20 February 2009

Nailed It

Giant Design helps the move away from cookie-cutter store design in Chatswood, Sydney.

Nail salons aren’t always the most inspiring design locales, however the Professionails project by Giant Design in Westfield Chatswood aims to inject some luxury – with just a little polish.

Perhaps the first thing you notice about the store is that its window is filled with over 1000 varying shades of suspended red polish bottles. Giant have carried these luxurious deep reds through the store’s interior, contrasted with off-white furniture, flooring and detailing – all referencing glossy polished nails.

A black ceiling and display cabinets add further richness and a canopy of thick red ropes are suspended from a traditional white ceiling rose.

Designed to be more open at the reception area, the store moves into a more personal feel in the service area – with subtle angling of the walls and ceiling alluding to a more intimate experience, while mirrors create a sense of openness.

“The overall result is a seductive space which aims to tempt the passer by to step inside and experience a moment of life on the other side of the velvet rope,” says Giant’s Ed Kenny.

The project brief called for an environment that was contemporary, glamourous and feminine while still playful and not over-the-top with detailing. The aim was to make the client feel ‘special’ without alienating them.

The competitive world of centres such as Westfield means that stores need to vie for attention and for Professionails this meant moving towards a more boutique aesthetic.

“They offer quality service that is seen as great value for money but wanted to move away from the rack em and stack em production line that has become the common place,” Kenny says.

We can only hope that projects like this and Melbourne Central’s Fame Agenda boutique signal a trend moving away from stock-standard shopping centre design.

giantdesign.com

Photography by Andrew Worssam

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