How much would you pay for smoke and mirrors?

My eyes widened as I read that Restoration Hardware (RH) was opening a location on the Champs-Élysée. I scrolled past the images online from the opening soirée with various international celebrities strolling through the new location, champagne in hand. Curious to know how others were reacting, I checked the comments section and found polarzing reactions. Some were excited this “luxury American home furnishings brand” was coming to Paris while others were quick to call out the low-quality, high priced furnishings and directed people to head to the flea market to find better quality items. I’m with the latter.

However, my curiousity got to me and I decided to visit the new space. For any industry, Paris is a market with high standards and expectations, and I was curious to see how they had translated the RH brand for the Parisian market. I walked over to the Champs-Élysée with my two year-old in tow thinking I could also take the oportunity to give her an early lesson in how to identify marketing schemes (spoiler alert, it was a master class).

As I strolled through the gilded gates, previously home to Abercombie & Fitch, I walked down the stone path lined with meticulously pruned hedges and was serendaded by soft music emitting from outdoor speakers. The path ended opening up to a terrace with pairs of upholstered outdoor sofas facing cement and glass gas fireplaces. It was a manicured welcome, I must say.

Entering the main building or the Gallery as it is referred to, there are a pair of wall fountains with the inscription “In Paris, the measure is in eternity. This we know, and have built accordingly.” This vision statement is an excerpt from the dramatic short-film/letter to Paris on the homepage of their website. The film opens with images of prized Parisian monuments and buildings - the Grand Palais, the Petit Palais, the Bourse de Commerce. The black and white scenes paired with dramatic music is overlaid with text revealing RH’s Parisian vision which is wrapped in false humility and topped with an egregious amount of flattery extoling the greatness of Paris and their commitmment to rise to the Capital’s standards.

However, as soon as you enter the Gallery the rubber hits, smacks, the road - the advertised vision is met with seven floors of overly-gilded, overly ornate, Mar-a-Lago-esque designs.

If RH is inspired by Paris’ intellect, elegance and style as it states in it’s opening letter to Paris, I’m not sure which Paris they are referring to. Paris is all those things - intellectual, elegant and stylish, but with tasteful restraint and with authencity. Nothing in the RH gallery feels restrained and the only elements that are authentic are the original artworks displayed throughout and the rare books in the “bibliotheque.” When I think of Parisian style, especially when it comes to interior design, I immediately go to Coco Chanel’s apartment or Hubert de Givenchy’s home. Both of these residences exude elegance and style but most important a level of restraint.

We must also discuss scale. RH is known for it’s massive-size furniture which works well in most massive-size American homes. In Paris, massive is considered to be around 1400 sq ft, which is the exception for the majority of apartments in Paris. And although most furniture is delivered through exterior windows, trying to wedge a 120 cm deep sofa through a pair of Parisian windows (and interior elevators barely fit 3 people) would be quite a feat. Maybe they need to come out with a Parisian Collection, scaled to fit the market.

The biggest pain point I have with RH is the price point. I will give credit to Gary Friedman, the CEO, who has a remarkable talent at selling a certain type of lifestyle but one that comes with a high price tag and is cheaply manufactured. According to the most recent SEC report (2025) it states their products are mainly manufactured in various parts of Asia “72% of our products were sourced from Asia, including 35% from Vietnam, 23% from China and the remainder predominantly from Indonesia and India, 18% from North America, including 10% from the United States.” That’s not to say quality items cannot come out of Asia, but the general public consensus is Asia is where you go to make things fast and cheap. If you want further proof of their quality status, take a look at Consumer Affairs who gives RH only a 2.3 star rating (out of 5) along with a long list of consumer complaints of items showing up with tears in the upholstery, pilling and fading of fabrics, scratches and scruffs on wood and horrible customer service.

I rarely get on a soap-box. However, when it comes to my profession, a part of my job is to help educate my clients on buying well - regardless of budget. I’m always going to champion quality and craftmanship and yes, that comes with a cost. However, even if the budget doesn’t allow for custom-made furniture or finishes, I would then encourage someone to purchase from a retail store where the prices match the quality, versus over-spending on something that is clearly cheaply made and outrageously marked up due to false marketing. It’s always better to be in a position of knowing that you are getting what you paid for whether it’s an Hermès side table or an Ikea chair.

As I was strolling through the various levels at RH (which only consisted of 3 levels of furniture and the remaining 4 levels housed various cafés and restaurant options), I came across a cocktail table that I admittedly found interesting. The price tag was a cool 6,803 €. It is a knock-off of a Lother Klute design, which you can purchase an original Lother Klute for about 9,000 €. When you compare the RH version to the original, I personally find the finish and glass detail much more elegant and artisanal. If you are already paying close to 7,000 € for a knock-off made in a factory, why not splurge another 2,000 € for a rare, original table. Furthermore, you can find Lother Klute on 1st Dibs for under 2,000 € proving further that RH is stupidly overpriced for what it is.

I would rather someone fill their home with Ikea (I’m a fan) which is appropriately priced for the quality. I would also argue that you get more bang for your buck because many Ikea pieces are brillantly designed and have created their own cult status. Whereas I don’t think you’ll see RH pieces listed on 1st Dibs anytime soon…they will more likely end up in a landfill. If you are going to buy something at Restoration Hardware in Paris, go buy an over-priced coffee, not an over-priced cocktail table.

À la prochaine,

Kathryn

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