The Greenwich post office building, still wearing its brass plaque noting its status on the National Register of Historic Places, is about to step into the 21st century – on the inside. As of May 16, the doors will open into an RH (Restoration Hardware) Design Gallery of upscale home furnishings.

But the shell of the building that dates from 1917 – newly expanded to 23,000 sq. ft. of interior/exterior space – has retained its “envelope integrity,” said Frank Prial, a consultant on the project.

The grand interior of the renovated building overwhelms any memory of the once-divided front room of the post office. The ceilings measuring 16 feet high are actually two feet lower than the original 18 feet to accommodate the addition of a second floor, explained Prial.

“All the windows are the same proportion,” he said, “but they have been reset with double panes and frames made of aluminum-clad wood.” Centered in the great space is a light well with natural light streaming down from a second floor skylight.

Bringing the outside in is a signature wish of RH's California-based CEO Gary Friedman for his Design Gallery stores. It's most apparent on the second floor, where windows and French doors surround the conservatory-like space – and where the store will offer, for the first time, personalized interior design services.

French doors will open onto “intimate” rooftop terraces to be planted with trees and flowers, with seating areas set beneath RH-styled awnings. 

Positioned upstairs and down are circular vestibules with elevators and stairs. On the rear stairs the decorating has begun with the hanging of the RH signature oversized birdcage chandeliers along with a dozen wall clocks telling time in 12 cities around the world.

On opening day the interior that has now been “transformed to serve as an architectural canvas,” said Prial, will showcase numerous “lifestyle settings” with a reported nine bedroom settings to be on display.