Home Depot is making some radical changes in their store formats. The retailer who came to define "big box" is now going small scale for some of it stores, which will be making their debut in California. The new stores are based on the company’s Expo Design Center chain, with a more cozy feel. The stores are a mix of a traditional Home Depot and an Expo and will be tested in Concord, CA and four suburbs of San Francisco. The company will not be selling lumber and building materials at four of its five new stores, and has increased high-end products such as appliances, bathroom fixtures, DIY products for a weekend’s work etc.

Although the small stores carry roughly half the number of items in a regular Home Depot, customers can order the full slate of products via several catalog kiosks sprinkled throughout the store. For now, the test is limited to five stores in the San Francisco Bay area. Home Depot is eyeing other spots in this market, though, and some real estate executives at the company say small-store formats could roll out elsewhere in the country if these are a hit.