Do you ever get out of the San Francisco Symphony on a Sunday afternoon and stroll down Hayes Street for an early bite to eat and a bit of window shopping?

If so, perhaps you even hope of going home with a treasure or two.

Both San Francisco and international treasures abound at Hayes Valley's new Worldware showroom.

If Worldware was one of your favorite boutique destinations before they moved, you need only stroll two more blocks to find them again.

However, this time you will discover that their small home furnishings boutique has grown into a stunning interior design showroom.

"Vignettes" of Beautiful Rooms

Currently, 14 living rooms, 2 dining rooms and 2 bedrooms to be exact!

All are put together in a wide variety of styles, traditional or transitional, contemporary or eclectic, to help you get a sense of what you can accomplish in your own home.

Greg Henson, Worldware's founder and principal designer, has been dedicated to the Hayes Valley neighborhood since 1998. So, when he found a bigger and better location on the corner of Fell and Gough to showcase his eclectic, international mix of home furnishings and gifts, he was delighted.

And so were many of the fellow merchants in the neighborhood.

Worldware has been a cornerstone of Hayes Valley -- just as Alabaster is on the other end of the neighborhood.

For years, Henson's personalized, relationship-driven service has resulted in a strong loyal customer base.

Worldware has established itself as a member of the community, both within the Hayes Valley neighborhood, which continues to be its home, and within the Bay Area.

Visit one corner of the new showroom -- located at the corner of Fell and Gough -- and you'll feel like you just stepped into a home in India. There is both a European and an Asian influence in a number of Worldware's "vignette" rooms.

Regardless of your style, Greg and his partner, Jeffrey Henson-Brooks, together with co-business owners Lee Duren and Norman Kown, know how to help you transform a house into a dream home.

With the re-launch of Worldware, Greg and his partners are realizing their goal of providing a "design made easy" experience for their customers and clientele.

In adding the welcoming tagline, "Feel at Home," they hope to convey a sense of comfort and relaxation not usually associated with a design store showroom.

Visit Worldware's San Francisco boutique and you'll see Greg in action.

Atlanta Residence Bedroom

Or visit them online and you can get a taste of the work Henson's team has done in Northern California, Florida and Atlanta, for celebrity clients like actress Sharon Stone and The Gap co-founder, Doris Fisher.

Ever since the second Harry Potter book came out, we've been dressing up like witches and wizards and heading to our favorite bookstore, whether it's in Kennebunkport, Maine at the Kennebunk Book Port or in San Francisco, California, when a new J.K. Rowling book is released.

This year, these mere Muggles will be in San Francisco. Our biggest Harry Potter fan of the family, who is ten, has just finished reading Rowling's first, second and third HP books for the fifteenth time. She has read the rest of the series at least ten times.

Needless to say, we are ready for the sixth book to arrive on July 16th, and then some.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince makes its debut at midnight on July 15th around the world.

Actually, Rowling's latest masterpiece is available for devouring at 12:01 am, Saturday, July 16th, and not a moment before.

Books can and should be ordered ahead of time -- no matter where you decide to pick them up.

Even San Francisco's Mayor Gavin Newsom has gotten in on the fun. Newsom has declared July 15th "All Potter's Eve in San Francisco."

Mayor Newsom's Proclamation states:

Whereas, San Francisco's own Books Inc., the West's Oldest Independent Bookseller, is hosting midnight release parties for the 6th book of the beloved JK Rowling series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, on the eve of the release date of July 16; and

Whereas, the Harry Potter series has created a whole new interest in youth literacy, in both San Francisco, and throughout the world; and

Whereas, Books Inc. is donating half their profit from sales during their "All Potter's Eve" Midnight Release Parties to local school libraries, in addition to the already impressive annual contribution of their Michael P. Grant Literacy Fund benefiting San Francisco School Volunteers; and

Whereas, many citizens of the City and County of San Francisco, including adults, are unusually excited about the new release, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince; now

Therefore Be It Resolved, that I, Gavin Newsom, Mayor of the City and County of San Francisco do hereby proclaim July 15, 2005 as ...

ALL POTTERS EVE

IN SAN FRANCISCO!

Here is a list of bookstores in the city and throughout the Bay Area that will be open before midnight on July 15th.

A number of stores are hosting a costume party for all of us dedicated J.K. Rowling, Harry, Ron & Hermione fans.