Design Within Reach, Inc. Announces Amendment to Rights Plan.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Design Within Reach, Inc. (NASDAQ:DWRI) today announced that its Board of Directors has amended the Company's stockholder rights agreement that it adopted in May 2006. The amendment creates limited exceptions to the rights agreement's 15% beneficial ownership limit and allows Glenhill Advisors, LLC and Sun Capital Securities, LLC, Design Within Reach's largest stockholders, to each acquire up to 17.5% of Design Within Reach common stock without being deemed to be an Acquiring Person pursuant to the rights agreement so long as their intention to hold such common stock is not for the purpose or effect of changing or influencing the control of the Company.

In general, the rights plan is designed to ensure that Design Within Reach's public stockholders receive fair treatment in the event of an unsolicited takeover proposal.

"Design Within Reach's stockholder rights plan is similar to plans adopted by many other publicly-traded companies," said Ray Brunner, Chief Executive Officer. "The amendment was not in response to any current effort to acquire control of the Company, but rather reflects Glenhill Advisors and Sun Capital's interests in increasing their investment in our company."

About Design Within Reach, Inc.

Design Within Reach, Inc., founded in 1998 and headquartered in San Francisco, is an integrated multi-channel provider of distinctive modern design furnishings and accessories. The Company markets and sells its products to both residential and commercial customers nationwide through the DWR catalog, online at www.dwr.com and at over 65 studios across the U.S.

"Design Within Reach" is a registered trademark of Design Within Reach, Inc.

This press release includes forward-looking statements, including statements related to anticipated revenues, expenses, earnings, operating cash flows, the outlook for Design Within Reach's markets and the demand for its products. Factors that could cause Design Within Reach's actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements including the following: we recently revised our corporate strategy and the reduction in planned growth may adversely affect our gross margins, and our net sales may not increase as rapidly as planned or at all; if we fail to offer merchandise that our customers find attractive, the demand for our products may be limited; the expansion of our studio operations could result in increased expenses with no guarantee of increased revenues; we do not have long-term vendor contracts and as a result we may not have continued or exclusive access to products that we sell; our business depends, in part, on factors affecting consumer spending that are not within our control; our business will be harmed if we are unable to implement our growth strategy successfully; if we are unable to market, advertise and sell our products effectively through the Design Within Reach catalog and website, our operating results will be adversely affected; we have made and will continue to make certain systems changes that might disrupt our supply chain operations and delay financial results; if we do not manage our inventory levels successfully, our operating results will be adversely affected; we depend on domestic and foreign vendors, some of which are our competitors, for timely and effective sourcing of our merchandise; declines in the value of the U.S. dollar relative to foreign currencies could adversely affect our operating results; and we face intense competition and if we are unable to compete effectively, we may not be able to achieve and maintain profitability. Please refer to our reports and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our latest Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, for a further discussion of these risks and uncertainties. We also caution you not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. We undertake no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements to reflect new information, events or circumstances after the date they were made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.