Parachute in San Francisco, California by Blitz

Article source: Blitz

For Parachute’s first San Francisco location, Blitz, an award-winning architecture and interior design firm, remodeled an existing retail space into a setting that adhered to the company’s branding standards while remaining sensitive and respectful to its locale. The design team upheld the original architecture of the neighborhood and incorporated location-specific décor and features, a duality seen in all Parachute locations. Spaces are layered to create an immersive, residentially inspired shopping experience with clear circulation and abundant natural light. With custom furnishings, lounge seating, and abstract artwork, the space offers guests a warm and welcoming home-like atmosphere that deviates from the typical retail models of today.

The design team upheld the original architecture of the neighborhood and incorporated location-specific décor and features, Image Courtesy © Aubrie Pick

• Architects: Blitz
• Project: Parachute
• Location: San Francisco, California
• Photography: Aubrie Pick

A fully functional sink set within an arched recess, which invites customers to test the brand’s plush bathroom towels for softness and absorbency, Image Courtesy © Aubrie Pick

The brand’s various product lines are displayed in a manner that creates a natural path of movement for customers throughout the store. A lounge area welcomes guests with a daybed upholstered in the brand’s own fabric to provide comfortable seating spaces for lolling about. Customers are then met with bedding, bath, and other home product offerings in a space that includes a fully functional sink set within an arched recess, which invites customers to test the brand’s plush bathroom towels for softness and absorbency. This setting is followed by an archway—an architectural element found in all Parachute locations—which leads to a courtyard space shared with a French retailer of luxury goods. The result is a layout that welcomes customers to authentically engage with Parachute’s products and linger within the space.

San Francisco-based ceramics studio Heath Ceramics’ dinnerware and tabletop accessories are displayed throughout the store, Image Courtesy © Aubrie Pick

Customers are met with bedding, bath, and other home product offerings, Image Courtesy © Aubrie Pick

Local artists were enlisted to contribute to the store’s overall appeal. A large art piece by Oakland artist Ethan Caflisch hangs in the entry lounge. The work is an assemblage of paint and Parachute’s fabrics. Smaller pieces by Calflisch, in collaboration with Tappan Collective—a leader in dealing works by emerging artists—are available for purchase in store and online. San Francisco-based ceramics studio Heath Ceramics’ dinnerware and tabletop accessories are displayed throughout the store. Dusk Designs, a Los Angeles-based design and fabrication studio, provided all millwork for the project, including custom tables, fixtures, and cabinetry.

To make the product line the focal point of the design, Blitz developed a scheme that was subtle and simple, as well as elegant and tactile, to add depth to the customer’s shopping experience, Image Courtesy © Aubrie Pick

Spaces are layered to create an immersive, residentially inspired shopping experience with clear circulation and abundant natural light, Image Courtesy © Aubrie Pick

Materiality played a large role in enhancing the design. The dark tones of the exterior and Douglas fir wood floors complement the products’ raw, neutral materials. The color palette is consistent with the brand’s natural aesthetic and incorporates the city’s modern and industrial influence with hints of brass. To make the product line the focal point of the design, Blitz developed a scheme that was subtle and simple, as well as elegant and tactile, to add depth to the customer’s shopping experience.

Every effort was made to reuse the existing space and materials in order to mitigate waste and control construction costs. In order to meet an 11-week construction schedule, Blitz met frequently with the client, whose offices are located just a short drive from Blitz’s Los Angeles studio, and its consultants.

A fully functional sink set within an arched recess, which invites customers to test the brand’s plush bathroom towels for softness and absorbency, Image Courtesy © Aubrie Pick

A lounge area welcomes guests with a daybed upholstered in the brand’s own fabric to provide comfortable seating spaces for lolling about, Image Courtesy © Aubrie Pick

With custom furnishings, lounge seating, and abstract artwork, the space offers guests a warm and welcoming home-like atmosphere that deviates from the typical retail models of today, Image Courtesy © Aubrie Pick

Tags: California, USA

Categories: Interiors, Retail, Shop, space

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