Founded by Chicagoan Eric Williams in 1997, The Silver Room is one of the North American city's prominent retail destinations, known even beyond its urban borders for championing local artists and in particular, artists of colour. Now, the 1,500 sq ft southside boutique and community space has just been redesigned by local architecture studio Future Firm and designer and educator Norman Teague.
Located in the vibrant Hyde Park neighbourhood, the space needed to be truly multi-functional, often shifting from boutique to a variety of other functions daily. ‘Inherently it’s a retail store, but it’s much more than that. It’s a community space, it’s a gathering space, it’s a place for book signings, it’s a dance floor, it’s a place for fashion shows. I like the fact that it’s a lot of different things, and the more people who discover it, the more things it can become,' says Williams. ‘The way I look at it, we just kind of create a platform and people who come in can create what they want from it.'
Future Firm founders Ann Lui and Craig Reschke focused on creating a simple and utilitarian, yet flexible interior in white and grey tones. ‘A minimal design approach becomes a platform for the people, products, events that are the core of Silver Room to take center stage,' says Lui.
The space is vividly occupied by custom plywood display systems, designed in collaboration with Norman Teague Design Studios - each created with The Silver Room's curated selection of products in mind, including from fashion accessories to jewellery and products. Following the overall approach that emphasises flexibility, each unit allows simple but significant adjustments to adapt as merchandise changes.
Where relevant and possible, the team incorporated in their designs material from the store's previous iterations – The Silver Room has had three location and 10 redesigns in the course of its life so far – giving the project a strong sense of continuity and identity, on top of its refined aesthetic and strong functionality.
INFORMATION
-
The Eagle Lightweight GTR is a minimalist expression of racing car aestheticsEagle E-Types is renowned for its stewardship of Jaguar’s iconic 1960s sports car. With this one-off Lightweight GTR version, the company has pushed its ethos to the limit
-
These compact new lighting designs are perfect companions for darker eveningsWith our glowing recommendation, six cute and covetable new lighting designs to beat the winter blues
-
Reach for the Barcelona skyline from this horizon-busting hotelHotel Arts Barcelona gets a luminous new look from New York studio Meyer Davis
-
How an Austin home went from 'Texan Tuscan' to a lush, layered escape inspired by the AlhambraThe intellectually curious owners of this Texas home commissioned an eclectic interior – a true ‘cabinet of curiosities’ layered with trinkets and curios
-
With a secret members’ club, this Washington, DC barbershop is a ‘theatre of self-care’At Manifest 002, come for a haircut; stay for the boldly hued social spaces designed by INC Architecture & Design
-
Step inside a ‘dream desert sanctuary’ tucked into Moab's rust-red landscapeSusannah Holmberg designed this home to harmonise with the extreme climate and dramatic surroundings of Utah’s Moab desert. 'The landscape is everything'
-
Nicole Hollis launches a collection of home objects ‘rooted in mindfulness’The American interior designer worked with artists, makers and artisans to create objects for the home, emphasising materiality and visual simplicity
-
USM furniture turns shelter in a New York exhibition‘The Room You Carry’ by interior design studio Loveisenough examines the space between order and wilderness, indoors and outdoors
-
This designer’s Montecito home – once a modest wood cabin – has been transformed into a charming sanctuaryOriginally built by architect Lutah Maria Riggs, this compact family home has been reimagined by another influential female designer – Tamara Honey of House of Honey – who has imbued the space with her signature touch
-
The owner of this restored Spanish Colonial home turned it into a gallery – with no social media allowedCasa Francis in LA is a private residence, but recently opened its doors to one member of the public at a time for an exhibition centred around domesticity
-
This Manhattan apartment and studio is a shrine to artThis New York artist's home is both comfortable and flexible, acting as a studio and a showcase for his work and collected pieces. We take a tour for our interiors series, The Inside Story
