Warning: Stepping into CB2, the Crate & Barrel spin-off store, may make you feel like throwing out everything in your house and starting from scratch.
The new 7,500-square-foot space opened in March at Tysons Galleria, bringing what GM Katherine Niedzwecki calls the brand’s lineup of aspirational but attainable goods to NoVA shoppers.
“I feel like we have something for everyone,” says Niedzwecki, who previously worked at the Georgetown location. “We have our baseline items that we continue to make year after year, which are popular with newer customers. And then we are also super-focused on the quality of our new pieces and their materials … which draws our returning customers.”
Those high-design furnishings, textiles, accents, and more are displayed amid the bright and airy showroom, which feels like somebody else’s chic abode. Large windows flood the space with light, and each vignette flows seamlessly into the next, making the buying and browsing experience a breeze for customers, whom Niedzwecki describes as people who “intentionally seek out really unique, quality statement pieces.”
Rather than being defined by current trends, she says, they search for pieces fitting of their personal space, whether it’s a simple denim-hued stoneware dinner set, a reissued classic wicker chaise lounge from late Mexican modernist Clara Porset, or something from one of the hyper-creative new spring lines, like Brazilian Rhapsody—one of Niedzwecki’s favorites. “My design aesthetic tends to be more eclectic, so I love all the natural hues and rich textures. It pairs so well with bright colors.”
Other collections range from a sculptural modern twist on Art Deco style to the maxed-out, look-at-me vibes of the Wild Things lineup. One new design partnership Niedzwecki believes will resonate with local shoppers is with fine artist Kristen Giorgi, whose abstract-expressionist figure paintings have been translated to textiles and prints. Among them: elegant linen dip-dyed dinner napkins.
Interested in bringing these pieces into your space but aren’t sure how to pull it off? The store’s team—including managers or sales-crew members—can support in the process, creating mood boards on the fly with their tablets. CB2’s on-site designers also offer free in-person consultations for new and returning shoppers.
“This allows our customers to see the product, the colors and textures in person, and to have the support of someone who … takes the time to understand their vision and how they want to move forward in their living spaces,” says Niedzwecki.
The way we approach our personal spaces has transformed, she says, as we emerge from two-plus years of pandemic living—a time when people reinvested in their abodes and now are rediscovering the beauty of having friends and family over for dinner, game nights, lounging around the fire pit on summer evenings, and celebrating big moments.
“Normalcy has changed a little bit,” she says. “I think we had gotten to a point where home was kind of somewhere you stopped in. But that’s not the case anymore. Homes are really for living now and for enjoying all aspects of your life.” Tysons Galleria, McLean, cb2.com
What’s in Store
1. “Ring” petrified-wood serving board, $69.95
2. “Bloom” tamarind-wood bowl, $89.95
3. “Mila” Oyster bottle-opener, $29.95
4. “Contempri” smoked double old-fashioned glass by Paul McCobb, $16.95
5. “Drift” reactive pasta bowl, $12.95, and soup bowl, $10.95
This story originally ran in our May issue. For more stories like this, subscribe to our monthly magazine.