Restoration Hardware, a luxury home furnishings brand, will open a three-story, Tuscan-inspired shopping destination at Scottsdale Quarter on November 9, 2012.
The gallery will be the most recent collaboration between Architectural Digest Top 100 design architects, Howard Backen and Jim Gillam of Backen, Gillam & Kroeger Architects, and Restoration Hardware Creator and Curator, Gary Friedman. Together with Richard Altuna, acclaimed retail concept designer, the team will unveil a Tuscan-inspired estate echoing grand European proportions with exterior walls of charcoal Venetian plaster, as well as a majestic rooftop Garden and Conservatory. The building will be dramatically lit by international award-winning lighting designer Ross De Alessi, who is widely acclaimed for illuminating historical monuments, including The Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco.
Guests will enter through striking 8-foot wrought iron gates into a private, 4,000-square-foot crushed granite garden courtyard where 65-year-old Heritage Olive trees, native Agave plants, scents of lavender and rosemary and the surrounding sounds of trickling fountains evoke a sensory-like experience amongst vignettes of outdoor furnishings. Upon crossing the garden, guests will arrive at an illuminated arched entryway where a central hall will reveal a classical arrangement of rooms with distinctive compositions of curated collections. French doors will open on to balconies and private gardens. At the center-axis an enclosed, oval-shaped courtyard will be defined by two-story walls leading to a dramatic, oculus-like opening to the sky above. Punctuating this space will be a Bellocq Tea Atelier and an International Design Bibliothèque, where vintage maps from iconic cities around the world will be integrated with corresponding magazines and books representing the global influences in Restoration Hardware’s aesthetic.
To access the upper floors, guests will ascend a three-story, double staircase that spans 37 feet at its widest point featuring custom-designed handrails inspired by the late Italian architect, Carlo Scarpa. Awash in natural light via a soaring, 40-foot skylight with suspended oversized birdcage chandeliers, the staircase will continue from the second floor to the Rooftop Conservatory and beyond. The 3,650-square-foot rooftop garden will first be experienced within a conservatory of glass and exposed steel with 19-foot ceilings at its apex. Here, visitors will discover a fresh floral boutique by renowned Los Angeles floral designer, Eddie Zaratsian, offering prepared and custom arrangements in an elegant palette of greens and whites. Opening onto the garden terrace, Swan Hill Olive trees, antique fountains, panoramic vistas and RH’s extensive outdoor collections showcased in dramatic lifestyle settings will define this spectacular space.
Upon opening, The Gallery at Scottsdale Quarter can be reached at 480.658.1201. Hours of operation will be Monday through Thursday 10am-8pm; Friday and Saturday 10am-9pm; Sunday 12pm-6pm.
For more information about Restoration Hardware, visit restorationhardware.com.