RH

So here's the thing about RH-it's basically what happens when someone decides that buying a sofa should feel like visiting an art museum. And honestly? They kind of nailed it.

RH (formerly Restoration Hardware) is an upscale American home-furnishings company headquartered in Corte Madera, California. But calling it just a furniture store feels like calling the Sistine Chapel "a church with some paintings." RH New York's six levels and 90,000 interior and exterior square feet feature luxury home furnishings in a gallery setting and an RH Interior Design studio with private client presentation rooms. Notice they don't say "showroom"-they say "gallery." That's intentional.

The company's transformation is kind of fascinating. Stephen Gordon founded Restoration Hardware in Eureka, California, in 1979 while restoring a Victorian home and finding affordable, high-quality hardware and fixtures unavailable. Fast forward a few decades, and the company was renamed RH, and trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol RH. They've gone from hardware store to luxury lifestyle brand, complete with restaurants and even a hotel.

And about those restaurants-yeah, RH has restaurants now. RH operates 14 restaurants inside of select RH Gallery locations. Picture this: you're shopping for a $4,000 coffee table, you get hungry, so you head upstairs to dine beneath sparkling chandeliers and heritage olive trees. It's an experience, not just a shopping trip.

The scale of these galleries is genuinely impressive. Commanding five levels and over 80,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor space, this one-of-a-kind retail experience in the historic Bethlehem Steel Building features artistic installations of home furnishings in a gallery setting, two wine bars and The Palm Court restaurant. They're not messing around-some locations have wine bars, rooftop parks, and even conservatories.

As of August 2018, the company operated a total of 70 galleries, 18 full-line design galleries, and 3 baby-and-child galleries. The company also has 36 outlet stores in the United States and Canada. So whether you're looking for full-price luxury or outlet deals, they've got you covered.

The product range is extensive too. A tribute to 20th-century Modernism, this is the largest assortment of modern furnishings, lighting, textiles and décor under one brand in the world. Transcendent designs from today's thought leaders and exclusive reissues of the most iconic pieces of the past are defined by luxe materials and indulgent comfort. They've basically positioned themselves as curators of design history, not just sellers of stuff.

And if you're wondering about the hospitality angle, in 2022, RH opened its first hotel, the RH Guesthouse, in New York City. Because why stop at furniture when you can create an entire lifestyle ecosystem?

RH isn't trying to be your average furniture store. They're building immersive brand experiences that blur the lines between retail, hospitality, and art. Whether that's worth the premium prices is up to you, but you can't deny they're doing something different.