West Elm Wednesday

Today I was lucky enough to go to a media preview tour of the new West Elm location in Durham, NC at Southpoint Mall! The store officially opens tomorrow, August 23rd, at 10am (added bonus, the first 300 customers will receive a pretty cool tote bag customized for the Durham store!). However, I will be back there tonight for a pre-opening event that will benefit SEEDS, a Durham based non-profit dedicated to promoting principles of sustainable agriculture, organic gardening, food security, and environmental stewardship through garden-based programs (cited from West Elm's August 1st press release). Why does this fit the West Elm brand so well?

This is a living plant installation at the store behind the register area. Yes, living vertical landscaping! 

In this business it's important to know where your style heart lives, and for me it's in the beliefs held by companies and their founders much more so than how something might look in a catalog. West Elm features recycled glass for their decor, organic bedding, and even the Emmerson Furniture Collection line made from old wood pallets (I'll share pictures in a later post!) Plus, two collections (Dunham & Henry) are made at a facility in Hickory, NC. Here's a video behind the scenes of Sutter Street where the furniture is still hand assembled!
On our tour Abigail (this is truly a meant to be love as my daughter's name is Abigail as well, although most of you know her as Dablet), told us how the President of West Elm often says "Perfection is never as important in a home as personality". Clearly they've seen my house! Often times when you over-style a home it can become just as unlivable as a home on an episode of hoarders. Don't believe me?! That's OK, just send me the number of your live-in cleaning service and I'll stick to my "I get more clean in 10 minutes before people come that I do all week" mentality! My home needs to be three things:

• Functional
• Beautiful
• ME!!!

This lovely find is the Graham Glider

I actually didn't know this chair was a glider until I sat on it to take some notes. I think Dablet has added this to her wishlist for her bedroom face lift!

These paper mache animal sculptures might need to come too! I'm sure you've seen many variations of these from all of your favorite designers and stores, and the word through the grapevine is that there are some fun new ones coming to West Elm for the holidays! 

At this point, I'm not sure who or what is bursting more...me with excitement, or this store with things to be excited about. The thing is, when you walk into a store that tells you they partner with local Etsy merchants for a "Flea Market in the store" day, have partnerships with 16 artisans from South Africa for their Fall collection, and believe that their customer is the type to want to mix and match their West Elm favorites with thrift store finds and heirloom pieces....how can you NOT be excited?!

Just in case you needed another reason to head over, the 15% off Upholstery Sale is going on!

I have long felt that the "out of the box" look is fading fast, and West Elm gives singles, couples, and families the opportunity to have style on a budget. Don't misread that as "cheap" because this is the store full of phenomenal style that lasts, and allows your bank account to last a bit longer as an added bonus! (This will keep my husband a happy man for sure!)

I'm off to get some painting done in Dablet's new playroom before heading back to West Elm for an event that will likely turn into a shopping spree (of sorts) for me! Have a happy hump day!