Designs on Dallas

Hot Atlanta home boutique sets out welcome mat at first Dallas store

Ballard Designs store, Clearfork, Fort Worth

Ballard Designs is ready to debut in Dallas.

Photo courtesy of Ballard Designs

A hotly anticipated home furnishings and décor boutique from Atlanta has an opening date and address for its first Dallas store. Ballard Designs will debut September 6 at 6025 Royal Lane, Suite 120, in the sprawling Preston Royal Village East.

It will be the brand's second store in DFW — the first opened at Fort Worth's Shops at Clearfork in May — and only its second store in Texas.

The 11,700-square-foot Dallas boutique will offer a selection of more than 500 customizable pieces, representing all periods and provenance of home furnishings, with a European influence.

Ballard Designs differs from other home decor stores in that it creates an "immersive experience" for shoppers. ("Unleash your inner decorator," the website encourages.) Customers can view vignettes that surround a central Design Solutions workshop studio and then work directly with a design consultant for free to customize pieces for their home.

According to a release, the Dallas store will be stocked with accessories and smaller décor items, such as lighting, side tables, and rugs that can be purchased on the spot, as well. An in-store personalization shop will allow shoppers to have linens, gifts, and accessories monogrammed. And a ship-to-store program ensures complimentary shipping when placing an online order to be sent directly to the store for pick-up.

Ballard Designs' first catalog — a two-page black-and-white brochure — launched in 1983 and now has an annual circulation of over 65 million.

The Dallas store brings the company's store count to 13 in the U.S., including three outlets.

shopping openings

Swedish Meatball News

Sleek furniture store IKEA to open first location in Dallas

IKEA

IKEA's signature Billy cabinet

Dallas finally gets its own IKEA store. According to a release, the Swedish-born furniture company is opening a new location — the first in Dallas proper — to debut in late 2025.

Called IKEA Dallas - University Park, the store will be located at The Shops at Park Lane, the center at US-75 and Park Lane that's home to stores such as Whole Foods Market, American Girl, Saks Off 5th, and Home Goods.

The address is 8080 Park Ln., and they're not specifying exactly which storefront it will occupy, but it will be a smaller-format store at 63,000 square feet than its suburban siblings such as Frisco where the square footage is 310,000 square feet.

IKEA is on a journey to become more accessible, affordable, and convenient, with smaller "urban" stores that have a limited inventory of items sold on site: 3,200 articles.

IKEA's entire range will not be available for immediate takeaway; big furniture items like beds and couches, for example, can only be ordered online, with options for store pick-up or home delivery at a minimal fee.

Nonetheless, the Park Lane will be two levels and will be the 11th store in Texas: Currently, there are five full-sized IKEA stores, three "Plan and Order Points with pick up, and two smaller-format stores opening in San Marcos and Rockwall.

IKEA Rockwall, which just celebrated its groundbreaking, will comprise 108,875 square feet and the store be built from the ground up. IKEA Dallas-University Park will be built in an existing building at The Shops at Park Lane, which building it is, they do not say.

The Rockwall store will have a new Swedish Deli cafe where they'll serve meals onsite, as well as their Swedish Bistro takeout concept, serving their signature Swedish meatballs which they also offer in a delectable plant-based version as well, you should totally try it if you have not already.

Park Lane will have food, as well, although no word on whether there'll be a cafe.

"At IKEA, we want to create a better everyday life for the many people and one way we can do that is by bringing IKEA close to where people live, work, socialize and shop, says IKEA US CEO Javier Quiñones in a statement. :The opening of IKEA Dallas - University Park is a perfect example of our strategy to develop smaller, more accessible urban store formats, bringing a more connected and accessible IKEA experience to everyone."

shopping openings