INSIDE BLU DOT‘S NEW SEATTLE SHOWROOM, LOCATED ON CAPITOL HILL IN THE COLMAN AUTOMOTIVE BUILDING, MUCH OF THE SPACE’S ORIGINAL DETAILS SUCH AS INTERIOR TIMBER FRAMING, WERE LEFT INTACT. That’s because the Minneapolis-based modern furniture design company, founded in 1997 by two architects and a sculptor, prefers to go in with a light touch when designing its stores. For this particular location, the former longtime home of vintage furniture store Area 51, Blu Dot and Los Angeles-based firm Standard Architecture emphasized the building’s warm, neutral timber framing via crisp, white wood elements that divide the space and create vignettes for its furniture displays. The historic building’s exterior was also left untouched to preserve its character.
Inside, to add extra aesthetic interest to the 5,800 square foot space, Blu Dot’s visual and graphic design team hand-installed a 60-foot, site-specific collage featuring prototype images, early product sketches, and inspirational elements relating to music, architecture and art; a nod to the brand’s design process as the company designs all of the products it sells.
Blu Dot’s new space neighbors modern furniture retailer Inform Interiors, which relocated to the Colman Automotive Building from its South Lake Union home this past spring. Instead of auto row, things are shaping up to be more like design row. [/vc_column_text]
Blu Dot, 401 E Pine St, Seattle