For Parachute's first San Francisco location, the design firm, remodeled an existing retail space into a setting that adhered to the company’s branding standards while remaining sensitive and respectful to its locale. Spaces are layered to create an immersive, residentially inspired shopping experiences with clear circulation and abundant natural light. With custom furnishings, lounge seating, and curated artwork, the space offers guests a warm and welcoming home-like atmosphere that deviates from the typical retail models of today.

The brand’s various product lines are displayed in a manner that creates a natural path of movement for customers throughout the store. A lounge area welcomes guests with a daybed upholstered in the brand’s own fabric to provide comfortable seating spaces for lolling about. Customers are then met with bedding and bath product offerings in a space that includes a fully functional sink set within an arched recess, which invites customers to test the brand’s plush bathroom towels for softness and absorbency. This setting is followed by an archway—an architectural element found in all Parachute locations—which leads to a courtyard space shared with a French retailer of luxury goods.

Local artists were enlisted to contribute to the store’s overall appeal. A large art piece by Oakland artist Ethan Caflisch hangs in the entry lounge. The work is an assemblage of paint and Parachute’s fabrics. San Francisco-based studio Heath’s ceramics are for sale throughout the store. Materiality played a large role in enhancing the design. The selections of a dark exterior and light Douglas fir wood floor complement the products’ raw, neutral materials. To make the product line the focal point of the design, the firm developed a scheme that was subtle and simple, as well as elegant and tactile, to add depth to the customer’s shopping experience.

Photography: Aubrie Pick Photography