Marsala Showroom: Residential Warmth Shapes a Kyiv Footwear Boutique
Marsala Showroom anchors a new women’s footwear boutique in Kyiv, Ukraine, with Zagrai Studio steering a swift, high-precision transformation. The project rethinks a traditional retail model into something closer to a living room, complete with a fireplace, layered lighting, and a lounge that doubles as display. Within a compact footprint, the showroom accommodates fitting, storage for 500 pairs, and a discreet office while maintaining a domestic mood rather than a store-like feel.
Soft light washes across draped textiles, then catches a glossy table that carries the brand’s deep signature hue. A quiet hearth flickers, and the lounge reads more like a living room than a sales floor.
This showroom in Kyiv serves a precise program: boutique, fitting lounge, compact office, and storage for 500 pairs. Zagrai Studio shapes it through furnishings, lighting, and material tactility, letting footwear read as art within a residential mood. The palette and objects guide the experience, not signage or overt retail cues.
Lounge As Gallery
The main hall opens with a low, generous grouping: an Oak sofa by Woo and Friendly armchairs by Zegen gathered around a high-gloss coffee table. That table pulls double duty, a display plinth and visual anchor whose lacquered finish carries movement from every reflection. A decorative fireplace settles the scene with warmth and pace. Behind the seating, three-meter custom shelving emerges from the wall, a quiet plane that frames the collection without noise.
Corridor As Theater
What began as a long corridor becomes a paced approach, choreographed through gauzy curtains and soft, directional light. Storage and technical zones retreat behind layered textiles, while the transparent office opens fully when needed, keeping the working core legible without breaking the calm. The path ends at a mirrored portal that visually extends the route and snaps attention forward — a clean pivot into the hall.
Light Sets Mood
Lighting calibrates day-to-night scenarios with ease. Over the lounge, the NO11 pendant by Litvinenko Design acts as a steady focal point, while table lamps and the faux hearth add intimacy for fittings and quiet consultations. Shelf and mirror backlighting bring depth to the footwear and create a gentle halo that keeps products legible without glare. In the corridor, filtered glow through drapery adds rhythm and a sense of procession.
Material Touchpoints
The palette balances matte warmth and polished precision. Wood grain and textiles temper acoustics and touch, while marble highlights and that glossy, lacquered table inject a crisp, urban note. Achieving the table’s flawless sheen took repeated lacquering and sanding, and its saturated tone grew into the brand’s wider visual identity (a rare case of furniture leading graphics). A converted wall niche becomes a compact staff kitchen, adding daily utility without visual clutter.
Domestic Codes, Retail Clarity
Rather than decorate with heirlooms or status tropes, the room reserves horizontal planes for shoes and accessories alone. Mirrors, shelving, and the coffee table maintain that rule, so products read as curated art objects in a calm domestic setting. The result supports fittings, quiet conversation, and quick reconfiguration. It stays adaptable.
At departure, the portal throws back a final glint of the table’s color and the soft line of curtains. Light eases the shift from gallery calm to city pace, and the crafted touch lingers.
Photography by Yevhenii Avramenko
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