By Gretchen Webster

WESTPORT — A spacious new Pottery Barn store was unveiled Thursday evening on Post Road East, completing its move from downtown.

Following the preview event, the furniture and home decor retailer was scheduled to open Friday for a full day of business in the one-level, 15,000-square-foot space, which was built on Westport Hardware’s former location. The hardware store moved a few doors away in the renovated commercial complex last year.

Pottery Barn moved into its new Westport digs over the past few weeks, closing briefly during the move.

The store’s previous Main Street location was smaller and more crowded, both the store’s staff and customers agreed Thursday night as they explored the expansive new interior.

“We’re flabbergasted,” said Elise Edmisson, who visited the store with her husband, Rus.

The couple moved back to Westport a few months ago after a 20-year absence and plans to use Pottery Barn merchandise to furnish their new home. 

“It’s beautiful — a place where you want to spend your money,” Elise Edmisson said, looking around the newly decorated showroom.

Danielle Rothe of the design firm Spruce & Style in Fairfield said she especially liked the one-level layout, making it easier to spot various furniture and home furnishing pieces. 

“It’s an amazing space,” and laid out in a way that makes it especially easy for a designer to find what they are looking for, Rothe said.

Fellow designer Jen Maloney of Outdoor Design and Living, also in Fairfield, said that the new Pottery Barn also has a wider selection of items than the previous store.

“I want to buy way more here,” she said.

Pottery Barn, a national home furnishings chain whose parent company is Williams-Sonoma, has three other stores in Connecticut.

Beginning this summer, the Pottery Barn “Design Crew” team members at each of its stores, including Westport, will host monthly “How To” classes, focusing on different decorating topics in each session, including summer lighting, styling a living room and setting a table.

The decorating series will take place monthly at 9 a.m. Saturdays. Sessions scheduled so far are:

June 17:  How to create a “summer glow” indoors and out — using lanterns, string lights and pillar candles. 

July 15: How to “decorate with color” to brighten a room in the shades of the season,  using pillows, botanicals and table linens.

Aug. 12: How to “style a living room,” with tips for coffee table and console decor styling, pillow arrangements and adding storage.

Appointments for Pottery Barn’s in-home and in-store design services, as well as virtual sessions, can be booked via the store’s website.

In addition to more space, the new store is offering expanded hours, according to Molly Kozyra, Pottery Barn’s regional manager.

Pottery Barn, 620 Post Road East, is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Call 203-429-0048.

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Freelance writer Gretchen Webster, a Fairfield County journalist and journalism teacher for many years, was editor of the Fairfield Minuteman newspaper for 10 years and teaches journalism at Southern Connecticut State University.