Room & Board closes at Bethesda Row

Room & Board has closed at 7236 Woodmont Avenue at Bethesda Row. Their space has been cleared out, and this location has been removed from the chain's website. The furniture and modern design showroom opened here in 2021. In our region, Room & Board still has a Washington, D.C. store in operation.

Signage installed at HomeWorks in Bethesda

Permanent signage has been installed above the future storefront of HomeWorks at 4920 Fairmont Avenue in Bethesda. The family-owned Kensington furniture, home decor, and home interior design business is expanding with this second showroom in the Woodmont Triangle. You can check out HomeWorks' inventory of products and design services on their website. Or visit their Kensington showroom at 3740 Howard Avenue during the hours posted on the website.

HomeWorks "coming soon" to Bethesda

HomeWorks is expanding to downtown Bethesda. The family-owned Kensington furniture, home decor, and home interior design business will open a second showroom at 4920 Fairmont Avenue. That space was just vacated by Pronto Press, which has moved over to the Ellis Bethesda apartment tower. You can check out HomeWorks' inventory of products and design services on their website, or visit their Kensington showroom at 3740 Howard Avenue during the hours posted on the website.

Hardwood Artisans makes the move in downtown Bethesda

Hardwood Artisans has relocated within the Woodmont Triangle neighborhood of downtown Bethesda. The upscale furniture retailer has moved only about block south to 7766 Woodmont Avenue, in the Woodmont Crescent building. Their new showroom is larger in size, and is decorated for the upcoming July 4th holiday. All Hardwood Artisans furniture is Made in the U.S.A. in Virginia.

Hardwood Artisans to move to new Bethesda location

Hardwood Artisans' space at 4828 St. Elmo Avenue is being marketed for lease by its landlord, leaving its future initially in question when the listing was published a month ago. Loyal customers of the furniture store need not worry, however. They will be moving their showroom a very short distance away to 7766 Woodmont Avenue, in the Woodmont Crescent building across the street from Tastee Diner and Woodmont Grill. The move is currently scheduled for June 2025, which makes sense, as their landlord has stated their current space will become available on July 1. 

Merlo Point opens at Montgomery Mall in Bethesda

Merlo Point has opened at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. The home furnishings retailer stocks a collection of European-inspired furniture, art, and home decor. That includes a special Italian Collection, and a line of Turkish furniture. Merlo Point has another store in the region, at Fair Oaks Mall. At Montgomery Mall, look for Merlo Point between Calzedonia and Kickz on Level 1.

Giorgetti now open in Friendship Heights

Giorgetti is now open at 5471 Wisconsin Avenue, at The Collection at Chevy Chase in Friendship Heights. With local partner Salus Homes, the legendary Italian furniture design firm has brought one-and-a-quarter century of fine craftsmanship from the Brianza region of Italy to this upscale Chevy Chase showroom. While the store is open now, a grand opening celebration will be held later this month. Operating hours of Giorgetti are 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM on Mondays, 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM Tuesday through Friday, 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM on Saturdays, and closed on Sundays.

Photos courtesy The Collection at Chevy Chase

Giorgetti opening soon at The Collection at Chevy Chase

I have an update on the arrival of fine Italian furniture retailer Giorgetti at The Collection at Chevy Chase in Friendship Heights. A spokesperson for property owner Chevy Chase Land Co. says their showroom opening should be in a few weeks. They have leased 3000-square-feet on the Wisconsin Avenue side of the development. Salus Homes is bringing the brand to Chevy Chase.

Whether in the fields of fashion, automobiles or furniture, design is the internationally-recognized thread that runs through all sectors Italy dominates. Giorgetti represents more than 126 years of expert craftsmanship in Brianza, Italy. Carlo Colombo, Roberto Lazzaroni, and Dante Bernini are among the premier designers to be associated with the firm during its history. Salus Homes is a local design firm and retailer that enjoys exclusive partnerships with several iconic Italian brands, including Giorgetti.

“The Giorgetti brand resonates perfectly with both The Chevy Chase Land Company and the community it will serve here in the Greater Washington Region,” Chevy Chase Land Company CEO John Ziegenhein said in a statement. “Like our company, Giorgetti has a history going back over a century, yet is committed to innovation – which is palpable in their iconic designs. That aesthetic across living areas, dining and kitchen, home office and bedroom is what we feel will be compelling to the homeowners here in both the city and suburbs, homes and condominiums.”

Top photo: Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row
Middle/bottom photos: Giorgetti

First look: Janus et Cie sets opening date in Bethesda (Photos)

Janus et Cie, a retailer of luxury furniture and decor for the outdoors, has set an opening date for its new showroom at 7101 Wisconsin Avenue in downtown Bethesda. It will open on Tuesday, February 13, 2024. Initial operating hours for the showroom will be 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM Monday through Wednesday and Friday, and 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM on Thursdays. This will now be the company's only location in the Washington, D.C. region; it previously had a showroom in Georgetown.

Giorgetti opening at the Collection at Chevy Chase

Italian furniture brand Giorgetti, is "coming soon" to the Collection at Chevy Chase in Friendship Heights, according to signage posted in its future storefront. It will be located next to Joy by Seven Reasons at the Chevy Chase Land Co.-owned property. The company says the American market is increasingly essential for Italian furniture makers, but that the middlemen who dominate the home furnishing sector here are unfit to represent fine Italian products. Its solution is to open its own retail showrooms in the United States, and sell directly to customers. The first three flagship stores will be this one in Chevy Chase, one in Miami, and one in New York City.

Signage installed at Janus et Cie in Bethesda (Photos)

The sign is up at Janus et Cie at 7101 Wisconsin Avenue in Bethesda. Last night, it was already lit. The modern outdoor furniture retailer is seeking a new start in downtown Bethesda after its Georgetown showroom closed earlier this year. Founded in California in 1978 by Janice Feldman, Janus et Cie is now part of the Haworth, Inc. furniture empire. It's been quite a 24 hours for signage in downtown Bethesda!

Random Harvest closes in Bethesda

Random Harvest has permanently closed at 7766 Woodmont Avenue in Bethesda. The local furniture store chain's Georgetown and Old Town Alexandria locations remain open. Random Harvest's space has been marketed for lease since 2017, even as the store continued to operate for six more years. The Woodmont Crescent building is marketing its now-empty ground floor spaces as ideal for a new restaurant tenant. 

Arhaus moving already at Montgomery Mall?

Arhaus recently opened at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. But signage for the furniture retailer has now appeared across the empty storefront just vacated by Altar'd State on Level 1. Tenants often relocate within the mall, but usually not this quickly. This is also, I believe, a much smaller space than the one Arhaus currently leases. 

JANUS et Cie to open downtown Bethesda store

JANUS et Cie, a retailer of modern outdoor furniture for home and office settings, will open a showroom this fall in downtown Bethesda. It will be located in the ground floor of the 7101 Wisconsin Avenue office tower. Named after the Roman god whose two faces gaze forward and backward, JANUS et Cie's stated corporate goal is to honor the heritage of the past while creating the designs of the future. The company founder's name just happened to be Janice - Janice Feldman, who founded the brand in California in 1978.

Furniture giant Haworth, Inc. of Michigan acquired JANUS et Cie in 2016. Haworth and its Poltrona Frau subsidiary have showrooms in Northwest Washington, D.C. A JANUS et Cie showroom in Georgetown recently closed, so this may be a relocation to Bethesda.

Antique shop moving into former Bethesda Scooters and Boards space

It looks like the antique shop that has moved around the Woodmont Triangle over the years is moving again. Antiques are popping up inside the vacant Bethesda Scooters and Boards space at 4825 Fairmont Avenue at Veterans Park. Bethesda Scooters and Boards recently relocated right next door to their old storefront.

Homesense to open at Montrose Crossing (Photos)

Homesense is opening a store at the Montrose Crossing shopping center on Rockville Pike. The home goods retailer is part of the conglomerate that owns TJ Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods and Sierra. Homesense carries furniture, lighting, decor, art, rugs, home office goods, everything you need to entertain, and even a broad line of hardware and home improvement tools and materials. The store takes over the A.C. Moore space near Bob's Discount Furniture at the rear of the property.

A sign has been attached to the storefront, and is already lit, even though the store is not ready to open yet. Montrose Crossing has rapidly become a one-stop shop for new or redecorating homeowners, with Value City Furniture, Bob's Discount Furniture, Home Depot Design Center, Target and now Homesense all on one site. Property owner Federal Realty has also been on a home decor streak at Bethesda Row, but here at Montrose Crossing, the furniture and decor are available at a much wider spectrum of price points. Homesense touts its prices as 20-60% below competitors, achieved by intercepting large order cancellations by other retailers, or buying up inventory from chains who are clearing shelves as seasons change.

First look: West Elm opening October 3 at Pike & Rose (Photos)

West Elm, a modern furniture and home decor retailer, will open Thursday, October 3, 2019 at Pike & Rose at the corner of Grand Park Avenue and Rose Avenue. Here's an exclusive sneak peek inside their showroom.