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New retail project:...

New retail project: Art Rugs Gallery Showroom

ELLE DECORATION featured our new retail project — showroom of ART RUGS GALLERY in Moscow.

An interesting perspective on luxury that we have gained in many years of working with luxury brands comes down to one thing — it is all in the details! ⠀ Client

This is the second showroom we designed for the Art Rugs Gallery. The first opened in Chelsea Harbour Design Centre in London in Spring 2019. Chelsea Harbour Design Centre is the largest design hub in Europe and is home to over 900 luxury interior brands. The owners go against the tradition of trading online and continue to open physical spaces so that potential buyers can experience the beauty of an item or object and realise that the object can exist outside space and time, and be passed on to future generations in the family.

Concept

The owners’ central idea was to create a diverse boutique featuring not just rugs but also various art pieces such as sculptures and paintings as well as collectible furniture and lights.

Colour spectrum

A neutral background has been chosen in order to display rugs in the manner of paintings.

Layout

The space is divided into two areas. The main area is in turn divided into three smaller areas using partitions which are commonly used to display rugs but can be easily removed when the space is used for talks, presentations and parties. The second area is mainly used for storage.

Architecture and Décor

We tried to subtly incorporate exterior features into interior decoration. The showroom is located in the newly refurbished “Bunun” Club House built in 1903 by architect and master of Art Nouveau, Vasily Shaub. This neo-modern architectural project was completed using brick whilst preserving decorative elements of the building’s historic façade. Featuring centrally positioned pilasters, stucco rosettes, cornices and a minimalistic colour palette, the building resembles Parisian mansions of the early 20th century. Our aim was to understand existing architectural features and avoid spoiling them. Therefore the solution was very simple: poured flooring in glossy finish with matt walls and ceiling. The focus was placed on the windows. It is always a pleasure to work in a space with high ceilings and large windows. We think that in this project we managed to place emphasis on the arched windows creating radius slopes. Special attention was paid to the entrance area. The aim was to create a special art gallery atmosphere felt by anyone who enters. Above the stairs are Art Deco wall-mounted light fittings in stepped configuration which go well with the geometry of the O&A London collection console. This creates an atmosphere of a museum or gallery where one is likely to see columns and arches.  For walls we used our own Caledonia collection hand-made wall coverings of dramatic saturated gold colour which work really well with the glossy floor.

Feature of the Project

A vertical chandelier was designed especially for this project to become its centerpiece.  This Meissa Small  chandelier occupies its special place of honour in our O&A London collection.  Initially this light fixing was designed to be used in staircase atriums and spaces with high ceilings. While working on the showroom we decided to update this item and halve its size making it 1.5 meters as opposed to the initial 3m. The chandelier works well with the arched windows. The patterns are refracted by the luminous spheres which creates a truly magical effect.

Today every brand has its own values, mission and history. Therefore when working with spaces of this nature one also creates the meaning and visual codes that later determine the brand success and how consumers perceive it. It is especially exciting to work with young companies because it is even harder to work within highly competitive markets and this brings great responsibility. We believe that in this case we managed to create a smart and comfortable space where a museum-like atmosphere seamlessly merges with retail. This makes potential buyers very comfortable. The space is not only aesthetically pleasing but also carries an educational function as the customers can really experience ancient Persian weaving traditions, enjoy the works of artists and designers and learn interesting facts.  This is what forms brand perception and brand loyalty. A lot of time elapses between the moment the person sees an object for the first time and the moment they make a purchase. Therefore it is important to create the right atmosphere, from excitement to realisation, which makes the connection between the consumer and product.

Decoration Materials Wall covering – Caledonia, O&A London

Lightning MEISSA Chandelier Small, O&A London VEGA wall-mounted light, O&A London FORNACIS wall-mounted light, O&A London

Furniture DIORDA Console, O&A London Table, Cattelan Italia Chairs, Cattelan Italia

Address: Plyushikha 37, Moscow, Russia

Surface area: 113 sq.m.

Photography/style: Mikhail Loskutov / Natalia Varnikova

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