If you thought the days of big furniture stores were over, think again. Arhaus, the sustainably sourced furniture and decor store has opened an 18,000-square-foot store at The Grove, defying the trend for smaller retail shops. The company has completely renovated the former Maggiano’s restaurant into a furniture showroom on two floors with two outdoor patios.
The company was founded in 1986 by John Reed and his father and is headquartered in Boston Heights, Ohio. The company was started because the Reeds enjoyed traveling and picking up cool furniture and art pieces, according to Hannah Whitford, PR Director.
“They just loved the furniture and would ship things back home where they were selling them as a one-off out of their garage. Then, they opened in a store and, as they continued to travel and shop, they started building relationships with different vendors they admired,” explained Whitford. Fast forward to today, Arhaus is a public company with a significant e-commerce operation and 98 retail showrooms.
“We are opening nearly a dozen a year showrooms a year,” said Whitford. “The Grove is one of our largest, it’s kind of like a flagship for the company because of its size and over 4,000 square feet of outdoor space.”
The two outdoor patios, one on each floor of the showroom, are filled with LA climate-appropriate furniture allowing the company to showcase their designs for the LA indoor-outdoor lifestyle, explained Whitford. All the furniture is customizable and there is a design center where customers can peruse all the fabrics and material options.
As for their style, “We follow trends, and we’re on trend, but we’re not trendy, we want you to keep the furniture for a long time” explained Whitford. “Twelve tons of furniture ends up in landfills every year. We don’t think furniture should ever end up in a landfill. If you make high-quality furniture, it will get passed down for generations. For our CEO sustainability is one of his top priorities.”
The showroom is open daily and there’s a 4th of July sale going on!
