...kind of like how Jack must have felt when he got to the top of the bean stalk. The doorways are high, the ceilings are high, the furniture is HUGE. I felt like at any moment, some giant would come out and turn me into a sandwich.
Stores:
RH has really shifted gears, the place once known for its understated timeless classics has gone through a major make-over, their stores are now painted a dark, moody brooding gray colour. And their new cardboard tags have a black background and small negative font. I actually love the look of the stores, but frankly the low light and dark tags, make checking out the items and their prices more difficult. Perhaps this was by design because once you see the price tags, you also realize that Restoration Hardware has moved up a couple of snack brackets.
Stock:
OK, so what about the funiture? Well, the only way i can describe it is "Amazonian". And just like the mythical Amazon Woman. The furniture is enormous, but also very gorgeous. At first, I suspected the manufacturer mistakenly used inches, when the design must have been spec'ed in centimeters. There was a 10 foot high armoire. Most of their mirrors were 6-8 feet tall. The style is definitely trendier than the old RH. They now incorporate a lot of Scandinavian influence (grainsack upholstery, rustic matte finished light coloured woods, etc), as well as the trend towards reclaimed wood, upcycled industrial metal and weathered wood. I also noticed, the intentional treatment of furniture as "object" and "object" as furniture - what the hell do i mean by that? I'm not even sure myself, other than to say, if you buy something from there and bring it home, it is definitely meant to make a BIG statement. Nothing there is meant to be mundane, which actually brings me to my first beef with the new RH. Used to be i could count on them for mundane...classic, timeless, luxurious elegance. Not anymore, if you're looking for a perfectly proportioned elegant coffee table, too bad you're out of luck. Instead you will find a 300 pound platform made of reclaimed wood, that can double as a stage if you and three garage band friends want to have an impromptu concert. So what's my second beef? No shower curtain rings! Again the new store is not about mundane everyday items that people need, it's about trophy furniture that people dream about. They have a tiny smattering of taps and hardware, a mere fraction of what they used to stock. Is it too much to ask a place called Restoration Hardware to actually stock...hardware? It looks like you can still get the hooks, curtain rings, house numbers, knobs and pulls on line, but they should mention that if you're looking for hardware, a Restoration Hardware store is not the place to go.
6 foot by 4 foot Balustrade Coffee table
