West Elm Market - Brooklyn

Profile

Dumbo’s West Elm Market wears many hats. In the rear of the store is the Brooklyn Roasters Café where you can grab baked goods, self-serve iced tea and tangy lemonade, and order from the La Marzocco espresso machine that promises a proper latte. Most of the storefront is carefully staged with rustic furniture, artisan and old-timey home goods, delicacies in jars, and personal care items from Brooklyn-made brand Apotheke. Chalkboard signs zigzag through the space and indicate seasonal displays on reclaimed-wood dining tables: Everyday Essentials, Laundry, Garden, Brew Your Own, Pantry, Pet Accessories. The décor is neat and digestible; deliberately clean exposed air vents shine against the candy-apple red lamps that hang from the high ceiling. Stacks of pots, bowls, and kitchen knickknacks in sunshine-yellow, teal, navy, and hot-orange among glossy-red retro refrigerators add a warm and whimsical touch to the otherwise gray wood materials and polished glassware. In one corner, a functional display kitchen provides occasional classes and demonstrations, from how to make nut butters, jam, and paella, to knife skills, to brewing your own beer. The store is at times also the venue for tea parties and tastings—even biscuit tastings for your dog. Local businesses are the soul—and main concept—of the place, like Rice and Miso Everyday, which serves lunch there on Tuesdays and Fridays. They give this Williams Sonoma–owned chain a sense of community. A large sign proudly gives due credit: “Meet the Makers and Designers near You.” — Sonja Lokhaug