RH Reimagines Montecito’s Historic Firehouse
Friends and neighbors gathered for a first look at the space, originally built in 1931
As reported by our sister publication, C Magazine
For more than half a century, Montecito’s regional firehouse, designed by Alexander Bertrand Harmer, was filled with the community’s first responders. But on Thursday, December 12, RH chairman and CEO Gary Friedman unveiled RH Montecito, The Gallery at The Old Firehouse. The reworked space, which pairs dining with design, was filled with the San Francisco firm’s latest collections and drew guests including Gwyneth Paltrow, Amanda Chantal Bacon, Victoria Jackson, and Charlotte Ronson, with interior designers Birgit Klein, Amanda Masters, William Laman and Bruce Gregga, Marc Normand Gelinas, John De Bastiani, and architect William Hefner. Behind the building’s classic façade, visitors walked through a sandstone courtyard with Japanese boxwood hedging and silver date palm trees to reach the RH Firehouse Grill with Mediterranean-inspired interiors complete with oak beam ceilings, limestone tabletops, and glass-and-steel French doors as well as a Wine & Barista Bar, an Interior Design Atelier, and installations of extensive RH launches.
The evening, benefitting the Montecito Firefighters’ Charitable Foundation, included a wide array of delectable offerings, including Cipriani New York Bellinis, Petrossian caviar, and Champagne from Ruinart, as well as a Vesper martini bar, Patron margaritas, and passed bites by Annie Campbell. As guests toured through the newly created space, they also got a look at the restaurant’s lush garden, where guests will dine beneath heritage olive trees and birds of paradise.
