One Kings Lane’s Third-Ever Store is Now Open in Fort Point

The online home retailer’s sunny brick-and-beam space is beyond gorgeous.

By Rachel Kashdan· 10/17/2019, 5:13 p.m.

Photo by Sabrina Baloun for One Kings Lane

After Wayfair’s first-of-its-kind store opening at the Natick Mall earlier this year, One Kings Lane is also joining in on the move from web to brick-and-mortar sales in Boston with its new location in Fort Point. “As a digital-first brand we have a lot of data, so it’s not that hard to do our research,” says Jim Hardy, vice president of omni-channel retail at the company. “We knew the greater Boston market was prime for us.”

The furniture and décor retailer started as a flash sale site in 2009, but later scrapped that model. Bed Bath & Beyond bought the company in 2016, opening its first retail store in Southampton, New York in 2017 and then a flagship location in SoHo a year later. The brand then set its sights on a third location. “This is new territory for us, so our strategy since was to stay geographically local to the northeast corridor,” Hardy says. After exploring options in both D.C. and Boston, the team decided to pull the trigger on the latter after they visited the brick-and-beam Thomson Place location, a 3,500-square-foot former warehouse with soaring ceilings, concrete floors, and expansive windows that pour in light on both sides. “It was a raw space and there was just something about the amazing beams and the height of it,” Hardy says. “[We] had a vision that it could be something.”

Now, a full-size working kitchen by UK-based custom cabinetmaker Plain English anchors the front of the store with a sizeable wood-topped worktable and green-painted wood cupboards. At the rear of the space, a glass-enclosed office takes up real estate. It’s there that customers can meet with the store’s in-house interior designer to take advantage of one of three design service packages. The possibilities range in scope from help with a small-scale job like styling an entryway all the way up to a full-house redesign with 3D digital renderings.

Casual shoppers, meanwhile, will find an assortment of vintage and new furniture, lighting, and décor from brands such as Bunny Williams Home, Juliska, and Ralph Lauren Home in addition to pieces from One Kings Lane’s own collections. About half of the store’s merchandise matches what’s on display in the other two retail locations, and the rest has been hand-picked specifically for the Boston market. Case in point: Nantucket-themed framed wall art, or a vintage-inspired map of the city. There’s also a rack of rugs designed by local designers, including Erin Gates. “That’s our strategy going forward—that we’ll always curate the store,” Hardy says. “That’s the fun part.”