Custom rug startup Ernesta has opened its first West Coast showroom at 1308 Montana Ave in Santa Monica, bringing made-to-order wool, natural-fiber, and performance rugs to a stretch of West Los Angeles already known for high-end home design retail. The store marks the company's 12th physical location and offers one-on-one consultations with an in-store design team, along with white-glove delivery and installation once a rug order is finalized.
Ernesta was founded in 2022 by former Peloton executives John Foley, Hisao Kushi, and Yony Feng, drawing much of its founding management team from their prior fitness-technology venture, according to Forbes. The company describes itself as America's largest retailer of custom-sized, designer-quality rugs, enabling interior designers and homeowners to build tailored rugs in virtually any size, including stair runners, corner shapes, and custom cutouts. Per the PR Newswire announcement, Jennifer Parker said the Santa Monica location is Ernesta's first showroom on the West Coast, arriving amid what the company describes as strong demand from California clients for personalized rugs.
Custom Sizing Without the Months-Long Wait
Ernesta's core pitch centers on speed: the company offers to-the-inch sizing in as little as two weeks, a dramatic departure from the industry norm. Traditional hand-knotted custom rugs often require 12 to 20 weeks for overseas manufacturing and delivery, according to Startup Intros. Ernesta achieves that turnaround with an on-demand production process that cuts machine-made rolls to custom measurements rather than hand-weaving each piece from scratch, the outlet reports.
Alongside the Santa Monica opening, Ernesta launched its Earth Tones Collection, which includes four new styles made from 100% wool and viscose. The company combines premium materials, transparent pricing, personalized design guidance, and an omnichannel shopping experience that spans its website and physical showrooms, per the same announcement. Ernesta was also recognized as a 2025 Home Renovation Awards winner by Good Housekeeping.
From Manhattan Flagship to a 30-Store Ambition
The Santa Monica store is the latest step in a rapid national rollout that began in 2024 with Ernesta's flagship on Manhattan's Upper East Side before expanding into design markets across New Jersey, Connecticut, Maryland, Michigan, Texas, and Pennsylvania, according to Retail Dive. Before that, the brand had operated as an online-only startup selling through its website and sample kits.
That expansion is now accelerating. In March, Ernesta raised $20 million in Series B funding led by venture capital firm Addition, bringing its total funding to $45 million following a $25 million Series A round back in November 2022, the outlet notes. With that capital, Ernesta announced a goal of scaling from six physical locations to 30 showrooms nationwide by the end of 2027 as part of a broader shift toward an omnichannel retail model.
A Dual Customer Base and a Profitable Year
Financial records from July show Ernesta drawing about 75% of its sales from individual direct-to-consumer buyers and 25% from interior design trade professionals, a split that reflects the company's efforts to court both homeowners and repeat-order design firms, per Startup Intros. CEO John Foley reported in March that Ernesta was on track to produce 70,000 custom rugs in 2026 while achieving 100% year-over-year revenue growth and reaching profitability, according to Business of Home.
The broader rug market appears to support that growth trajectory. Market research from August estimates the U.S. area rug market will reach $4.1 billion by 2030 at a roughly 5% annual growth rate, with custom-sized and natural-fiber rugs outperforming standard machine-made inventory, according to Rug Industry Outlook 2027. Total U.S. broadloom carpet and area rug sales exceeded $12 billion in 2024, the report adds.
Why Montana Avenue
Montana Avenue is an open-air retail corridor spanning 10 blocks with more than 150 upscale storefronts, and it already hosts complementary home design showrooms including Avocado Green Mattress and Sundays Furniture, according to travel writer Julia Dimon. The tree-lined strip caters to the affluent residential communities scattered across West Los Angeles, making it a natural fit for a brand positioning itself alongside other premium home furnishings retailers.
The opening also lands amid broader shifts in Santa Monica's commercial real estate landscape. Wilshire Boulevard's 50-year-old Gap store closed in July for a planned 260-unit residential redevelopment, a sign of how traditional retail strips in the city are giving way to a mix of specialized showrooms and new housing, as Hoodline previously reported. Ernesta's new showroom is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
