I'm going to spare you the long back story and just jump into the pretty design details.
Here is the before photo of the new space:
What a looker right? Luckily I was there when they pushed through that drop ceiling to discover shiplap. They considered refinishing it, I voted to keep it open and exposed!
And another veiw looking straight back from the front door. Isn't that mismatched flooring the best? The funny thing is that the first year I ever lived in Charleston I bought a rocking chair from the thrift store that used to occupy the space. I couldn't fit it in in my car at the time and had to have a friend come pick it up for me. Funnier, we used to talk about how West Ashley would be a great spot for a bridal shop. Circle of life right?
So the owner of the shop are generally wonderful people, but designing a bridal shop was not really their thing, which is super lucky for me. I was allll over it and had a blast picking out some of the details. True to form I made an inspiration board to help me stay focused. I've been obsessed with the BM paint color "touch of grey" and knew we had to go with white ish flooring to counterbalance the dark ceilings. This is not a restaurant so it needed to maintain a feeling of lightness even with a darker ceiling.
And here is how it ended up. In my secret heart I wish we didn't have bridesmaid racks, but more so because they ruin the aesthetic just a touch. Overall, I'm really really happy and proud of the space!
The wall color ended up being a Sherwin William's color called Destiny that I love. Its a grey that leans towards mauve. The flooring is engineered, but I can't tell you how many times I've already had people ask if it is really hardwood. Also that IKEA light? Yes. I made the "bling ladder" to display all our pretty sashes and to pull some of the wood tones down from the ceiling.
MLW and I also ripped some nasty green carpet off the smaller stage towards the left and I sanded and stained it.
View looking towards the shop from the front door. In a perfect world their would be no computer cords, but alas.
Finally I sourced some metal tub chairs and two love seats from Target . A few cute throw pillows from Marshall's and a seagrass rug to define the space and done. Cue the wedding gowns! At first no one got the metal tub chairs, but I've had a kid pee {yes thats right, pee} in a chair at the old store. My hopes were to get as much furniture that is kid proof as possible. That chair ended up in the garbage, these would just need an intense session with bleach.
* Side note, the kid that peed in the chair is not to be confused with the kid that peed on the floor and as I was cleaning it up ripped my pencil skirt from seam to seam. Remind me to tell ya'll more about that later.*
All of the after store photos are taken by Amore Photography and Design and they are fabulous. Quick, efficient, funny and super talented. We had a blast with them, if you need a photographer in the Charleston area you should definitely consider them!
Okay that is all for now! I visited with a friend around the corner and she is in a renovation overhaul at her place and it has definitely got my wheels spinning for 5054!
~B
