The White Company, London
Design Credit:
Household Design, London
household-design.com
The White Company, a purveyor of household goods almost uniformly in white, has expanded its monochromatic offerings with a beautiful new flagship store on Marylebone High Street.
It’s clear from its dramatic white-rendered façade that the store takes its all white, all the time mandate seriously. There are only a few concessions to colour, but they’re all the more striking for it. Pale timber flooring, gunmetal grey window paneling and wood and metal displays provide a backdrop for white linens, cream knitwear and white-packaged candles. The one area where the white theme is eschewed is in a kids’ area to the rear of the store, which is awash with reds and blues – after all, youngsters don’t play well with white.
Household has created a lifestyle-led retail experience modeled on a journey through the home.
The space is set up to resemble, in minimalist fashion, a home, with different rooms suggested by cues such as wicker baskets or soft seating; the beds in the bedding section feature subtle backdrops for mood-creation purposes. All merchandise is displayed packaging free, allowing shoppers to take a tactile approach to testing and exploring pillows, blankets and duvets. This is further encouraged by invitational signage found throughout the store.
Products are carefully spaced and folded for textual contrast; ash shelving and product information cards also help create distinction between different items – a unique challenge where everything is similarly coloured.
Simple, minimalist and modularly designed for easy replication from store to store, the flagship brings a soft timelessness to home decor.
