Community Corner

West Elm to Open in Ex-Smith & Hawken Space in Strawberry Village

Two years after closing in Corte Madera Town Center, Williams Sonoma Inc.'s home furnishings shop will move into spot being vacated by Bliss Home Design.

As Bliss Home Design continues to unload inventory in advance of its closing later this month, West Elm is planning to open in its prominent, 10,000-square-foot space in Strawberry Village. The move comes nine years after the Williams Sonoma Inc. home furnishings retailer chose the Corte Madera Town Center for its first West Coast store and two years after it closed that store.

Matt Holmes, principal at Retail West, the firm that brokered the deal, said West Elm officials already have begun planning the layout of the store and are waiting until Bliss clears out more of its inventory before targeting an opening date. Holmes said West Elm was the perfect fit for the space.

“Marin is filled with taste makers and influencers that have high standards for modern interiors and have a proven affinity to renovating the classic housing stock that exists throughout Marin,” he said.

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West Elm, widely regarded as a younger, less expensive iteration of its sister retailer Pottery Barn, opened its first West Coast store in Corte Madera in the fall of 2004. At the time, the retailer had just one store. It now has 44 stores in the U.S., two in Canada and one in Puerto Rico.

West Elm officials could not be reached for comment.

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West Elm is set to occupy one of the more prominent retail spaces in southern Marin. It is the former home of Smith & Hawken, the gardening tool importer that was founded in downtown Mill Valley by Dave Smith and Paul Hawken. The company opened its first retail shop in Mill Valley in 1982. The company was sold several times over the years, lastly to weed killer maker Scotts Miracle-Gro Co., which shut it down in 2009.

“West Elm will benefit with maximum exposure to Hwy. 101 and strong co-tenancy of other best-in-class merchants of this community and lifestyle project," said Scot Turner of Retail West.

Bliss Home & Design, which is based in southern California, opened in the space in June 2011. Company officials said the store never generated the sales it needed to survive and announced its closure last month.

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