Eight Great Design Centers
They're essential resources for the world's leading interior decorators and architects, but these top US and international centers are also open to intrepid enthusiasts who want only the very best in furnishings and accessories for the home.
Boston Design Center
Boston, Massachusetts
Located on Boston's dynamic Waterfront, the spacious and airy center welcomes non-trade visitors via its “Designer on Call” program. You have to book an appointment (the program operates Monday through Friday,10 a.m. - 4 p.m.), but you receive a free, one-hour consultation with an in-house interior designer, decorator or architect during which you can review floor plans, discuss design solutions, or search for the right home furnishings or accessories in the 87 showrooms. The complex features products from furniture, fabrics, and wall and floor coverings to lighting, art, antiques, and kitchens and baths, among many other stylish items.
1 Design Center Place, Suite 337 | Boston, MA 02210 United States
New York Design Center
Manhattan, New York
The oldest furniture and design center in the United States, located in midtown Manhattan at 200 Lexington Avenue, has more than 100 showrooms and 300 lines of furniture, lighting, floor and wall coverings, fabrics and accessories from small and little known designers to international manufacturers. It's essentially for design professionals, but anyone can visit by appointment, as long as you have a letter of introduction from your designer. For a nominal fee—the first hour is complimentary, $100 an hour thereafter—a qualified design center representative will provide access to the showrooms and special pricing on products. The center's Interior Options program also offers advice and consultations with professional designers from $200 an hour as well as full interior design services.
200 Lexington Avenue | New York, NY 10016 United States
Design Centre at Chelsea Harbor
London, England
Just minutes from London's iconic King's Road, the Design Center at Chelsea Harbour showcases the best of British design under three sleek, glass domes. The largest of its kind in Europe, open to design professionals and non-professional enthusiasts alike, this contemporary clearinghouse offers visitors in-depth, one-to-one assistance via its Personal Shopper Service with free, one-hour and no obligation consultations. You may need it—the center has 74 showrooms with 120 design brands and a head-spinning portfolio of products from fabrics to furniture. If you're in London on September 24, check out Focus/08, a public day of a four-day annual trade show with seminars and lectures by some of the world's leading designers and a preview of stunning new collections.
108 The Chambers, Lots Road | London SW10 0XF England
San Francisco Design Center
San Francisco, California
Located in San Francisco's funky Design District, appropriately named Showplace Square, the complex is massive and includes an old converted railway center. Vistors are welcomed with open arms; it's free and open to the public for browsing each weekday from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. With more than 100 showrooms and over 2,000 designer and manufacturer brands, the center's Design Studio offers complimentary designer-led tours, as well as fee- and percentage-based consultations with an in-house designer of your choice. You can also purchase home furnishings or accessories through a design professional or buying service. Anyone looking to hold a large corporate event or private party might want to consider having it in one of the center's cavernous halls.
101 Henry Adams Street, #459 | San Francisco, CA 94103 United States
The Merchandise Mart
Chicago, Illinois
The statistics are mind-boggling: the world's largest wholesale design center; almost two million square feet of space; 120 showrooms spread over 11 floors; 30 LuxeHome boutiques; a collection of some of the world's leading interior designers, decorators and architects; and hundreds of thousands of visitors who flock here each year for the best home design advice, information and products. Welcome to Chicago's Merchandise Mart, just a short walk from the city's Magnificent Mile, where you can take a guided tour, have a private consultation with one of the professionals, or simply browse and buy. And if you're in the Windy City between September 12 and December 22, check out the center's DreamHome 2008, created by nine of Chicago's top interior design firms.
350 West Mart Center Drive | Chicago, IL 60654 United States
Buenos Aires Design Centre
Buenos Aires, Argentina
More of a themed shopping mall than a design center, this is the first and only mall in Buenos Aires dedicated entirely to home building, design, interior decor, furnishings and accessories. Located next to the Centro Cultural in fashionable Recoleta, in the heart of the city, this top design center has three levels of showrooms and upscale boutiques showcasing Argentina's best designers, brands and manufacturers. The second level has a spectacular outdoor terrace, with several good restaurants and panoramic views over Plaza Alvear, making it a tourist attraction in its own right.
Avenida Pueyrredon 2501 | Buenos Aires Argentina
Dubai Design Centre
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Trust Dubai to create a design center that's bigger, bolder and brasher than any other. The city that just refuses to stop growing—home to some of the world's most luxurious, expensive and glamorous hotels, resorts, high-rise office towers and shopping malls—now has a vast design center (some five million square feet of showroom, commercial and exhibition space) that houses the very best in furnishings, home accessories and even materials for major construction. Located at International City, it's a one-stop destination for those decorating or building a home; plan to spend the day and have lunch in the large food court.
International City | Dubai United Arab Emirates
Pacific Design Center
Los Angeles, California
A design center with Hollywood on its doorstep needs to be star quality, but the Pacific Design Center, which opened in 1975, continues to shine bright. Located at the corner of Melrose Avenue and San Vincente Boulevard in West Hollywood, this multi-faceted complex is home to the award-winning design center, as well as LA's Museum of Contemporary Art, two Wolfgang Puck restaurants, and the state-of-the-art SilverScreen Theater, making it a vibrant playground for the city's design, entertainment and arts communities. The design center itself is open weekdays, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.; it's essentially trade-only but escorted tours can be arranged through your design professional. The center can refer and recommend designers, operates a consulting and buying program, and offers limited items for purchase at trade-only prices. Call to make an appointment.
8687 Melrose Avenue | West Hollywood, CA 90069 United States
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