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Room & Board may have outposts nationwide, but the sleek home furnishing store’s first location opened right here in Denver—and its Cherry Creek North location just got a major upgrade. Until now, the store had been Room & Board’s smallest, which meant the showroom didn’t always reflect the full collection. So when the retail space next door at 2nd Avenue and Detroit Street went up for sale, manager Anthony Colarelli thought, Why not?
“We love Denver, and we are so entrenched in the community here,” says Colarelli. “So it was just a great opportunity to expand.”
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Renovations began this past September and were finally completed this month—although, with the addition of the entire adjacent building, you might more accurately call it an expansion than a renovation.
“The additional space allowed us to show more inspirational room settings and really inspire our customers to see our products in their homes,” says Colarelli. “Our collection didn’t grow, but it’s sort of like the building grew up to be able to display it.”
And grow it did. Over the past year, about 14,000 square feet were added to the store, including a new second level and a 6,000-square-foot rooftop patio complete with a gorgeous reflecting pool. Plus, the original showroom was completely remodeled, gaining new street-front display windows along 2nd and Detroit.
But the renovation wasn’t just about adding more real estate; Colarelli says tailoring the store to Denver shoppers was a priority, too. Room & Board partnered with the pros at local firm Roth Sheppard Architects, who also oversaw two previous renovations to the store, and took cues from Colorado’s natural beauty and indoor–outdoor lifestyle.
“We worked hard to take advantage of the Colorado light,” Colarelli says. “There are a lot of balconies and that great rooftop deck; just that outside-inside kind of vibe.”
Every weekend in September, Room & Board has a full schedule of events to celebrate the newly revitalized space. Stop by for food and drinks from local vendors such as Infinite Monkey Theorem and Blue Island Oyster Bar. Plus, for each customer who visits the store this month, Room & Board will donate $1 (up to $15,000) to Urban Peak, a local nonprofit that supports homeless youth.
Colarelli says that while they’re celebrating the store’s improvements, the events are also about showing appreciation for the Denver community.
“It’s really about just saying thank you to the customers and our community, not only for their support throughout the years, but also their patience during construction,” Colarelli says. We say it was worth the wait.