Room & Board

Room & Board is an American modern furniture and home furnishings retailer based in Golden Valley, Minnesota. Its 22 stores are in 11 states and Washington, D.C..

Founded in 1980, the company has an unusual philosophy and business model and transitioned in 2024 to 100 percent employee-owned. As of 2026, the company uses United States manufacturing 90 percent of the time, and builds with 100 percent sustainable wood sourced through its Urban Wood Project.

The company partners with companies in 20 states to produce its modern living, dining, bedroom, office and outdoor furniture and home decor that is about 90 percent American-made.^[3][4] About 95 percent of products are designed in-house.^[5] BusinessWeek categorized the company's pricing as between Design Within Reach and IKEA.^[6] Rejecting the conventional wisdom of the furniture business, founder John Gabbert told Business of Home in 2023 that, "We got completely away from this idea of fashion and product changing. Some of the products we introduced in the late '80s, we still make today."^[7] In 2018, Room & Board introduced a bath collection.^[8] In 2019, they launched Room & Board for Business for office and hospitality clients.^[9] In 2026, Wirecutter found its best sofa, best dining table, and previously its best modern bed frame at Room & Board.^[10]

In 2017, the U.S. Forest Service offered to sell Room & Board salvaged Douglas fir and yellow pine from abandoned homes in Baltimore. As of 2020, the company had purchased 10 miles of Baltimore lumber from which Spectra Wood in State College, Pennsylvania, built the beginning of the company's Urban Wood product line.^[11] The Urban Wood Project makes bookcases, storage cupboards, stools, and coffee tables from salvaged wood, saving some of the millions of tons of wood otherwise incinerated or sent to landfills each year.^[12] Oak felled by the New York City park system in a pilot program to plant trees that can survive rising water levels, and cedar and redwood from the city's old water towers became new products at Room & Board.^[13] After the emerald ash borer was found in Minnesota, Room & Board collaborated with Wood From the Hood, a Minneapolis wood fabricator. In 2021 Room & Board introduced a line of wooden tables made from rescued Twin Cities ash trees.^[14]

As of 2026, Room & Board had reached some of its sustainability goals: 100 percent sustainably sourced wood, 2 percent of profits was donated to environmental and disaster relief, prevented 85 percent of operational waste, and 90 percent of products were American-made.^[15] The company committed to reaching several more goals by 2030 including upholstery be 90 percent recycled or bio-based material, using 100 percent renewable electricity, and preventing 90 percent of operational waste.

Don Gabbert founded Gabberts in the 1940s in Minneapolis, a family business selling American furniture brands like Stickley, Hendredon, and Century.^[16] His son John became president in 1971, bringing another perspective.^[2] John hired a management staff and designers to take orders, and paid salaries with no commissions. John created Room & Board in 1976 as a department within Gabberts called "Put-2-gether" that sold flat-pack furniture inspired by a visit to Sweden.^[17] After a family squabble, Don retook control, forced out John, and made younger son Jim president in 1980.^[16] John used most of his equity to completely purchase Room & Board which had about $4 million in sales that year and was worth about $1 million.^[2]

Room & Board had been an S corporation since 1980.^[1] Searching for an optimal structure, CEO John Gabbert turned away venture capitalists and private equity^[6] and the company considered going public or sale to a nonprofit.^[1] In 2024 leadership decided on a 100 percent employee-owned S corporation ESOP (employee stock ownership plan) which best maintains the company's culture, supports its type of management, and is tax exempt.^[1] Shares are distributed based on salary and tenure.^[1]

B Lab certified Room & Board as a B Corporation in 2023. The company improved from 80.6 to 112.7 when re-certified in 2025.^[18]

As of 2024, the company had 1,100 full- and part-time employees.^[1] As of 2026, it operated 22 stores in 11 states and Washington, D.C.^[19]

• List of furniture types

• Hess, Edward D. (2010). "8: Managing the Risks of Growth—Private Companies". Smart Growth: Building an Enduring Business by Managing the Risks of Growth. Columbia University Press. pp. 170–178. ISBN 978-0-231-15050-7.