Olde town flower shoppe
Located in Arvada, Colorado, this uplifting, light-filled retail and gift shop was once a dark and drab insurance office. With bold vision, close collaboration with the business owners and plenty of patience, the space has since blossomed into one of our finest Cinderella stories. The Olde Town Flower Shoppe is now a joyful destination for customers.
Because this building was once a residential home, the space was divided into five separate rooms. Low ceilings and minimal windows made the space feel dark, heavy and cramped. To create the bright, open space they deserved, we worked with the architect and structural engineer to create a gorgeous pitched roof, and added much needed vertical space by vaulting the ceilings and installing large skylights to flood the rooms with natural light.
The reimagined interior called for some must-have spaces: an inviting consultation area for event-based clients like wedding planners and engaged couples, a large walk-in refrigerator for storing cut flowers, a visually interesting retail area to display gift items and accent pieces, and an expansive workspace that would spark inspiration for their designers and create an aspirational backdrop for the product photography they regularly feature on their social media channels.
When we started, one of the most prominent walls was occupied by an old brick fireplace. To transform it into a fresh feature wall, we added brick from floor to ceiling and pulled pink hues from The Olde Town Flower Shoppe’s brand palette for a custom look. The pink brick offers a visual “pop” of playful color that we mirrored on the opposite side of the building for both visual balance and intentional repetition to frame the space.
The whimsical pink pairs well with the deep black that we chose to finish the bespoke display shelving, which includes specially built compartments for every tool of the trade, from designer spools of ribbon to various sizes of tissue paper. The stark contrast of the black creates a bold vignette behind the objects for sale and offers an ideal background for capturing photos of their incredible arrangements.
Because this project began on the heels of the pandemic, the business owners originally envisioned a drive-through, both for convenience and minimum-contact transactions. The city’s zoning and coding requirements made this element of the shop too much of a hurdle, so what we originally planned to make a drive-through window became a gorgeous statement space instead. Changing regulations around signage and parking lot parameters added months to our original timeline but the end result was worth the delays we faced along the way.
Those who know us as designers know how important sustainability is to us. Every decision is made through the lens of impact and this project was truly a sustainability success. One of the things we’re most proud of is the commitment to reuse. We partnered with the business owners from the very beginning, carefully taking inventory of every single piece of furniture and finding an intentional place for it in the new floor plan. This helped inform our design approach while conserving cost and materials, and reducing waste and impact.
One prime example is the sign on the front of the main counter. Since the business owners had worked in their previous space for so long, loyal clients came to love their historic, double-sided neon “Flowers” sign that stood in the front of the former location. This decades-old piece of signage became a signature treasure that they wanted to incorporate into the new space – a symbol of dreams realized for their thriving floral business. To bring it into their current world, we removed the back of the sign and outfitted it with LED bulbs which are safer and more energy efficient.
“Daylighting” was truly at the heart of this transformation. Our team took the space from dim, dark and dismal to bright, uplifting and sunlit. The windows and skylights allow the people and plants inside to thrive while reducing the need for artificial lighting during business hours. This adds both beauty and sustainability to the space, and we couldn’t be more pleased with the end result.
More sustainable touches:
- All paint used was low- or no-VOC
- We chose durable, stain and scratch resistant quartz countertops for their longevity
- The cabinet line is chemical-free, nontoxic and low formaldehyde
- High-quality window treatments offer energy efficiency and support climate control
