Design Space: Lick by Oskar Kohnen Studio

A pink paint shop in London.

Despite the power of paint in interior decor, the stores that sell it aren’t known for being much to look at. Lick aims to change that. After two years of operating strictly online, the London, U.K., paint shop got its first bricks-and-mortar storefront in 2022 with the hope of making paint and home decor more accessible and sustainable.

Designed by local firm Oskar Kohnen Studio, the 600-square-foot space has muted bubble-gum-pink walls and ceiling, connected with simple stepped crown moulding. A few cream walls with wainscotting add visual contrast and distinguish between variable ceiling heights. “With the interior, I wanted to deliberately celebrate paint and colour as one of the most immediate, most intuitive ways to create a space,” studio founder Oskar Kohnen says.

 

 

The designer opted for a retail space that felt like an atelier or a studio to encourage customer creativity and comfort and used elements of modernism and London’s interpretation of art deco. “The location in Northcote Road definitely was an inspiration,” he says. “Looking at old pictures of the high street shops from the 1950s, every one of those stores used their own simple colour combination to give identity.”

 

With a retro feel, the store is dominated by an oblong cream-coloured table with walnut trim and a smaller overhead metal lighting pendant that mirrors the shape. White and grey cement floor tiles, inspired by Robert Mallet-Stevens Atelier Martel in Paris, makes the boutique space feel more casual. Mounted wooden shelves are laden with products, and a white pegboard offers more atelier-like storage. A pair of curved sage-green armchairs by the window invite customers to sit awhile and ponder their paint choices.

Photography by Alexander Edwards.

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