Boston Design Center

A very special Boston shopping experience for luxury furniture and home decor

Imagine . . . almost 100 design showrooms filled with luxury furniture, fabrics, and fixtures . . . waiting for your visit . . .

Boston Design Center in South Boston Waterfront neighborhood

That's what you'll find at the Boston Design Center (often called the "BDC") located on the South Boston Waterfront near "Cruise Port" (the Black Falcon Cruise Terminal).

If you're shopping for the latest in luxury green furnishings, redecorating your home to match something you saw on New England Dream House or in Architectural Digest, or even just thinking about luxury home decor by top designers, you probably already know that it's hard to find really high-end furnishings in retail stores. 

That's where the Boston Design Center comes in.  With over 1,200 luxury product lines of furniture, antiques, fine art, fabrics, lighting, wall and floor coverings, tiles, and kitchen and bath products, BDC offers the most extensive selection of home furnishings in New England.  Better yet, many can be customized to meet your exact requirements.

There's only one catch . . .

Boston Design Center, next to Black Falcon Cruise Terminal

Photo courtesy of Joe Dunckley

Although Boston Design Center showrooms are open to the general public and you're welcome to come browse, you can't just walk in, fall in love with the perfect Donghia chair or Zaki rug, and buy it.

BDC sells "to-the-trade" only.

What does that mean?  Basically, BDC is a wholesale operation, and sells only to trade professionals such as interior designers, decorators, architects, and others registered with the building.  Many products sold here are custom ordered so that they can be tailored to your specific needs.

But if you're not already working with a designer, decorator, or architect, don't despair - you can still buy here, just not directly.  BDC has a couple of programs designed to let you do this. 

Designer on Call matches you up with a designer.  A free hour-long consultation is included so that you can decide if your visions are compatible.  If you're looking for a designer, this can be a good way to find one.

But what if you prefer to make your own decorating decisions?  Plush may be exactly what you need. 

For a relatively modest annual fee ($275 in 2010), Plush gives you the ultimate "insider status" at Boston Design Center.  You get 4 hours free consultation with a designer, complete freedom to shop, and special pricing. 

If you're visiting Boston from another area, want to explore the best in luxury furnishings and home decor while you're here, and already have a designer back home, see if your designer can make a designer-to-designer reciprocal arrangement with someone at BDC. 

If not, Plush may be ideal for you, especially if you're spending a few days in Boston so that you can take advantage of the included consulting. 

BDC is an incredible resource for top-quality luxury furnishings - but is also one of Boston's best-kept shopping secrets.  Now that you know about it, you can shop here too!

Map showing Boston Design Center and nearby attractions in the South Boston Waterfront

This map shows the BDC's location next to the Black Falcon Cruise Terminal.

Wondering about the BDC's building?

The photos of the BDC shown above only hint at the building's enormous scale.

Built in 1919 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as a warehouse for tanks and trucks, the building contains 1.5 million square feet of floor space and engineering features that enable it to support tremendous loads - a useful attribute considering all the furniture stored in it now!

The BDC uses "only" 550,000 square feet of space for its showrooms, offices, and other needs - but that's plenty.  I've only been inside once, but still remember feeling amazed by the size, as well as the quantity and quality of the furniture and other items.

The attractive entry, which you can barely see in the photo due to the trees and trucks, is new, as is the gorgeous lobby that it leads into.  Of course, once you're inside the Boston Design Center, all you'll care about are the amazing showrooms of luxury furniture and home decor.