Palm Springs West Elm already breaking records

Home design fanatics can now rejoice, West Elm officially opened its doors to the public Thursday morning, after a ceremonious and record-setting grand opening Wednesday night.

Nearly two-dozen shoppers were waiting outside the Palm Springs location before 10 a.m., while staff put the final touches on the showroom floor. The furniture retailer will be an anchor-store in the long awaited Downtown Redevelopment project and locals say, they are excited.

“This is phenomenal for us to have this in our village here, we love it,” said Palm Springs resident and West Elm shopper Bill Litchfield. “It’s a start to many things to come so we are really, really excited about it and so glad they came here.”

The home-decor store is owned by William’s-Sonoma and Pottery Barn, but is known for having more-affordable price points. What locals previously only had access to online, or by driving a significant distance, they can now enjoy in-person seven days a week.

“It’s really nice to be here in person, and for us, not having one super close by, its been looking at things online, so it’s been completely different to see them in person and to see that chair that I saw that I really liked,” the location’s first customer Amber Amaya said.

Besides the economic value it is expected to bring to the area, the brick and mortar location showcases local artists with it’s West Elm Local Program.

“I think it’s a great way for people who come to the store to be able to get the awesome experience of West Elm, but be able to see local artists here as well,” said Amaya.

Aside from selling works from local artists — the location will feature pop-up shops the second Saturday of every month to give others a store front for their art.

West Elm is the first store of the Downtown Redevelopment Project. Last night’s grand opening was reported to be the largest in company history out of 102 locations nationwide.