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    Buller and Rice salon is a showcase of plant-based materials

    East London hair salon Buller and Rice has opened a new venue with an interior design palette that includes seaweed, algae, cork and mushroom leather.

    Buller and Rice Wanstead is a salon that doubles as a lifestyle store, selling products ranging from homeware to wine.
    Company founders Anita Rice and Stephen Buller designed the interior themselves, filling it with bespoke creations from designers and makers including Natural Material Studio’s Bonnie Hvillum and Copenhagen-based Jonas Edvard.
    Buller and Rice Wanstead is a hair salon and lifestyle storeRice told Dezeen their ambition was to use as many plant-based materials as possible.
    “We wanted to deep dive into what could happen with plant matter,” she explained.

    The collaboration with Hvillum – who won the inaugural Bentley Lighthouse Award at Dezeen Awards 2023 – resulted in latex-like curtains made from a yellow algae-based material.
    The yellow-toned interior includes paper and seaweed lamps by Jonas EdvardEdvard’s contribution is a series of yellow pendant lamps made from recycled paper and seaweed, similar to those he previously made for Copenhagen burger joint, POPL.
    Rice said she spotted them by chance while enjoying a burger there. “When it turned out they were made from seaweed, I knew they were perfect,” she explained.
    Latex-like curtains by Natural Material Studio are made from algaeOther plant-based details include a cork wall and seat pads made from algae-based foam, while cushions made from mushroom leather will be added in early 2024.
    The space is also filled with plants, with many installed behind the front windows.
    Seat pads in the waiting area are made from algae foamBuller and Rice Wanstead is the third venue that the company has opened in east London, following salons in Hackney and Walthamstow.
    Rice said the project represents the latest step in a journey of exploration into eco-friendly materials.

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    Initially, they focused on simple natural materials like wood and cork. They then started experimenting with materials made from recycled waste products, including a sheet plastic made from yoghurt pots.
    “Our primary interest is in finding innovative and sustainable building materials that we can work into an aesthetically pleasing approach,” Rice said.
    Yellow tiles feature throughout the interiorThe renovation involved a complete refit of a former Chinese restaurant that had been shut down for years.
    A yellow colour scheme features throughout, marking a departure from the pink hues of the two other Buller and Rice salons.
    This shade can be found on bespoke concrete pieces created by London-based maker Smith & Goat, including an orthogonal reception desk, a wall-hung washbasin and the column-like legs of two styling stations.
    Plants can also be found throughout the spaceStainless steel features on both walls and surfaces, offering a utilitarian feel that contrasts the warmth of the yellow. “Practicality had a hand in that decision,” Rice admitted.
    The space is completed by custom-made barber chairs, frameless arch mirrors, yellow tiling and speckled vinyl flooring from manufacturer Tarkett.
    The photography is by Megan Taylor.

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    Space Projects creates Amsterdam store with thatched hut for Polspotten

    A curvilinear thatched hut has been paired with terracotta-hued tiles at the Amsterdam store for homeware brand Polspotten, which was designed by local studio Space Projects.

    The studio created the store to straddle a shop and an office for Polspotten, a furniture and home accessories brand headquartered in the Dutch capital.
    Visitors enter the Polspotten store via an oversized triangular entrancewayCharacterised by bold angles and arches, the outlet features distinctive terracotta-coloured walls and flooring that nod to traditional pots, Space Projects founder Pepijn Smit told Dezeen.
    “The terracotta-inspired colours and materials refer to the brand’s first product, ‘potten’ – or pots,” said Smit, alluding to the first Spanish pots imported by Erik Pol when he founded Polspotten in the Netherlands in 1986.
    The interconnected spaces are delineated by cutoutsLocated in Amsterdam’s Jordaan neighbourhood, the store was arranged across a series of open-plan rooms, interconnected by individual geometric entryways.

    Visitors enter at a triangular opening, which was cut away from gridded timber shelving lined with multicoloured pots that mimic totemic artefacts in a gallery.
    A curvilinear thatched hut provides a meeting spaceThe next space features a similar layout, as well as a plump cream sofa with rounded modules and sculptural pots stacked in a striking tower formation.
    Travelling further through the store, molten-style candle holders and Polspotten furniture pieces were positioned next to chunky illuminated plinths, which exhibit amorphously shaped vases finished in various coral-like hues.

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    Accessed through a rectilinear, terracotta-tiled opening, the final space features a bulbous indoor hut covered in thatch and fitted with a light pink opening.
    The hut provides a meeting space for colleagues, according to the studio founder.
    “The thatch, as a natural material, absorbs sound as well,” explained Smit.
    The store provides an art gallery-style space for homewareNext to the hut, Space Projects created an acoustic wall illustrated with “hieroglyphics” of Polspotten products, which references the gallery-like theme that runs throughout the outlet.
    “The store was inspired by Polspotten’s use of traditional techniques combined with a collage of their reinterpreted archetypes,” said Smit.
    It is also used as an office spaceElsewhere in Amsterdam, Dutch practice Studio RAP used 3D printing and algorithmic design to create a “wave-like” facade for a boutique store while interior designer Linda Bergroth created the interiors for the city’s Cover Story paint shop to streamline the redecorating process for customers.
    The photography is by Kasia Gatkowska.

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    Rafael Prieto creates “secret garden” for Gohar World store in New York

    Designer Rafael Prieto has lined tableware store in New York City with wallpaper made from photos taken in the south of France and antique furniture.

    Located at 181 Lafayette Street in SoHo, the Gohar World store showcases tableware products designed by sisters Laila and Nadia Gohar.
    The Gohar World store is lined with wallpaper created using designer Rafael Prieto’s photos”Gohar World is a tableware universe that embraces tradition, time, craft, and humour,” said the duo, who founded their brand in 2020.
    The space was designed by Rafael Prieto, founder and creative director of Savvy Studio, to capture the varied cultures and crafts involved in making the tableware.
    The wallpaper features peel-away elements that represent the “secret world” that Laila and Nadia Gohar have created”Because Laila and Nadia work with ateliers all over the world, from Egypt to Italy, Gohar World is inherently a brand that transports you to different places,” said Prieto. “Sometimes, even to your grandmother’s living room.”

    “So my idea when designing the store was to transport visitors to another world,” he added.
    An eclectic mix of antique domestic furniture and objects decorate the storeUsing photos he took in the south of France, the designer created a custom layered wallpaper with Wallpaper Projects to cover the walls.
    The imagery of crumbling and weathered stonework mixed with scenes from fields and woodland lends an otherworldly atmosphere to the store.
    Gohar World products are displayed in a variety of ways throughout the store”The outer layer shows monumental stone archways which are torn away to reveal a secret garden, representing Laila and Nadia’s secret Gohar World, which everyone is now invited to step into,” said the brand.
    An eclectic mix of antique domestic furniture pieces adds to the surreality of the space, with fabric ruffles surrounding table bases, and sections of Grecian-style columns supporting surfaces and acting as pedestals.

    “My work is a universe that I’ve created for myself” says Laila Gohar

    Some of the Gohar World tableware is presented in open cabinets or glass vitrines, while other pieces are laid out as table settings as if ready for dinner.
    The storefront is painted a warm cream colour, and white fabric is hung in the lower halves of the windows and glass doors.
    Laila and Nadia Gohar founded their brand to collaborate with global artisans and help preserve “dying and disappearing” craftsLaila is known for her creative food installations and projects that blend design, food and art, which she catalogues via her Instagram account Lailacooks.
    Partnering with Nadia to move into homeware design, the aim is to work with global artisans to help preserve “dying and disappearing” crafts, she told Dezeen in a recent interview.
    The store is located on Lafayette Street in New York’s SoHo neighbourhoodRecently, several brands have opted for a more surreal, eclectic aesthetic for their stores compared to the cohesive, monochrome approach that’s pervaded retail design over the past few years.
    The Awake NY store by Rafael de Cárdenas, the Boyy flagship in Milan by Thomas Poulsen and the Tons boutique in Pittsburgh by NWDS are all examples of this.
    The photography is by Clement Pascal.

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    Kelly Wearstler designs Ulla Johnson store to capture the “spirit of southern California”

    American interior designer Kelly Wearstler has paired a towering tree with speckled burl wood panelling and vintage furniture by Carlo Scarpa at the Ulla Johnson flagship store in West Hollywood.

    Wearstler created the light-filled, two-storey shop as the flagship Los Angeles location for Johnson’s eponymous clothing brand.
    Kelly Wearstler has designed the interiors for Ulla Johnson’s LA flagshipThe duo worked together to envisage the sandy-hued interiors, which Wearstler described as “something that really speaks to LA”.
    “A priority for me and Ulla was to ensure that the showroom encapsulated the quintessence of the West Coast, firmly grounded in both the surrounding environment and local community,” the designer told Dezeen.
    The “Californian idea of merging indoor and outdoor” permeates the interiorVisitors enter the store via a “secret” patio garden lined with desert trees and shrubs rather than on Beverly Boulevard, where the original entrance was.

    “This Californian idea of merging indoor and outdoor is evident from the moment you approach the store,” said Wearstler, who explained that her designs tend to nod to the “natural world”.
    Wearstler designed textured interiors to reflect Johnson’s collectionsInside, three interconnected, open-plan spaces on the ground floor were dressed with textured interiors that mirror Johnson’s similarly rich collections, which hang from delicate clothing rails throughout the store.
    Standalone jewellery display cases by Canadian artist Jeff Martin feature in the cavernous accessories space. Clad with peeling ribbons of grooved, caramel-coloured tiles, the cases echo floor-to-ceiling speckled burl wood panels.
    The mezzanine includes a double-height treeThe other living room-style area was designed as a sunroom with a pair of boxy 1970s Cornaro armchairs by modernist Italian architect Carlo Scarpa, as well as parquet flooring with Rosa Corallo stone inlay.
    “Vintage pieces are infused into all of my projects and I enjoy experimenting with the dialogues created by placing these alongside contemporary commissions,” explained Wearstler.
    A lumpy resin table features in an upstairs loungeThe largest of the three spaces, the mezzanine is illuminated by skylights and houses a double-height Brachychiton – a tree that also features in the designer’s own Malibu home.
    A chunky timber staircase leads to the upper level, where another lounge was finished in burnt orange and cream-coloured accents including a lumpy marbelised resin coffee table by LA-based designer Ross Hansen.
    “We collaborated with a variety of local artisans to imbue the spirit of Southern California into every facet of the project,” said Wearstler.

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    Ribbed plaster walls and textured flooring line a fitting room close by, which was created to evoke a residential feeling, according to the designer.
    “We wanted people to feel at home in the store so we prioritised warm and inviting elements,” she said.
    Another striking display cabinet made from wavy burl wood evokes “a touch of 1970s California nostalgia”.
    Wavy burl wood evokes “a touch of 1970s California nostalgia”The Ulla Johnson store is also used as a community space, which hosts rotating art installations, talks with guest speakers and other events.
    Wearstler recently designed an eclectic cocktail bar at the Downtown LA Proper hotel, which she previously created the wider interiors for. Her portfolio also features a 1950s beachfront cottage renovation in Malibu.
    The photography is by Adrian Gaut. 

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    Chongqing’s hidden factories inform interiors of Harmay beauty store

    Conveyor belts and cog-like display stands appear within this beauty store in Chongqing, China, designed by AIM Architecture, which takes cues from the city’s underground network of factories.

    Harmay is located at the heart of Chongqing inside a former shopping mall, with its entrance set below street level.
    A skylight punctures the ceiling of Harmay’s Chongqing store”The store is located underneath a large plaza with a multitude of steps going down into it,” explained Shanghai practice AIM Architecture.
    “So, to work with this unique spatial setting, we explored typologies of underground structures within the local context.”
    Products are displayed on conveyor belts, creating a factory-like settingA particular source of inspiration was the hundreds of bomb shelters that can be found beneath Chongqing, which were used to hide from Japanese air raids during world war two but have now been widely converted into shops, eateries and small-scale factories

    To imitate the enclosed feeling of these shelters, the practice used gypsum panels to form a dropped ceiling within the store, simultaneously concealing its exposed service ducts.
    These boards were also used to clad the store’s facade and have all been rendered in a brick-red hue on the interior.
    Some display stands were made to look like generatorsStainless steel was used to create a series of industrial-style display fixtures, nodding to the factories that now inhabit some of the shelters.
    This includes a long conveyor belt that snakes throughout the store’s main room with small grey crates placed at intervals along its surface, each containing different beauty products.
    Other stands look similar to machine cogsIn the store’s smaller peripheral rooms, products are showcased on gridded steel shelves and stands that were designed to look like generators or oversized machinery cogs.
    Simple strip lights were hung from the ceiling and a skylight was installed so that shoppers can look upwards to the outdoors, further enhancing the feeling of being underground.
    Gridded steel shelves were also been added to the storeAIM Architecture has designed a number of locations for beauty retailer Harmay, including an apothecary-style store in Hong Kong, and another in Hangzhou that resembles a 1970s office.
    This branch in Chongqing is shortlisted in the large retail interior category of the 2023 Dezeen Awards.
    Here, it is competing against other projects such as the Super Seed shop by FOG Architecture, which features more than 100 moving display boxes, and Kooo Architects’ Freitag store, which occupies an old textile factory.
    The photography is by Wen Studio. 

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    Linda Bergroth designs “user-centric” Cover Story paint shop in Amsterdam

    Interior designer Linda Bergroth has added colourful beams to the Amsterdam concept store for plastic-free paint brand Cover Story, which was designed to streamline the redecorating process for shoppers.

    The “paint studio” is the second iteration of Cover Story outlets designed by Bergroth, who also created the interiors for the Finnish brand’s flagship Helsinki store.
    The Cover Story shop in Amsterdam features oversized colourful beamsShortlisted in the small retail interiors category of this year’s Dezeen Awards, the paint shop features oversized colourful beams. These were informed by cranes in the port city, as well as the decorative vignettes that top many of Amsterdam buildings’ facades, according to the brand.
    “The design playfully explores the use of colour, incorporating three-dimensionality through roof bars and considering how light interacts with colour to influence perception,” said Cover Story.
    Linda Bergroth designed the interiorFollowing a similar format to the Helsinki outlet, the Amsterdam shop also serves as a showroom, office and events space, despite its small size.

    A large colour chart made from hand-painted swatches in 47 different shades, designed to make choosing colours easier for customers, was attached to the wall.
    Colourfully painted blocks and plinths were incorporated to show how light responds to each Cover Story shadeChunky painted plinths were positioned in the shop window, as well as smaller colourful blocks on a central silvery table, to emphasise the different ways in which light and shadow respond to various paint options.
    Cover Story explained that Bergroth chose to highlight the old building’s “unique characteristics”, rather than introduce new furniture, including its sloping walls and the metal supports that adorn its structural pillars.

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    “Despite the significant influence that wall colour holds in shaping the atmosphere of a room and influencing interior design, paint is often perceived merely as a renovation accessory,” said the brand.
    “Cover Story’s mission is to position paint as a design product, which is why the Amsterdam paint studio is strategically located on a bustling shopping street alongside other concept stores where interior design products are sold,” it added.
    “Every aspect is thoughtfully crafted to promote a sustainable and user-centric experience.”
    The beams were informed by Amsterdam’s architectureFounded in 2020 by Anssi Jokinen and Tommi Saarnio, the brand produces 100 per cent plastic-free paint, which is also odourless.
    Finnish designer Bergroth has completed a number of colour-infused projects including Durat’s Helsinki showroom and a blue pop-up restaurant in New York built from recycled food packaging.
    The photography is by Paavo Lehtonen. 

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    Akin Atelier houses Gallery Shop at Sydney Modern in “translucent bubble”

    Curved resin walls define this retail space, which architecture studio Akin Atelier has created for the Sydney Modern extension at the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

    Designed by Akin Atelier with surfboard designer Hayden Cox, the Gallery Shop is located in the entrance pavilion of the gallery that was recently completed by Pritzker Architecture Prize-winning studio SANAA.
    The retail space is conceived as a “translucent bubble” within the entrance area, the studio said, and it aims to challenge the typical commercial experience in a museum shop.
    Akin Atelier has created the Gallery Shop at Sydney Modern”The shop captures natural light throughout the day, bringing dynamic reflections and refractions of the city while holding people, objects, and books within its centre,” Akin Atelier told Dezeen.
    “[It] showcases products to passers-by through the lens of the resin walls – gently maximising the identity of the space while preserving the architectural experience of the new building.”

    The Gallery Shop comprises two resin walls that curve around its displays, with a gap between the two of them forming the entry point.
    It has curved walls made from a resinThe installation is placed in the northwest corner of the entrance pavilion, to the left-hand side of its entrance, meaning that its distinctive resin walls are visible from the street.
    Its walls are constructed of 29 modules formed of 12 tonnes of resin. According to the studio, the resin is a type of “bio-resin” manufactured to incorporate biological matter.
    It sits within the building’s entrance pavilion that was designed by SANAA”It is composed of a minimum 26 per cent biological matter,” said the studio.
    “[This reduces] the amount of embodied carbon as well as reducing toxicity during the manufacturing process.”

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    The distinct tonal gradient of the bio-resin was achieved by hand pouring layers of colour into custom moulds – a process that took 109 days.
    Meanwhile, its glossy translucency was achieved through hand sanding followed by seven rounds of hand polishing.
    The translucent material allows natural light through the space. Photo by Tim SalisburyThe resin’s earthy hues reference the sandstone used in the original Art Gallery of New South Wales, while its gradation is a nod to the layered nature of Sydney’s bedrock of sandstone.
    “The handmade nature of resin casting and finishing allowed for experimentation across colour and form while addressing the patinated qualities of the outside environment,” explained Akin Atelier.
    Two curved walls enclose the shopInside the Gallery Shop, adjustable resin shelves line the curved walls, housing books and publications. Stainless steel is used for display plinths, providing a contrast to the warm tones of the resin.
    The project has been shortlisted in the small retail interior category of the Dezeen Awards.
    Akin Atelier also recently used tactile materials such as onyx, plaster and travertine to form the interiors of a branch of the womenswear store Camilla and Marc in Melbourne.
    The photography is by Rory Gardiner unless otherwise stated. 

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    D415 reimagines mundane materials for Bratislava boutique Som Store

    Design studio D415 has used standard construction materials such as plasterboard and steel profiles in unexpected ways to create a concept store in Bratislava, spotlighting young fashion designers from Slovakia and neighbouring Czechia.

    Set inside the Nivy shopping centre, Som Store gives each featured fashion brand an equally-sized space in which to showcase its work with the aim of helping the region’s designers reach a wider audience.
    D415 has designed the SOM Store boutique in BratislavaIn order to present these Sometimes disparate collections in a cohesive way, D415 opted for an approach the studio calls “introvert x extrovert”.
    By enveloping each collection within panels of steel, positioned at a 45-degree angle from the entrance, only glimpses of the products can be seen from the storefront.
    The shop offers different local fashion designers a small retail spaceAs they venture further into the store, customers are gradually able to see and browse the different collections.

    “When entering the store, the entire space has an introverted character,” D415’s Peter Gonda told Dezeen. “All the models on display can be seen only in a hint and the number of outfits on display is not distracting.”
    “The extroverted character of the space is only apparent upon entering the store, where the individual models on display are revealed from behind the rotated walls.”
    Each unit is framed by steel walls placed at a 45-degree angleRather than putting off customers, Gonda has found that this set-up helps to create a sense of intrigue that draws them into the store.
    “The client was concerned that the insufficient presentation of clothes from the entrance to the store would have a negative impact on the store’s traffic,” he explained. “The opposite turned out to be the right solution.”
    “Customers are attracted to enter the store by a certain degree of mystery, which is not typical for fashion stores in large shopping centres, where the new collection is already in the store window.”

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    These 45-degree angles are repeated throughout the whole space, with its angled grid layout created using a matrix of steel profiles.
    Here, this humble material – commonly used for framing drywalls – is exposed and celebrated as the hero material of the space.
    “The element was used raw, with a standard galvanized surface treatment just as it is sold for building structures,” Gonda said.
    The “floating” cash register has a simple rectilinear designThe steel profiles are used against a backdrop of unpainted plasterboard. Both are typically unappreciated materials, according to Gonda, and both have a matt grey in colour while being distinctive enough to create a subtle visual contrast.
    “It’s a demonstration of how it is possible to create a final element that is not only functional but also decorative from simple building elements, which were primarily intended as a supporting secondary structure,” Gonda said.
    Finished in the same pale grey tone, the resin floor was chosen because it can easily be repaired by tradespeople, which according to D415 makes it more sustainable.
    A multifunctional furniture piece provides seating and display spaceSimilarly, the steel elements can be unscrewed and reused for their original purpose further down the line.
    To ensure that the clothes remain the focal point, the furniture elements including the versatile display cabinets and the “floating” cash desk are simple, rectilinear in design and made from birch board.
    At the centre of the space is a long multifunctional furniture element that variously serves as a display stand for accessories and a bench that provides seating for trying on products and for any fashion shows and events that will be held in the store.
    The changing rooms are hidden behind beige curtainsOut-sized squashy seats dot the space around the changing area, colour-coordinated with the full-height curtains that frame the fitting rooms.
    Som Store has been shortlisted in the small retail interior category of this year’s Dezeen Awards.
    Also in the running is a plastic-free paint shop by Linda Bergroth and a skincare store finished in salvaged materials and biotextiles by Nina+Co.
    The photography is by D415.

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