Olvvi Lifestyle by The Crossboundaries
A multilayered retail experience that pushes the boundaries of conventional visual merchandising through dramatic installations and a confluence of materials.
An elliptical mirror reflecting the warmth of a brick wall. A natural teakwood writing table sitting against a woven cane panel. An exquisite, hand polished bed, glowing under the wash of a curiously bent, crooked ceiling light! These are glimpses of moments around Olvvi Lifestyle, a furniture store experience designed by The Crossboundaries.
For an interior designer to design a retail display for furniture can become an exciting project in many dimensions. An opportunity to showcase furniture pieces not just as objects of display, but as part of an interior experience is a thrilling one! With a luxury furniture brand such as Olvvi, Vadodara based design studio The Crossboundaries took the opportunity to create a multi-layered retail experience. An initial client brief required a fresh new language, focusing on a variety of furniture set-ups appealing to a diverse clientele.
The designers worked with existing furniture compositions, and in the process also added their own unique design sense. The experience from the shopfront to the interiors is aimed at creating unmissable drama and appeal, especially to strike the curiosity of passers-by. Through different scales of experiences, from the intimate and personal to a strikingly massive visualization, the designers have strived to showcase furniture aptly. Each object and furniture piece is displayed in its natural,home-like setting , embraced by abundant greens and the usual tea cup.Designed as a “blank canvas”, a neutral showcase such that the furniture pieces and lifestyle objects, through their own color, form and design details are highlighted.
The entire shopfloor is laid out as an array of alcoves containing specific furniture “exhibits”, in unique and customized backdrops. From ideal living room and bedroom arrangements to individual pieces of furniture, the showroom showcases glimpses of using furniture in both it’s mundane as well as extraordinary ways. A muted palette of greys and deep earthy tones are used to highlight some spaces, while the rest is a riot of colors and textures. Near the entrance, a wall of exposed brickwork washes the space in warmth, while across the shop floor a tangle of chairs shocks and attracts the eye. As a unifying and constant element throughout the partitions of the showroom, an abstract light structure is suspended from the ceiling.
An innovation of The Crossboundaries, the lighting fixture, of crooked metal pipe along with spot-lights at its bends provides a sense of distortion to the space. Breaking away from conventional, orthogonal arrangements of lighting fixtures, this lighting grid becomes a part of the display too. Each bend and joint of the lighting structure has been custom-designed , keeping in mind load transfers and structural dynamics, as well as an overall edge aesthetic.
Choosing a contemporary, yet deeply layered and nuanced design language to offset the minimal furniture type brings various opportunities for innovation. While the elements ceiling is playful and seems to be at random, the flooring has been kept a clean and seamless micro-crete. The flooring surface and texture were chosen to create an overall uniform background for varying pieces of furniture and objects. Due to the diverse range of furniture options, many different set-ups are needed, as both permanent and temporary displays. In a store which constantly sees arrival of new stock of fresh furniture and changing trends, the flexibility and ease of display is a value addition.
A system of low-heighted, slender partitions have been designed to segregate display areas as well as bring order into the space. Instead of using heavy, full-heighted partitions, the designers decided to work with mild steel frames and cane work. The partitions not only effectively segregate the space, but also create a sense of lightweight transparency, through a healthy synergy of two different materials. The woven cane screens bring a touch of Indian-ness into an otherwise contemporary, minimal space. A wall covered with stucco marble finish paint adds visual play when combined with graphic elements mounted on it. As one moves inwards, an orange corner in warped corrugated sheet defines a unique aesthetic. Further ahead, a striking element such as an ellipsoidal absolute black space grabs attention.
With an intent to exemplify drama by using a series of intertwined chairs, the urgency and boldness of the furniture brand is embodied. Chairs are flung, frozen and suspended in all directions, and through this a dynamic and memorable visual is created. Here, the chairs become more than pieces of furniture–they traverse into the dimensions of art. Accentuated by spot lights and fresh greens as backdrop, the installation of suspended chairs is visible from the shopfront window throughout the day. The pitch blackness and extreme angular dynamism of the chair installation becomes an absolute head-turner when seen from the street!
A sharp angular, double-layered display of furniture pieces with a cool textured teal wall is designed to showcase singular, pristine chairs, sofas and lifestyle objects. In tandem with the angular randomness used at some points across the showroom, the angled display cases sit well with the edgy design language. The angled sections are painted in two different colors on either side- a contrast of deep teal and textured white.
Instead of subduing the edges, they are highlighted and celebrated with profile lighting and metal frame edges. Populated with abundant indoor plants and smaller home décor objects, these display shelves satisfy a majority of customer’s curiosity. The creation of these angled partitions is evocative of plush, modern furniture stores across Europe- reflecting the evolved sensibilities and outlook of the designers.
The Crossboundaries here, has managed to achieve a synergy between functionality and bold design, by not only optimizing available space, but also creating a memorable “moment” in a client’s experience of the store. Punctuated with bright greens, the furniture display gives the feeling of an ideal, warm home – appealing instantly to those seeking objects to make their home. The careful placement of rugs, side-tables and everyday objects, along with the appropriate use of lighting and contrast create glimpses of possibilities. Through these clever, exciting interventions, the Olvvi store becomes a multi-layered and rich experience, for both seekers of good furniture as well as intelligent interior design!
Project: Olvvi Lifestyle
Location: Vadodara, Gujarat
Design House: The Crossboundaries
Design Team: Forum Jariwala, Rishab Prajapati, Vijay Dhabi, Neel Patel, Shailesh Boghani & Harsh Boghani
Photography: Ishi Sitwala