Reform opens a flagship East Coast showroom in Brooklyn’s Dumbo neighborhood, designed with Norm Architects

Warm and Minimal

exterior of showroom with large windows with black framing

A new East Coast showroom for Reform, a Danish company that makes stylish modular kitchens, has opened its doors in Brooklyn’s Dumbo neighborhood. The location, within a warehouse storefront along a cobblestone street, is a smart one, as many of New York’s in-demand architects work here, including the local office of Bjarke Ingels Group (who designed the STRAP collection for Reform).

black cabinets and counter
(Courtesy Reform)

white cabinets and counters
(Courtesy Reform)

Founded in 2014, Reform delivers high-end yet affordable cabinets, countertops, drawers, and organizers in a range of customizable arrangements. As mentioned, the company often collaborates with notable designers, past collections have engaged the likes of Jean Nouvel, Aspekt Office, Muller Van Severen, Cecilie Mantz, Sigurd Larsen, Studio David Thulstrup, and Note. Two versions (SURFACE and PROFILE) have been designed by the Copenhagen-based Norm Architects, who worked with Reform to realize their New York location.

wood dining furniture with metal cabinets
(Courtesy Reform)

shiny metal cabinets and wood dining furniture
(Courtesy Reform)

In Dumbo, Norm Architects’ layout, inspired by the existing industrial feel, installs a wide range of Reform’s possibilities into the walls and as free-floating islands. A central mass, dubbed the “monolith,” disappears via drywall; above it offers a mezzanine office space while below it stages a low seating area and additional cabinetry vignettes in its niches. Select tasteful chairs, pendants, and other lights set the mood for Reform’s products to take center stage. “We have tried to create a calm, yet grand architectural background which lets each kitchen’s high level of detail and materiality stand out,” Katrine Goldstein, managing director and partner at Norm Architects, said.

Nouvel’s REFLECT collection is set close to the glass, so its ribbed, natural metal finish bounces its surroundings in a nicely hazy way. On a metallic shelf, hunks of sample materials evidence the range of finish options—from quiet woods to louder high-density polyethylene sheets—in front of a Millennial pink island. An atmosphere of unexpected domesticity individualizes each area.

wood dining furniture and white cabinets
(Courtesy Reform)

wood countertop and steel cabinets
(Courtesy Reform)

The showroom offers its quiet strength in support of a range of staged material options. From three base cabinets (oak, white, and black laminate) and three drawer styles (oak, steel, and white laminate) in three heights, a veritable buffet of handsome pairings is possible. The showroom includes natural stone countertops, fully oaked cabinet walls, matte metals, a plaster-like textured finish, a hot-rolled steel backsplash, and an inspired pairing of dark-stained wood with pale yellow surfaces above. The display is planned based on anticipated customer flow, both in terms of collections and materials.

white cabinets
(Courtesy Reform)

back cabinets with sink alcove and black gradient backsplash
(Courtesy Reform)

“We are very delighted to finally be able to introduce the Reform flagship showroom to the citizens of New York,” Jeppe Christensen, CEO and founder of Reform, said. “By opening this beautiful space in this spectacular location, we aim to create awareness around our distinctive kitchen designs and hope it will help us get easier access to the rest of the U.S.” 

(Courtesy Reform)

black and white counters
(Courtesy Reform)

black staircase and white interiors
(Courtesy Reform)

In addition to a showroom in Santa Monica, Reform anticipates the arrival of North American showrooms in New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles in 2023. In New York, the company previously operated a showroom in the Brooklyn Navy Yard from May 2017 to August 2021. “We have great ambitions for Reform in the U.S. market, so this investment is only the beginning of a new chapter for our brand,” Christensen shared. The expansion is in part the result of a €25 million ($26.7 million) fundraising round last April in which French investment fund Experienced Capital acquired a “significant minority stake.” (Denmark’s state-owned investment fund, Vaekstfonden, has been a Reform shareholder since 2020.)

Reform is clearly on a path to wider success as it doubled in size in 2021. While 2023 stands to bring more growth for Reform, Christensen’s mission is clear: “What we want is basically to make high-quality kitchen design available to the average U.S. consumer.”