Before & After: Our Design Studio and Shop

We recently celebrated six months in our new studio and shop! If you follow @shoppalomaandco on Instagram, then you’ve likely seen quite a few glimpses into our little cottage, but I thought it would be fun to share a before and after. The cottage is half a century old and once housed a very famous florist’s shop and was most recently a hair salon before we we took over. As you’ll see, the space felt dark and needed quite a bit of work to make it look and feel the way we wanted it to. At Paloma Contreras Design studio and our shop, Paloma & Co we wanted the space to like a chic, airy, and welcoming home for clients and customers who come to visit.

Before: The north view of the main shop space shows the laminate floors that were here before along with a sink and gray walls making the space feel a lot darker.

After: It’s amazing what some white paint can do to transform a space! We painted the entire cottage in Benjamin Moore White Dove and replaced the old laminate with a beautiful, new engineered wood flooring from Armstrong (TimberBrushed Engineered Oak in Limed Beach). These changes were hugely transformational!

Before: Looking South

After: Looking South

Before: There used to be a huge wall leading into two tiny, partitioned rooms in the middle of the space. To the left, you can see the doors leading into what is now our design studio and offices.

After: We took down the wall and opened up the space to create an area for our accessories and tabletop items. Opening the wall was a huge game changer!

After: I designed a pair of doors with Chippendale fretwork that divide the shop from the design studio in the back. The same fretwork is featured on our front door.

Before: The bathroom in what is now the store was in good shape. I love the Beverly Hills Hotel-inspired wallpaper, but wanted a different vibe for our iteration.

After: We added a beautiful Chinoiserie wallpaper, a new Kohler Artifacts faucet and Kohler Toilet along with a Louis Philippe mirror. Since we are leasing and do not own the building, we didn’t want to go too crazy, so we kept the vanity and added new cabinet knobs to freshen it up.

Before: The area with our resource library and where the majority of the team sits now received a major overhaul! This is where the shampoo sinks and styling stations were when the hair salon was in the building.

After: In order to accommodate our growing team, we had a huge, custom-Parsons desk with multiple work stations made and lacquered it white.

After: Another View Looking Towards our Resource Library

Before: The reception desk used to be across from what is now the work area for our team. Behind it, there was a tiny enclosed office.

After: We took down the wall and opened up the tiny office to create an area large enough to accommodate work stations for Devon (my partner in Paloma & Co) and I. While I sometimes wish for a quiet, enclosed office, it makes more sense to have an open area where we can easily communicate with our team.

After: Devon’s Desk on the Left and My Desk on the Right

After: My Inspiration Board

After: The bathroom in the salon/what is now the office needed an update to say the least!

After: We gutted the dated powder room. I envisioned the entire office area to be really neutral and timeless since I didn’t want the decor in the design studio to interfere with our wavelength on any of our projects since we work in a variety of styles at any given time. As a result, I kept the powder room simple by applying a subway tile wainscotting and manila Philip Jeffries hemp wallpaper above it. The new pedestal sink, toilet, and Purist faucet are all by Kohler.

Before: The kitchen is another area that needed a major overhaul. The cheap cabinets were in awful condition, the nondescript flooring needed to go and we needed to make the space feel light and airy, not dreary and depressing.

After: The kitchen might be the place in which the lighter color palette thanks to our paint and flooring and choices made a dramatic difference. We left the footprint of the space the same, but continued the flooring into the kitchen, painted everything in Benjamin Moore White Dove, and installed new cabinetry, floating shelves, and lighting. The Chippendale table was a vintage find that I had lacquered white and paired it with some Serena & Lily Riviera Chairs.