HIGH POINT – The paint was barely dry when High Point Market attendees started rolling into the brand-new Essentials for Living showroom building on N. Wrenn last month: a soaring, light-filled, two-story space that is immense yet feels intimate and welcoming.
The California-based lifestyle brand has maintained a showroom in High Point for 40 years, and after stints in IHFC and Showplace, it several years ago purchased a piece of land where the former Mecox building stood, said Carl Johnson, vice president of the family-owned company. After a three-year journey, including one and a half years in construction, it opened its doors to market-goers. Its market debut felt “amazing, relieving — but exciting,” Johnson said.
Designed by his sister, Anna Schweiss, who is also vice president, the showroom includes a large lounge that serves breakfast and lunch, an outdoor patio and bar for entertaining, luxurious bathrooms, individual cubbies hung with velvet curtains where designers can work in privacy and peace, as well as a design center lined with sample drawers and trays. “It’s about making it super exciting,” Johnson said. Most importantly, it’s about making visitors feel welcome, he said.
