Danielle Frankel, the designer celebrated for her fresh and inventive take on bridal fashion, stands in the calmest, most peaceful room imaginable. She looks perfectly at ease, even as chaos unfolds just beyond the buttery yellow walls—hammering, sawing, and the unmistakable sounds of a space being prepped for its grand debut.

Frankel is giving me a virtual tour of her soon-to-open Melrose Place boutique via Zoom, and while I expected a casual FaceTime call, that’s not her style. True to her meticulous nature, she’s hired a small film crew to livestream the walkthrough, ensuring every detail is captured just right.

If she seems unusually serene, it’s because—despite the last-minute rush after eight months of renovations—her dream of opening a store in her hometown of Los Angeles is finally coming true. (She grew up just a 10-minute drive away.) “We really wanted to be in this neighborhood,” she says of the search she and her husband, Joshua Hirsch (the company’s CEO), undertook. “After two years of looking, we were about to sign a lease elsewhere when we found this place before it even hit the market. I knew instantly—this was the one.”

Frankel’s instincts were spot-on. The 4,000-square-foot boutique sits in prime Melrose Place real estate, nestled between Oscar de la Renta and The Row, with a beautiful courtyard welcoming visitors inside. This marks her first standalone retail location (her New York atelier doubles as a design studio and shopping space). Both spaces were designed by interior decorator Augusta Hoffman, whom Frankel first met when Hoffman came to her for a wedding dress.

“There was something about Augusta’s energy—I just knew I wanted to work with her,” Frankel recalls. “Her taste was impeccable, and she felt like the perfect partner.” Given Frankel’s line of work, it’s no surprise she values harmony—and their collaboration clicked because both wanted the boutique to feel “clean, sharp, and design-forward, but also warm and inviting, not intimidating,” Frankel explains. “Augusta usually designs homes, not retail spaces, and that’s exactly what I wanted—for the boutique to feel like my living room.”

The buttery yellow room, Frankel says, was chosen to evoke that cozy living room vibe—a place where shoppers can relax. She picked the shade long before it became trendy, testing 14 different options to find the one that looked best in LA’s natural light.

Despite being the size of a typical New York apartment, the room feels intimate and snug, thanks to floor-to-ceiling tasseled drapes and curved furniture like a 1940s-style arched sofa and walnut-trimmed armchairs inspired by Jean-Michel Frank. Next door is a spacious fitting room—also roughly the size of a Manhattan studio.

With the film crew following, Frankel moves through the airy reception area and retail space (where shoes and accessories will be displayed) before arriving at the second room, designed for brides to browse her dresses in privacy. The walls are painted in a delicate, celery-meets-pistachio hue—another carefully tested shade—creating an elegant yet welcoming atmosphere.Here’s a litmus test for this space and the creamy yellow room: How stunning would Frankel’s ivory dresses look against the palette?

Slightly smaller, this room is anchored by a dramatic ebony ivy-leaf chandelier, which presides over two armchairs (with a distinct Frank Lloyd Wright vibe), a scrolling wrought iron stool—Frankel admits she’s obsessed with wrought iron—and shell-shaped sconces she discovered at a Paris flea market. (They replaced the original sconces, which she vetoed at the last minute—proof that the magic is in the details!) The space is so breathtaking, so perfectly blending Old Hollywood glamour with modern Los Angeles, that if I were shopping here for a wedding dress, I’d scrap my venue plans and just get married in the boutique.

Frankel and her interior designer, Augusta Hoffman, have crafted a beautiful—and inviting—take on Angeleno style.

Frankel put considerable thought into the boutique’s ambiance, which she describes as “very L.A.” Since choosing a wedding dress is already emotionally charged, the space had to intuitively align with the customer’s mindset. “We have the luxury of privacy here,” Frankel explains. “We don’t want anyone to feel rushed; the rooms are spacious so clients can think freely and try on dresses comfortably. At the end of the day, customer service is just as important as aesthetics.”

She’s also mindful that her team’s role is to guide and advise. When someone books an appointment (the $150 fee is credited toward their dress), they complete a questionnaire to help curate the selection waiting for them. “We pre-select everything before a client arrives,” Frankel says. “We ask about their preferences, wedding planner, venue—everything to make the most of their time.” The custom racks, designed by Frankel herself, ensure each dress is evenly spaced. “Consistency matters—it drives me crazy when things are uneven,” she adds with a laugh.

Before trying on a single dress, though, you’ll pass through the stunning courtyard. Designed to be as welcoming as the rest of the boutique, it features modern sectionals and mid-century Walter Lamb for Brown Jordan furniture. Originally concrete, the floor was later covered in brick inlay for warmth, with Boxwood Japonica in vintage urns mirroring the hand-painted foliage on the plaster walls. Squint, and you might think you’re in Tuscany.

As our tour wraps up, Frankel stands by the entrance, serene even in the bright California sun. “I fell in love with the courtyard,” she says. “A bride can come here, have coffee, relax in this dreamy antique furniture, and just soak it all in with her family before diving into dresses. I’m so proud of this space—we couldn’t have done it before. Now, we truly understand who we are and what our brides want.”

**Danielle Frankel**
8475 Melrose Place, Los Angeles, California 90069
For appointments, email melroseplace@daniellefrankelstudio.com.