Hi Loves! As many of you know, I live in what most people would consider a “small town”. They don’t call it “The Biggest Little City” for nothin… 🙂
While I love this small town of mine – for SO many reasons – I often find myself wishing we had more options for places to shop. As you know, I pretty much shop entirely online – for everything – and I often find myself wishing I could touch and feel the things I’m about to buy.
That being said, when I heard that West Elm was opening in the old Post Office building at 50 South Virginia Street – also now known as “The Basement” – my heart sang. Yesterday afternoon, before the doors opened to the public, I was lucky enough to have two wonderful women from West Elm (Nicole and Stella) give me a tour of the new space, and again, my heart sang… it is AMAZING. Walking through their new space reaffirmed my love for this company for SO many reasons…
- The first being that they have current, and “of the moment” designs for the home. Their furniture has a sleek, minimalist, mid-century modern feel to it – and I LOVE it. Their designs also seem to be very much inspired by the fashion world (I was swooning over some incredible tassel pillows) and to me, that is huge. Add in lots of Parsons tables and desks – and my little minimalist heart was in heaven.
- Secondly, they have THE MOST wonderful selection of gifts – and as you know I am always on the hunt for easy and thoughtful gifts. I have compiled some of my favorites below.
- Lastly, I love West Elm because as a company they believe in supporting the communities in which they choose to place their stores. This last reason was apparent the minute I stepped foot in their new Reno location. Immediately to the right of the cash wrap was West Elm’s “Local” display. Their “Local” initiative started in 2013 “as an initiative that taps into [their] goal to create a positive impact in the communities that West Elm calls home… providing a platform and raising awareness for these talented craftspeople and small business owners.” <<< See what I mean about this company? They’re incredible. As you can see, West Elm is all about embracing their surroundings, and that was also apparent in the build-out of their new Reno space. The building they are located in (as I mentioned before) is the old Reno Post Office – and you can see remnants of the space’s former life incorporated everywhere throughout the store. For example, behind the cash wrap, the West Elm design team kept all the old post office boxes – and faced them with glass for all to see. It is such an amazing design element – and it really gives the space a sense of purpose and history. As you can see below – the team also used the massive Post Office safe doors as design elements throughout the store as well.
As a company, West Elm is thoughtful in their design process, they have a commitment to “do good”, and they support local businesses and artisans by showcasing their goods. I hope you love them just as much as I do.
I also hope you enjoy these behind the scenes photos, and if you live in my small town, get there today… they are open now!!!
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