In furniture store design, commercial glass doors play a key role, enabling retailers to create dynamic, adaptable environments that respond to changing needs. All while encouraging customers to interact with spaces that reflect how they live or aspire to live.
Many retailers are now incorporating hospitality-inspired elements such as cafés, restaurants, and communal gathering areas, transforming furniture stores into lifestyle destinations. Floor plans that prioritize openness, natural light, and seamless flow further enhance the experience, fostering extended visits and repeat traffic. When people enjoy spending time in a store, they stay longer, return more often, and help furniture retailers achieve a greater ROI from their retail space.
Furniture Store Design Elevated with Commercial Glass Doors
How Commercial Glass Doors Create Next-Level Retail Spaces
Commercial glass doors offer a flexible way to turn a conventional furniture store into a revenue-making destination. When opened, they allow showrooms, patios, rooftops, or event spaces to operate as a single, interconnected environment. This flexibility supports everything from seasonal transitions to in-store events, encouraging extended visits and repeat clientele. When closed, these systems maintain security, comfort, and clear visibility, ensuring spaces remain inviting year-round.
Equally important is ease of operation. In high-traffic retail environments, doors must open and close smoothly and consistently throughout the day without disrupting staff or customers. Commercial-grade operable systems like NanaWall folding and sliding commercial glass doors are engineered for frequent use, allowing furniture store design to adapt spaces quickly as foot traffic or weather conditions change.
Furniture Store Design: Why NanaWall?
NanaWall systems are ideal for commercial environments, offering ease of operation, advanced locking and security, and long-term durability in high-traffic areas. From daily storefront openings to indoor-outdoor rooftop restaurants, these commercial glass doors are built for ease of use while offering long-lasting durability and weather performance.
Plus, NanaWall offers folding, sliding, and frameless glass wall options that are customizable to the needs of every retail environment, branding, and architectural vision. Panic hardware, door closers, and higher kickplates are possible to meet commercial environment requirements. In addition, these systems can be customized to complement business branding with over 200 powder coating color options, simulated divided lites, glass customization, and various wood options.
To ensure long-lasting durability, NanaWall systems are independently tested for over 20,000 opening and closing cycles, and commercial-rated swing panels are tested to 500,000 cycles, ensuring smooth operation every single time. With ADA-compliant sill options, secure locking systems, and certified performance testing, NanaWall enables furniture retailers to create adaptable, protected, and customer-friendly spaces that continue to deliver value over time.
Commercial Glass Doors: How These Three Furniture Stores Turn Retail into an Experience
Designed by NOOR Architects
RH—Raleigh
Located on the third floor of RH Raleigh, the RH Rooftop Restaurant was designed to blur “the lines between residential and retail, indoors and outdoors, home and hospitality.” The 60,000-square-foot design gallery reflects the high-end retailer’s goal of creating immersive environments where dining feels like a natural extension of the brand’s lifestyle experience.
The all-glass pavilion offers a rooftop dining area wrapped in high-performance glazing with overhead skylights and a dramatic 38-foot-wide NanaWall folding glass wall that opens to a spacious terrace. When opened, the system allows the space to transform effortlessly from enclosed to open-air while maintaining clear sightlines, abundant daylight, and a strong visual connection to the surrounding city.
Rooftop environments demand elevated performance, balancing openness with protection from wind, weather, and temperature fluctuations. NanaWall commercial glass doors meet these requirements while reinforcing RH’s refined aesthetic through slim frames and a steel effect finish that aligns with the RH Gallery’s signature design. The result is a flexible dining environment that responds to changing conditions throughout the day and across seasons.
“We needed a product we could trust that would operate cleanly and smoothly on a daily basis and provide our client, RH – Raleigh, a best-in-class experience,” says project contractor Carolina Classic Window & Glass. “From initial product selection to the design and execution, NanaWall delivered.”
Design by Onyx Creative
Arhaus—Wexford
Creating an open-air retail environment where guests can seamlessly experience both indoor and outdoor elements while shopping, this Pennsylvania Arhaus location utilizes folding glass windows to maintain a continuous connection to the outdoors. All while accommodating Arhaus’ signature design aesthetic. The system’s thin frames offer optimal transparency, luring passersby inside to browse.
The transparent storefront also allows interiors to be naturally illuminated by abundant sunlight, replicating the coveted indoor-outdoor lifestyle of modern homes. Plus, in return, offering protection and security of their furnishings in poor weather and after hours.
“The NanaWall systems installed at the Arhaus – Wexford, PA retail location enhance both design and function, offering customers an elevated shopping experience,” says architect Tara Grambo from Onyx Creative. “Their durability and versatility ensure long-term performance while maintaining a polished aesthetic.”
Designed by Greenberg Farrow Architects
IKEA—Centennial
Mimicking the simplicity of IKEA’s iconic Scandinavian design, this Colorado location’s multifunctional Event Space is a prime example of how to enhance customer experience. Envisioned as an eye-catching, colorful, and inviting space to attract customers' curiosity and encourage participation in store-hosted events, the space draws people in, even when the doors are closed.
With an open corner configuration, the NanaWall HSW75 frameless system allows the space to spill into the store lobby during large-scale events. When closed, the system's transparency will draw passersby into the activities happening indoors while effortlessly showcasing the recognizable IKEA branding on the glass. For a seamless transition, the top-hung system provides discreet floor sockets instead of a floor track, ensuring seamless, ADA-compliant transitions.
“The NanaWall has elevated the functionality and appeal of our new IKEA event space, transforming the way we host every gathering,” says architect Katiana Moore. “Its seamless flexibility allows us to create the right atmosphere for any occasion—from an intimate setting for close connections to an open, energetic venue that fosters interaction and engagement.”
Designed by Nelson Worldwide
Disappearing Storefront Bonus Mention: T-Mobile—Santa Monica
At this T-Mobile Santa Monica location, the storefront becomes a visual invitation, replacing a traditional fixed wall with a wide, unobstructed operable opening that connects the store interior to the surrounding pedestrian promenade. The wide, transparent opening allows natural light and fresh air to flood the interior retail space, enhancing visibility, drawing foot traffic deeper into the store, and creating a welcoming first impression.
The multiple configuration options of NanaWall HSW60 enabled this T-Mobile retailer to incorporate swing panels where needed within the system. The ability to design the location of integrated swing panels where needed helps control foot traffic at entry and exit points. Plus, a discreet, customized parking bay allows the panels to stack out of the way when fully open. The system’s top-hung design also allowed for minimal floor sockets, creating a seamless, ADA-compliant entry.
“The opening allows our salespeople to move out into the promenade and directly engage customers beyond the entrance of the store,” says T-Mobile General Manager. “This facilitates them to hand off the customer to an associate inside the store.”
Final Thoughts
Furniture store design is no longer defined solely by what is on display, but by how spaces are experienced and remembered. Stores that invite openness, visibility, and flexibility give customers permission to slow down, explore, and engage in ways that feel enjoyable. As these environments become more dynamic by supporting dining, events, and shopping within the same footprint, commercial glass doors play an essential role in enabling that adaptability. The result is retail space that feels more welcoming and continues to deliver value long after the first visit.
Discover how other retail stores leverage NanaWall commercial glass doors to elevate the customer shopping experience in our project gallery!
