The Tamesis
to understand Why The brand has gone full steam ahead with its European expansion, and you have to look at all the pillars that make up the RH empire: not just the high-end furniture you can stroll through and buy (if you’re within a certain tax bracket, of course), but also its interior design arm, which has set up shop on its own floor in the building. (Over the past two decades, they’ve quietly become the largest residential interior design firm in the world, working on projects from Dallas to Dubai.) In 2012, they launched their first “Next Generation Gallery” showroom in Los Angeles, whose success led to the immersive hospitality retail model they’re known for in the United States. It has prompted a proliferation of outposts in historic buildings across the country, from the former Museum of Natural History in Boston to the Bethlehem Steel Building in San Francisco. In 2023 they opened a gallery in Aynho Park, kicking off a new wave in Europe. Aniho Park is an English country estate nestled in the rolling hills of Oxfordshire, within a magnificent manor house built by Sir John Soane. Essentially, they didn’t do anything halfway.
As for why Milan in particular is high on their wish list? Of course, there is the fact that it is an international design capital. “Milan is a city of dreamers, designers and definers,” Friedman said. “Those who taught us how to inspire and create desire.” But there was a more personal reason: Friedman’s family roots are in Italy, and he wanted the gallery to pay tribute to his mother and uncle. “This is much more important to me than selling furniture,” he points out. In fact, the Friedmanns had been searching for years for the perfect Milan palace to set up shop before receiving an email with a brochure for the building they now occupied – the Palazzo Reale of Piombino – and flying to Milan the next day. Before he left, they negotiated the deal on the balcony overlooking the courtyard. “I’m sure we couldn’t have found a more inspiring home in this inspiring city,” he said.
Photo: Courtesy of RH
