A new Vancouver retail space houses modern design, an architectural flower store and more

For over a decade, Avenue Road has been bringing its signature mix of functional, yet artistically-minded design to fans in North America. With offerings ranging from furniture and lighting to textiles, kitchen products and architectural accessories, the brand has become known for helping its clients transform houses into homes with its highly personal and eclectically curated collection.

Armed with showroom spaces in New York, Miami and its hometown of Toronto, Avenue Road recently inaugurated a new Vancouver location, its first presence on the West Coast. Housed within a century-old industrial building in Gastown, the sprawling two-story space has been meticulously restored and renovated by local designers Abraham Chan Design Office, and presents Avenue Road’s wares in a sumptuous, elegantly appointed environment.

‘We didn’t set out to select a heritage building, but we were drawn to the building because, much like our pieces, it had stories to tell, having been home to a newspaper and a furrier for decades,’ recalls Avenue Road’s founder Stephan Weishaupt. ‘The dramatic scale of the building enables us to present a series of shifting scenes that people can discover as they move through the space and create both intimate and epic moments.’

Abraham Chan, a longtime client of Avenue Road’s, worked with heritage consultants to preserve much of the building’s original features. ‘We were immediately drawn to the building’s existing Douglas fir columns and beams, and knew we needed to integrate them in our design. To us, these elements reflect Vancouver’s older architecture, as well as the materials that are native to the province.’

He continues, ‘To revitalise these elements, we framed the columns between grand, illuminated arches, and exposed the beams while surrounding them with drywall.’

All around the space, there are odes to the city and its scenery, including the material palette which ranges from smooth grey oak flooring, sandblasted marble and flashes of industrial steel. Chan says, ‘The space is very much a reflection of Vancouver, which we see as this cosmopolitan city set within a landscape of raw, natural beauty. It’s this juxtaposition between raw and refined that we sought to evoke in our design.’

Avenue Road’s Vancouver outpost not only brings together creations from designers including Bruno Moniard, Moss & Lam, The Rug Company and Tribu outdoor furniture, it is also home to an architectural floral shop, Hanna by Celsia Floral – a tea salon is also set to come.

Weishaupt says, ‘The Avenue Road concept is as much about how different inspirations and elements come together as it is about the story of any individual piece. [All these features will] help make the showroom a place people can visit for inspiration frequently, and not just when they have a project to work on.’

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Avenue Road website

ADDRESS

Avenue Road
301 West Plender Street

Vancouver

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