Find your favorite showerhead
I had a plane to catch on Tuesday to Maine, but I took a later flight just so I could take a sneak peek at the media preview of PIRCH, the newest home plumbing and appliance store to tempt Dallas home builders and remodelers, which is basically all of us. The store opens this Saturday in the old Barney’s space at Northpark Mall.
Yes, at Northpark Mall, not in some warehouse outpost on an interstate service road. Go figure!
Jeffery Sears, CEO of PIRCH
PIRCH is California-based, southern to be exact, and that tells you a lot about what you can expect inside: everything for the home over the top and under the sun. They carry the tip-top brands in refrigeration, plumbing supplies and fixtures, stoves and kitchen supplies, showers, bathtubs, basically anything and everything you need to outfit the home. It’s rather a home design wonderland of uber high end stuff — onyx sinks, powder room vanities. Expensive stoves and iPhone-controlled coffeemakers that will make you drool. They told us consumers can choose from more than 50 brands of cabinetry and countertops, even tile and backsplash.
I love commodes with brains
You really need to stop in. Especially if you are thirsty, tired, hungry or thinking of remodeling, which is going to be on the upswing, builders tell me, due to our major lack of housing inventory. Walk into this place and trust me, you will be ripping out your kitchen, even if you just redid it two years ago!
The store promises a very low sales pressure, nothing like Saks Fifth Avenue in Chicago where 10 sales people would descend on me to buy buy buy.
“Oh honey, that looks FABULOUS on you!”
Get in and try this tub!
None of that BS. PIRCH is designed as a low-key shopping experience. And you can even carry drinks around with you in the store. Unfortunately, we are talking coffee, not Mimosas: barista stations at both entrances greet with gourmet coffee to sip as you shop. (I did not ask what coffee brand they brew, but coming from Cali, sure it’s on the line of Blue Bottle Coffee.) Meander through the plumbing supplies — all faucets are “perched” on move-able, magnetized acrylic bases so you can move them to see how they go with the lavoratory you like best. If you make it to the Savor kitchen area, a team of chefs may be whipping up a meal or snacks for you to taste test.
The store is huge, the entire first floor of what used to be Barneys. There are 32,000 square feet of items to peruse, and not all need take up half of your SEPT IRA: I found some very cute silver and gold pot scrubbers for almost nothing. Then I found this towel warmer that I would kill to have up here in Maine!
PIRCH also promises that you can try before you buy just about anything in the store, be it a stove, oven or shower head. To that effect, each PIRCH store has a water sanctuary that you can reserve to try out jetted bathtubs and various fancy showerheads. For example, while I like the look of rainfall showerheads, I do not like them for washing my mop of hair (seen here below in pre-beach curly mode). Come in in your bathing suit and try the various water options. It makes total sense as I have long maintained that when we make these expensive purchases — some high end faucet fixtures carry thousand dollar plus price tags — we should be able to try before e buy. I think the same goes for real estate, actually.
This is a total steam room you just drop right into your home
Finally, my husband asked a question I have yet to ask the management folks at PIRCH: do you HAVE to wear a bathing suit to experience the in-store water sanctuary? Not sure what he means by that, and not sure what the answer is, but hopefully I will find out very soon.
NOT!
