James Said Sydney

With the arrival on the East Coast of Perth’s luxury furniture retailer, James Said Collections, this successful online and bricks-and-mortar luxury furniture retailer wanted to turn heads. The brief was to sensitively echo the existing James Said retail experience with a fresh Sydney twist. 

Taking over a prime high-street location in the chic inner-Sydney suburb of Paddington, the existing salon was gutted and the 300 square metre space was treated with new light grey herringbone timber flooring, black and white glass and marble finishes. Overhead the double height space required a smart solution from which to hang the array of decorative chandeliers and lighting that James Said import for sale.  A  grid of faux beams was created to conceal the existing steel trusses, whilst providing additional surface area for lights to be installed.  On a decorative level, this grid also served to break up the space and demarcate zones on the showroom floor. From the grid sheer drapery is hung to create seperate displays, allowing each setting of furniture to be presented individually and reduce visual clutter from one room to the next. 

Raising the floor in the rear half of the store also serves to create a more dynamic visual merchandising and shopping experience, vistors initally rise from the street to the reception and browse bar then as the showroom deepens, another level change breaks up the shoppers journey of discovery, leading the eye and the customer through the various settings. 

Branded a ‘gallery’, James Said’s innovative purchasing process dictated the store’s layout and design. The James Said browse bar is a key element in how the brand services its customers -  that sees clients browse the styled displays then autonomously, or with the assistance of a staff member, using the integrated touch screens of the browse bar, to preview and customise the products they wish to purchase. The items are then dispatched from the James Said distribution centre.