Design Within Reach
Design Within Reach (DWR) is a US company for authentic modern furniture and accessories, founded in 1998 by Rob Forbes — an artist and entrepreneur who, when trying to furnish his apartment with the timeless modern classics he had come to appreciate during his years in London, discovered that works by Charles and Ray Eames, Le Corbusier or Saarinen were simply inaccessible to anyone without specific industry contacts or the patience to wait months for delivery. Forbes subsequently purchased 20 containers of inventory, mailed a catalogue and waited for the phone to ring. The first DWR catalogue — 239,984 copies, dispatched in July 1999 — told not just products but designer biographies: behind every chair a story, behind every material a person. The concept struck a chord: DWR made European and American design classics directly accessible to American consumers for the first time, paving the way for a generation of design literacy in the USA. After experiencing financial difficulties in 2009, the company was acquired by Herman Miller in 2014/2015. In 2021 Herman Miller merged with Knoll to form the MillerKnoll group; DWR has since been part of the MillerKnoll portfolio, which also includes HAY, Muuto, Maharam, Geiger, Holly Hunt, Edelman, Colebrook Bosson Saunders and further brands. HQ: Stamford, Connecticut.
Range and business model: DWR sells exclusively licensed originals — no reproductions. Classics: Eames Lounge Chair & Ottoman, Eames Plastic Chair, Nelson Thin Edge Collection, Noguchi coffee table, Saarinen pedestal tables and chairs, Hans Wegner Shell Chair, Emeco 111 Navy Chair, Tolix Marais Chair. Contemporary in-house designs and products from international partners (Carl Hansen & Søn, Geiger, Lawson-Fenning, among others). Over 119 DWR Studios in North America (as showrooms with personal design consultation and 3D room planning). DWR Reform: collaboration with the Danish kitchen and cabinet system manufacturer Reform (Jean Nouvel, Muller Van Severen) as a standalone shop-in-shop area in selected studios.
For architects and interior designers needing a retailer for US residential and office projects that combines licensed design classics from across the design history of the 20th and 21st centuries with personal 3D room planning consultation and a stable MillerKnoll infrastructure behind it, Design Within Reach is the most direct North American address — an institution that in 1998 laid the foundation for an entirely new American design accessibility.
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Design Within Reach
Design Within Reach (DWR) is a US company for authentic modern furniture and accessories, founded in 1998 by Rob Forbes — an artist and entrepreneur who, when trying to furnish his apartment with the timeless modern classics he had come to appreciate during his years in London, discovered that works by Charles and Ray Eames, Le Corbusier or Saarinen were simply inaccessible to anyone without specific industry contacts or the patience to wait months for delivery. Forbes subsequently purchased 20 containers of inventory, mailed a catalogue and waited for the phone to ring. The first DWR catalogue — 239,984 copies, dispatched in July 1999 — told not just products but designer biographies: behind every chair a story, behind every material a person. The concept struck a chord: DWR made European and American design classics directly accessible to American consumers for the first time, paving the way for a generation of design literacy in the USA. After experiencing financial difficulties in 2009, the company was acquired by Herman Miller in 2014/2015. In 2021 Herman Miller merged with Knoll to form the MillerKnoll group; DWR has since been part of the MillerKnoll portfolio, which also includes HAY, Muuto, Maharam, Geiger, Holly Hunt, Edelman, Colebrook Bosson Saunders and further brands. HQ: Stamford, Connecticut.
Range and business model: DWR sells exclusively licensed originals — no reproductions. Classics: Eames Lounge Chair & Ottoman, Eames Plastic Chair, Nelson Thin Edge Collection, Noguchi coffee table, Saarinen pedestal tables and chairs, Hans Wegner Shell Chair, Emeco 111 Navy Chair, Tolix Marais Chair. Contemporary in-house designs and products from international partners (Carl Hansen & Søn, Geiger, Lawson-Fenning, among others). Over 119 DWR Studios in North America (as showrooms with personal design consultation and 3D room planning). DWR Reform: collaboration with the Danish kitchen and cabinet system manufacturer Reform (Jean Nouvel, Muller Van Severen) as a standalone shop-in-shop area in selected studios.
For architects and interior designers needing a retailer for US residential and office projects that combines licensed design classics from across the design history of the 20th and 21st centuries with personal 3D room planning consultation and a stable MillerKnoll infrastructure behind it, Design Within Reach is the most direct North American address — an institution that in 1998 laid the foundation for an entirely new American design accessibility.