The RH Jacksonville luxury homeware store, which opened in St. John’s town centre on Friday, is dazzling from the moment you walk in the front door.

From the cheeseburger of the same name served in the rooftop restaurant to the elegant hand-made chandeliers, the lobby on the first floor is bathed in warm and pleasant light, which is amazing.

This three-story store has a roof garden with comfortable outdoor sofas and chairs, and views of the downtown area. Inside, individual galleries display classic to modern furniture and decorations, including hand-crafted artworks by glass artist Alison Berger and others.

Located in RH Jacksonville, 4831 Village Shops Way, the gallery in the center of St. John’s Township-its official name-is intended to be a destination-an elegant and unforgettable destination.

More Town Center News:: Sugar Factory will bring elaborate desserts to the market in the center of town next year

Newsletter: Sign up for our new meal notes newsletter, coming soon

Whether it's enjoying a fresh, ingredient-inspired breakfast, lunch, brunch or dinner in the restaurant, or relaxing with a glass of wine in the roof garden, or serious shopping in the gallery, the atmosphere here is very warm.

Shoppers in Jacksonville said they wanted to use Restoration Hardware in the newly opened St. John’s Town Center. Twenty years later, their wish has become a reality.

But let us be clear. This is not a hardware store. And it's not your father's recovery hardware anymore.

This is RH-a destination designed to experience. Any furniture store can sell sofas. RH sells a way of life. 

RH Jacksonville is located at the southeast corner of a sprawling retail center, covering 70,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor space. It has a rooftop restaurant and park, bar, RH interior design company and studio, RH interior design, RH modern and RH outdoor.

This store is different from any other store in the city center.

This difference is obvious both externally and internally. The building was "conceptualized as a transparent modern structure". It has a retractable glass panel wall to let in natural light and fresh air.

Charcoal-grey Venetian plaster is used on the exterior of the building. On the 1st and 2nd floors, the gallery is equipped with wide glass steel French doors. They lead to lush garden courtyards, terraces and a series of towering Zahidi dates.

Living plants, such as giant banana palms, and trickles are scattered throughout the store, creating a sense of tranquility.

Restaurant: What's new or coming soon in downtown Jacksonville, Southern District

Big sale: Firehouse Subs in Jacksonville sold to Popeye’s owner Burger King for $1 billion

Don't want to cook this Thanksgiving? These restaurants in the Jacksonville area will be open

RH Jacksonville reflects the vision of the company's chairman and CEO Gary Friedman, whose philosophy is to "blur the boundaries between residential and retail, indoor and outdoor, home and hotel."

The target audience is luxury shoppers, but Friedman emphasized that hospitality is the core of the RH brand. 

Guests can start their RH experience with a glass of wine, a cup of signature Bellini, a cup of coffee or espresso, and then explore the first and second floors before dining in the restaurant.

Level 1: RH interior design. Shoppers enter through 25-foot-tall retractable glass and steel doors, and then continue to the gallery’s central lobby, where there is a 14-foot-high ceiling and chandeliers that provide soft lighting. 

The gallery has RH's most famous furniture and decorations, such as the cloud sofa. The six to eight-foot long and very soft Cloud Sofa sells for nearly $10,000. It became popular in TikTok videos. "Architectural Digest" reported that the sofa is a favorite of celebrities, including Kendell Jenner and Kerry Washington.

A magnificent double floating staircase spanning nearly 40 feet leads upstairs. (There is also an elevator.)

Natural light poured down from the huge skylight on the three floors above. In addition, the hand-blown Serenella chandelier hangs 54 feet above the head, showing a combination of gilded antique mirrors stacked from the stairwell, creating endless reflections and further illuminating the road.

The second level: RH Modern and RH Interior Design Firm & Atelier. It focuses on more modern furniture, textiles, lamps and decorations. The contemporary art collection of GENERAL PUBLIC for RH Collection contains nearly 400 works by famous artists from all over the world.

Long-time art collector and actor Portia de Rossi founded GENERAL PUBLIC with the goal of bringing good art to more people. Her company uses "groundbreaking 3-D technology" to truly display the artist's hand by capturing every nuance of brushwork, texture, and technique to achieve this goal.

RH Jacksonville was one of the first design galleries to preview the Berger lighting series. Her glass products include chandeliers and wall lamps. 

RH Interior Design Firm & Atelier is an interactive 5,000 square foot studio that provides professional design services. There is also the RH carpet showroom, as well as a gallery dedicated to luxurious curtains, bed linens and bath towels, and bathroom hardware.

The third floor: the restaurant. Probably the preferred destination for some RH Jacksonville tourists and shoppers, it is dedicated to the rooftop restaurant and its adjacent parks, bars and RH Outdoor.

The restaurant is inspired by the great classical gardens of Europe. Below the atrium there is a skylighted garden with retractable glass walls, chandeliers and traditional olive trees. A large fountain is the heart of the restaurant.

The park will have the RH Outdoor rest space, defined by a “layered combination” of carved evergreen trees, canopy awnings, and trickling water features.  

The menu will be based on fresh ingredients.

One of the most popular is the Lobster Roll ($30), which is topped with butter, mayonnaise and old bay seasoning. The lobster meat was piled high, overflowing from the buns. 

Also popular is the RH Burger ($20), which comes with rich American cheese, kimchi, onion and Dijonaise, with the option of adding avocado or thick sliced ​​pork belly bacon for an extra charge.

The menu also includes shared plates, salads and main dishes, such as Burrata with oven-roasted tomatoes and charred sourdough, vegetables with small greens and pecans, garlic roast chicken and olive oil mashed potatoes. Classic dishes such as rib-eye steak and truffle grilled cheese will also have "upgraded versions."

Depending on the dish, the price of the main course ranges from US$20 to US$59.

The Wine Bar offers "carefully selected" selected wines and champagnes from all over the world. There will be 40 bottles of wine and limited production products from some respected small wine merchants in Napa Valley.

RH Restaurant has expanded the selection of high-end restaurants in the city center, which already includes The Capital Grille, J. Alexander's, Cantina Laredo, Nordstrom's Bazille and Prati Italia from Markets near the city center.

When the St. John’s Town Center project was announced in 2000, Time Alliance asked readers which shops and restaurants they would like to see in Jacksonville’s newest shopping destination.

Their requirements include restoring hardware. In 2003, two years before the opening of the city center, Restoration Hardware was on the list of planned stores. On Friday, nearly two decades later, RH Jacksonville finally became a reality.

RH Jacksonville is open daily from 10 am to 9 pm.