Home Depot opened its first two-story store, with about 40,000 sq. ft. of space on each level, last April in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood. The first floor has hardware, plumbing and building materials. A bath and kitchen design center with home d¿r including appliances, lamps and window treatments is on the second floor. The store also offers parking for 150 cars.

Similar stores opened in Brooklyn and Staten Island last year.

"The smaller New York City stores have shown that this format can increase our overall market penetration and sales growth, without cannibalizing our existing stores," said Jim Warrington, global product merchant.