We just collapsed at home after a delightful night out in the South Lake Union neighborhood of Seattle, where the brand new Seattle West Elm home furnishing store was born. At over a whopping 15,000 square feet, the shop is the first in Washington and been long anticipated by the interior design savvy.
At the helm is visionary and creative director, Vanessa Holden, (former Editor-in-Chief of Martha Stewart Living) who oversees all creative aspects of the West Elm brand including catalog, website and store environments.
Walking through the pristine and untouched store, customers may notice that displays seem as if they are glimpses of the every-day, captured in still life. Each display subtly conveys several different manners of approaching each piece. Mixing, matching and re-envisioning are at play in every vignette in the store. Each crevice appeals to a different type of customer, from playful and lively in the kids' section (but what adult doesn't love a bright yellow desk lamp?) to elegant and thoughtful, with hand-stitched sari textiles, and gorgeous, suede sofa sets.
Also notable: an art installation from local artist, Justin R. Lytle, plus a floor-to-ceiling, self-sustainable plant life installation wall.
There is not enough time in the day to discover each secret treasure that is waiting in the new Seattle West Elm. Had there not been so many eager guests at the launch party, I would probably still be there, discovering secret tea cups hiding behind cookbooks or agonizing over which style shower curtain to take home with me. The store opens to the public today, Thursday the 6th of October at 10am! Get on over there (2201 Westlake Avenue) and discover for yourself.
Images: Andie Wurster
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Love West Elm! Always great finds for reasonable prices.
I have a love/hate (mostly love) relationship with West Elm. I love that they blend form and function so seamlessly with many of their products. BUT - and a big but at that - the quality of some of their furnishings leaves much to be desired. :/ Lol, I know that I'm not saying anything new here.
I think they have a lot of beautiful things. I usually just buy small accessories from there, as the furniture doesn't appear well made. I was even disappointed at the poor construction of their picture frames. If they just made their stuff a little better, then I wouldn't even mind paying a little extra for it.
That first big photo takes me back to the beautiful Crate & Barrel on Brattle Street in Cambridge, Mass.---a glass box full of marvels, seen from the street; inside, a nicely-curated Scandinavian-tinged treasure chest. Crate & Barrel of course owed a lot of their look to Conran.
And the rest of the photos strengthen the impression. The quality at Crate & Barrel was always high, though. Is West Elm just a downmarket Crate & Barrel-classic derivative? Or shall we say more kindly, a spitting-image descendant?
Finally, that is a very unfortunate (and unsuccessful) use of the word "crevice."
I love West Elm! As a matter of fact, I have my eye on a gorgeous blue and white rug at the Lincoln Park location. I don't see it on the website. Hope it's not sold out!
Oh lighten up, Egoscribo.
I don't get this post - it's about a new location of West Elm store? Nothing else? Is it advertising?
I'm glad that a new one is opening next month on Beverly Blvd. in LA. Santa Monica was a little trek.
@kiacook Pretty sure it's about the store opening... this is the first West Elm store in Washington, let alone in Seattle. I know a lot of people locally are excited to shop the products in person without a long drive down to Portland.
Hey, kiacook, to clear up some of the confusion you seem to be having, the post appears to be about the new West Elm in Seattle, which is their first location in the state of Washington: a relatively significant topic for readers of Apartment Therapy. Because the store is new to the area, the post highlights some interesting products to be found within. If you don't live in Seattle or already have a West Elm nearby, I see how this would be so pedestrian to you. But fortunately for Seattle folks, it's quite relevant. If it doesn't apply to you, that's fine, too.
I'm interested to hear it's located in the South Lake Union neighborhood in Seattle. That area has changed so much since I lived in Seattle, it's an amazing transformation--before I would never have envisioned a new West Elm there, but now with the Streetcar and Amazon and everything else, it seems like a perfect location.