These past few years have seen many big-name home and design retailers bite the dust, and many more come thisclose to suffering the same fate. After a big drop in numbers, Restoration Hardware first closed some stores, then went through a buyout and subsequent restructuring.There have been rumblings for a while about the retail chain's new brand strategy, but with the recently released fall catalog we finally get a glimpse at what's changed with the Corte Madera-based furnishings company.

The new look is written all over the pages, and not just figuratively in each piece of stately, rustic-luxe furniture; CEO Gary Friedman actually takes the first page to expound on the company's new direction. It's a mission statement of sorts, explaining RH's reinvention as "no longer mere 'retailer,'" but as "'curators' of the best historical design." Read more...