Ralph Carlson Blog

Design Research Store and Headquarters, Cambridge, Mass

Design Research was the store that started the concept of a modern lifestyle.  There you could find well designed furniture, housewares and Merimekko fabrics to frame the contemporary life.  DR was an east coast creation with the headquarters in Cambridge near Harvard Square.  The closest retail chain today is Crate and Barrel  which today has much of the same character but is less cutting edge.  Modern design was controversial and hip in the 60’s.  DR was big in California with a store in the new and fashionable Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco.  It even made it to Beverly Hills in the 70’s when we used to enjoy a Saturday window shopping excursion on Rodeo Drive.  For whatever reason, the chain closed in the 70’s leaving a big vacuum for lovers of modern design.

When I started researching this post, I imagined that someone would have created a webpage in homage to Design Research.  Nobody has.  The best I can find is an article about a couple that worked at DR and continued with their own design store when DR closed.  The last time we visited Sea Ranch, their store was still in Gualala.

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