CRATE AND BARREL'S hip younger sibling CB2 will open a 10,000-square-foot store on University in the heart of Rice Village in June, marking the brand's first foray into brick-and-mortar in Houston.

With a slightly younger aesthetic and more affordable price point, CB2 is poised to make a decent size splash on the H-Town design scene. Shoppers can expect interactive events along with easily accessible design consultations either on-site or in-store.

Rice Village has undergone a slow but steady transformation over the last couple of years, adding a number of up-and-coming brands — Tecovas, Tasc — as well as a handful of hotly anticipated restaurant concepts, like Velvet Taco and Van Leeuwen Ice Cream, and the forthcoming Badolina bakery and Hamsa Mediterranean restaurant from the Doris Metropolitan crew. Also in the home-décor space, West Elm is slated to open this summer, marking its first Inner Loop locale since the closing of its Highland Village store in 2018.

And an Instagram-friendly concept will pop up inside the former Pier 1 building on Rice Boulevard from June 4-July 31. Houstonopoloy will boast 13 Houston-savvy "properties" ready to serve as photo backdrops.