Most of us have WFH set-ups, but one homeowner and jeweller has taken that to an extreme by turning her living room into a classy boutique.
Consider the home-based businesses you’re familiar with. There’s probably a baker, a barista, and maybe even a beautician in there. But a living room transformed into a jeweller’s showroom? That might be a first.
But this wasn’t the first time Colin, an interior designer at Renozone, had collaborated with Purl, the entrepreneur behind Shop Purl. The boutique prides itself on crafting jewellery with sustainability in mind and had previously operated out of an apartment that Colin helped design.
Now that Purl has moved into a spacious landed property, he is ready to push creative boundaries.
A grand entrance
“Purl said she wanted to convert her living room into a sales gallery for her products, so we designed the entire home with that in mind,” Colin said.
From the exterior, there’s little indication of the gallery inside. The monochrome facade might suggest a colonial theme, but stepping through the door reveals a luxurious and modern space, adorned with hints of pink, gold, and white, as per Purl’s vision.
Inside, it’s evident that Purl is fully committed to her business, knocking down all the walls on the first floor to create a seamless sales environment. Colin, wearing dual hats as both interior designer and visual merchandiser, meticulously planned the space around Purl’s jewellery collections.
“The appearance had to be appealing such that when clients get a ‘wow’ effect when they walk through the door. They shouldn’t be bored by the details of a home,” Colin explained.
Premium gold laminates adorn the gallery walls, while the display shelves are fitted with spotlights to accentuate the products, many of which feature crystals sourced from Europe.
Furniture was handpicked by Purl, with Colin exercising veto power to maintain a tasteful balance of femininity and luxury. After all, too much pink would look tacky and going overboard with the gold would be gauche.
“As her designer, I had to strike a balance between fulfilling her brief and not overdoing it to the point where it looks like Barbie’s house. We had to fine-tune the colours across the 3D renderings, cutting back on pink and gold and adding white.”
Back of house
Spatial challenges were addressed creatively, too. Now that the sales gallery has displaced the living room, the couch and media unit have been relegated to the space between the stairway and kitchen.
“The homeowners were okay with it because they hardly watch TV. Besides, the master bedroom has a TV,” Colin explained.
This “new” living room has also been demarcated with curtains, doubling up as a guest room at whim. Speaking of dual-purpose design, the dining room is also integrated with the kitchen, where an elevated settee sits on one end of the island, adorned in sintered stone material.
“The column in the kitchen cannot be removed, so Purl used a very high-end laminate to decorate it and divert one’s attention. We treated the column as a divider in that one side is used for display and the other side is used for dining.”
Besides catering space for the homeowners to cook and entertain their guests simultaneously, Colin also found a home for Purl’s prized crockery collection below the island. Meanwhile, all the other clutter goes into the storeroom behind the pink barn door – a rustic departure from the refined demeanour.
Labour of love
At this point, you might be wondering: What does the mister think? Apparently, Purl’s husband was initially hesitant about the abundance of pink, but eventually embraced his wife’s vision after Colin dialled it down in the rendering.
“At the end of the day, happy wife, happy life,” he said with a laugh.
Don’t get us wrong – Purl’s husband got to fulfil his own wish list too. His expectations for better lighting, for instance, were exceeded when Colin installed two skylights in the service yard and stairway, accentuating the latter’s high ceiling.
Upstairs, the wall between the master bedroom and bathroom had been demolished, creating a “master suite,” if you will.
“The brief was that this space had to be as big as possible. That’s why you see a big shower area with a big dressing table and a big closet. And, a full-length mirror to make the bathroom look classy and grand.”
As a final touch, a sleek TV wall was installed to delineate the sleeping area, lending the space the ambiance of a high-end boutique hotel. This turned the master suite into a serene sanctuary where Purl and her husband can retreat and relax after a hard day’s work.
