Teen’s World

Restoration Hardware’s newest offshoot, RH Teen, makes a play for teens in a major way. Launching this fall for the teenager who has everything, the online collection of high-end furnishings, linens and decor include pricey looks like floor to ceiling drapes and crystal chandeliers. The line is geared toward uber-pampered teens and uses stereotypical personality types to define different styles. There’s a tufted linen bed set, and a mongolian lamb butterfly chair but there’s plenty, too, for teens who won’t- or can’t- spend thousands for a bedroom makeover including jewelry, wall art, lamps, and pillows. Also offered are storage- under bed drawers- and space saving devices like beds on stilts that can make a bedroom feel like a studio apartment.

The idea is to capture teens- all 26.9 million in the U.S.- at the moment they’re breaking out on their own as consumers and home decorators, looking for their own identity. Products bought by and for teens has hit upwards of $258.7 billion, so RH Teen is definitely on to something. The look is more sophisticated than most furniture aimed at middle and high schoolers- think Pottery Barn- where art pieces include fine art photography. As teens have tremendous exposure to design through web and social media platforms, they’re becoming tastemakers in their own right says Gary Friedman, chairman and CEO of Restoration Hardware. He is hoping these same style arbiters will be his customers. www.rhteen.com