Tommy Bahama opens furniture store at Fashion Island

The opening of the first Tommy Bahama Home Store, a division of the lifestyle brand of the same name, was worth the wait, according to a Newport Beach interior designer.

Dawn Rosenmayr’s hunt to find an island-themed ceiling fan for a client brought her to the furniture and home décor store at Fashion Island days after its soft opening earlier this month.

“The Tommy Bahama furniture collection is perfect for someone who wants to decorate their home with a tropical touch,� said Rosenmayr, who has run Rosenmayr Interiors for about 10 years.

“You can still blend their furniture with what you already have in your home,� she continued. “The style is similar to the Ralph Lauren Collection but at a better price point.�

The Tommy Bahama Home Store, featuring 5,000 square feet of showroom space and collections for every room in the house, officially opens Thursday.

A grand-opening celebration will include light refreshments, music and giveaways. A portion of the night’s proceeds will benefit the Beckstrand Cancer Foundation.

Although Rosenmayr did not find her ideal tropical fan, walking through the showrooms produced other ideas to share with clients, such as a customizable salina sofa she described as a “great coastal piece for a beach-styled home.�

The versatile piece, which starts at a floor price of $2,995, can be used in either a family room or a cabana, she said.

“I think this is pretty darn big — there are very few lifestyle brands out there that have the ability, or that have the breadth to the brand, that can open up a store that’s just them,� said Tommy Bahama President and Chief Operating Officer Doug Wood. “From the carpets to the fans, everything in the store is Tommy Bahama.�

Tommy Bahama furniture is not new to the market. Lexington Home Brands, a wholesale furniture manufacturer, has partnered with the brand for more than a decade.

Lexington is expected to reach $80 million to $100 million in retail sales of Tommy Bahama furniture this year, Wood said.

“The great thing about opening in Newport Beach is that Tommy Bahama makes sense 12 months out of the year here,� he said.

The store opened in Atrium Court, near the soon-to-be-open Whole Foods Market. Tommy Bahama had previously operated a denim concept at the center, but choose to consolidate the apparel line into an existing Tommy Bahama store in Corona del Mar.

“We are happy Tommy Bahama Home chose to debut its first-ever home store at Fashion Island and know it will be embraced by our shoppers,� Dan Sheridan, president of Irvine Co. Retail Properties, wrote in an email. “The sophisticated, yet laid-back coastal concept is ideal for Fashion Island.�

Nearby Tommy Bahama locations in Corona del Mar, the Irvine Spectrum Center and Laguna Beach do not sell Tommy Bahama furniture, but do offer some of the smaller home décor items such as candles.

There are no plans to incorporate all of the brand’s concepts under one roof, which would result in something akin to a “big-box store,� Wood said.

“At the end of day, we’ve opened a home store and it has ‘Tommy Bahama’ over the door and we take that very seriously,� Wood said. “When I walk in that door, this has got to be right.�

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If You Go

What: Tommy Bahama Home Store grand opening

When: 5:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday

Where: 401 Newport Center Drive, Suite A218, Newport Beach (Atrium Court)

Information: (949) 706-9928