Step Inside the Glamorous New RH Milan
The seven-floor design concept store is inspired by the writings of Marcus Vitruvius and offers seven floors of artistic inspiration and a top-notch restaurant
Milan is home to the always hotly anticipated Salone del Mobile and Design Week, and one of the highlights of 2026’s festival was the opening of RH Milan. Visionary CEO Gary Friedman turned the former Restoration Hardware into the world’s grandest luxury home brand. Its aspirational yet accessible design concept stores are blossoming in the most glamorous cities on both sides of the Atlantic.
“Opening RH Milan in the design capital of the world, during the most important design event in the world, in the former Palace of the Prince of Piombino, the most magnificent building we’ve ever opened in the world, is a very meaningful and proud moment for all of us at RH,” Friedman told Galerie. The store, located in a 19th century palazzo on Corso Venezia officially opened to the public on May 5. It boasts seven floors of unique design experience and a stellar restaurant.
Friedman, a 2025 Galerie Creative Mind, generously spoke in an interview that has been edited for length and clarity about the special place that Milan holds in his heart, his excitement to share the RH Milan store, and the brand’s plan for the future.
What made the 1880 Palazzo location a must-have for you? How do you balance preservation with the RH point of view?
Our brand is built on a foundation of architectural principles that date back to the 1st century BC, and the writings of Marcus Vitruvius, the author of De Architectura, the original ten books on architecture. Two of the first modern printings, circa 1521, are on display in a museum case in the center of our Architecture & Design Libraries at RH England and RH Paris. Vitruvius’s principles were celebrated 1,500 years after his death by Leonardo da Vinci’s famous drawing of a man outstretched in a circle and a square, known around the world as the “Vitruvian Man.” Everything we design, buildings, products, experiences, etc., is done through a lens of architecture. We are obsessed with great architecture. We either find great historical architecture, restore and reimagine it, or we build it.
So RH Milan is built on a foundation of rarity, and a reverence for what came before. The building has a rich design history that we are deeply inspired by, and it presented a beautiful canvas to thoughtfully write its next chapter, and ours.
What about Milan made it perfect for your latest European and first Italian design concept store?
Milan is a city of dreamers, designers, and definers. You have taught us to inspire and to create desire. We are proud and humbled to be here, to bring our very best to the home of the very best. RH Milan, The Gallery on the Corso Venezia is our masterpiece, and our wish is, by chasing our hopes and dreams, we inspire others to chase theirs, by fearlessly fighting for what we believe in, we encourage others to do the same.
What significance does this moment hold for RH as it expands into some of the world’s most iconic cities?
We believe in a quickly evolving digital world there is a need for inspiring physical experiences that get us off our one dimensional devices. RH Milan is a multi- dimensional experience that activates all of our senses, an experience that can’t be replicated or experienced online. You have to see it, to believe it.
Hopefully by doing so, we inspire others to do the same. This is about a lot more to us than selling furniture.
What have you learned about how different cities receive RH?
The reaction has been a deep sense of appreciation for the quality of our work, and the investment we’ve made restoring and reimagining their building. There’s a realization that we’ve planted real roots, and plan to be a permanent part of the community.
Our most recent opening was in Paris, and the response thus far is everything we could have hoped for, both from a design and hospitality point of view. Many of the innovations in Paris, such as The World of RH Bar & Lounge and the Architecture & Design Library, have been translated in their own unique fashion into both Milan and London.
You’ve lovingly given an incredible amount of attention to detail here. Where does that enthusiasm come from?
I love the world of design, it is who I am and what I do. Architectural design, Product design, Apparel design, Life design, etc. As Vitruvius said, “Beauty is produced by the pleasing appearance and good taste of the whole.”
