Modernist Mogul

Don’t be surprised to find pedestrians on the Midtown Mile doing double takes later this month as they pass the newly opened Bobby Berk Home. From the regal, bright pink chairs featured on Bravo’s Mad Fashion to the modern sofa seen on ABC’s late remake of Charlie’s Angels and the New York storefront shots on HGTV’s Design Star, BBH’s statement-making items are packed with star power, thanks to appearances on primetime shows.
Berk began his career in home design and décor at Restoration Hardware, then moved to Portico Home + Spa, where he earned the title of creative director. His own brand, Bobby Berk Home, launched online in 2006 to showcase furniture, bedding, bath products and home accessories. Showrooms in New York City’s Soho and Miami’s Design District followed shortly thereafter. Today, you can find Berk lending his expertise to any number of high-profile projects, from composing the media lounge for New York City’s Spa Week to selecting pieces for various TV-show sets. Steadily reaching household-name status, style purveyor Berk has become synonymous with affordable luxury that doesn’t sacrifice style. Berk’s Atlanta store is his third and largest, opening on the recently developed 14-block stretch of Peachtree Street known for its 1 million square feet of retail space.
So why did Berk select our genteel city for his landmark installment? “I’m from the South, originally,” Berk says. “I think that Atlanta has the perfect combination of sophistication and Southern charm in a modern urban setting. You don’t find that very often in the South.”
The exclusive retailer’s latest location will feature items previously available only online. “The Atlanta store will have a kids and baby department with furniture, accessories, toys and bedding,” Berk says. “We’re going to have a lot more room—simply because the store is so much larger than the other ones—to carry the collections. Furniture-wise, we’ll have a lot more beds. We’ll have a pets department, which we don’t do in our other stores.”
Berk predicts that the Gus* Modern line—of which BBH has the largest in-store selection—will be popular with Atlantans. “The Atwood collection is a hot seller,” says Berk, speaking of the tufted, clean-lined sectional and chair. “It goes well with the Atlanta aesthetic.”
805 Peachtree St., 866.965.9793, bobbyberkhome.com 

by Maria Carter | Jezebel magazine | October 31, 2011