See the entries that caught our editors’ eyes.
Each week through January 2021, we will be rolling out two of our Editors’ Picks from GRAY Awards 2020.
Editors’ Pick: Qali Hair Salon
Studio Roslyn
By GRAY Editors
The lounge area of Vancouver's Qali Hair Salon, designed by Studio Roslyn. Image by Lauren Zbarsky.
Vancouver’s Studio Roslyn—an interior design and creative consulting studio cofounded by Jessica MacDonald and Kate Snyder—is known for its bold use of splashy color in commercial projects around the city. For Qali Hair Salon, a full-service salon and hair extension studio located in the Chinatown neighborhood, the duo embraced its usual color palette, giving the look a 1980s twist that manages to feel fresh even with its amped-up retro details.
“Reflecting the upbeat energy of the company and its owner, our approach to the interior design was inspired by the heady days of 80s Miami,” Studio Roslyn writes in its entry. “Bright art deco architecture, sun-drenched beaches, vibrant color, excess, and glamour. Our intention was to create a space that takes the visitor to a different, dream-like time, place, and era, while still retaining a sense of functionality and operative ease.”
GRAY’s editors were instantly attracted to the salon’s lounge area—it’s a cornucopia of color, texture, and pattern (those blue fringe wall hangings, love!) that is not often seen in the Northwest. The use of peach, periwinkle, and light-yellow paint is a move that risks coming across as too reminiscent of a nursery, but, paired with the bold architecture and dark tiles, it works. This space provides the ultimate dose of aesthetic escapism. As the designers note, the individual details—from oak tabletops to deadstock pink tile—"come together to form a layered and detailed interior that is whimsical, a lot of fun and a slight bit mischievous.”
Even with 1980s Miami as an aesthetic touchstone, the sale remains functional and easy to Navigate. Image by Lauren Zbarksy.
CATEGORY: Interior Design: Commercial
PROJECT: Qali Hair Salon
FIRM: Studio Roslyn
DATE OF COMPLETION: August 2019
LOCATION: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
PHOTOGRAPHED BY: Lauren Zbarsky
DESIGN TEAM
Kate Snyder
Jessica MacDonald
Emma Grant
Zafirah Bacchus