When it comes to designing a shop, it can be an overwhelming task. How should a store be designed? How do you design a shop layout? Where do you begin? Here's a beginners guide to designing a shop of your dreams, thanks to Love of Character, a paper goods & party supplies shop based in Kansas! Mary Elizabeth, the owner of Love of Character, had a vision and we were so excited to have a part in helping her vision come to life.
A Store of Inspiration
Find some inspiration, imagine how you want your customers feel when they visit your space, and run with it!
When I think about my dream storefront space for Love of Character, a happy place, joy and character have always come to mind. I love color! It was important to me that the space incorporated our brand’s color scheme and feel, plus we love the touches of character in a space. Creating a happy place has always been my goal. Somewhere our customers can escape their day and come find joy, even if they just pop in for a “hello”. We added stools around our checkout desk and back bar for customers to join us for conversation, a toast, party planning and fun.
The space was a blank canvas and I was both excited and a little overwhelmed pulling together ideas for it. In our past stores, there usually was some structure and design element I would base ideas to work around. This time, it was open for whatever we wanted. I pulled inspiration elements from shops, homes and creators around the world, creating mood boards to narrow down what worked well together. Our original storefront was in a building from the early 1900s, so character was already in the space. With the new space, we worked with our incredible team to add in the elements of character with crown molding, trim, tile work and more.
Accumulating an Aesthetic
Incorporate your design aesthetic into the shop, down to the small details.
Our brand has always incorporated pink into our branding (must be the millennial in me), but over the past few years we have played with our color palette to find the right mix that best suited us. Working on our shop’s new home, I wanted to make sure we found it. Pink, green and lighter blues work so well together in our space and the combination brought the vision together! Green is my favorite color, and I’ve always thought green and blue work well with most colors. They are a nice balance to the warm tones of pinks. My favorite aspects of the shop have been the light fixtures, tile work, hand painted details, the little pops of colors around the space that bring it to life!
I lean into a traditional Southern style, loving beautiful crown molding, trim elements, color, and bold fixtures. I also love unique touches and flair like our beautiful light fixtures from Stray Dog and the kitchenette tile work we created with Fireclay Tile (inspired by The House that Lars Built). With our displays and shelving, we had to consider our products and how they would show well to our customers. A friend told me he loved how our shelves look like built-ins in someone’s home, so they can envision things on their own shelves.
A Layout of Favorite Things
Have friends and other professionals walk through and help you design a layout. Gathering thoughts from others can help you figure out how best navigate the space.
Mapping out the layout of everything took some thought, but I worked with my landlord, who also owns a retail space, to think through. She brought great ideas to the table and we walked through it as an empty space to make sure things made sense. I knew we wanted shelves along the walls and then found some great tables to use in open floor space.
The Stray Dog Centerpieces
Incorporating unique, fun lighting, like our Stray Dog Designs pieces, can elevate your storefront into a whimsically designed space like Love of Character!
I have adored Stray Dog Designs for many years! When I was putting together the design elements of my dreams, I knew I had to have one of your lights. Next thing I know, we are filling the store with them! The Henry's & Arlo's work so well together and make fun statements. We put the Henry's in our front windows as a fun welcome, while the Arlo's went further into the space. Our ceilings are tall, so it’s a great way to disperse the color upwards. The Baby Laura's were an add-in to bring in the accent colors. For the checkout counter and our party room, we wanted “wow” pieces. The Very Chihuahua Chandelier is definitely that! For the checkout, we loved adding in that green color against our pink logo wall. In our party room, I wanted people hosting events to have a fun element, but chose the Antiguan Sky to keep it neutral. They get a major impact without taking away from whatever theme and color scheme they have for their event. It’s stunning in photos!
Advice from the Behind the Register
We are celebrating 9 years this summer and I love that we have been able to create the feeling of our brand within our spaces over the years. I created this current space knowing it would be our longterm home. We worked on finding an incredible location for our business with wonderful neighbors. I wanted to do the space how I’ve always dreamed it could be. Have fun with it! Don’t be afraid of color, don’t shy away from memorable elements, and make sure people feel your love for your brand when they come in. What mood do you want to invoke? What do you want them to remember? What fun element of surprise do you want them to experience? Choose pieces that bring you joy, like the Stray Dog chandeliers do for us. First starting out, if you’re not at a point financially where you can fully go for it, add a little touch here and there. Our first store, I was on a tight DIY budget, but I made some small splurges on things that were important to me as we started to earn money.
More About Mary
I graduated with an accounting degree and worked for a commodities trading company out of college, but after my wedding, my desire for creativity took over. I started Love of Character as a side hustle to my busy job and it eventually became my full time job. I have 2 daughters (7 and 4), so my hobbies have been more wrapped up in their hobbies the past few years - a.k.a. I’m reliving my childhood with Barbies, American Girl dolls, crafting and creating, but without any control! This past year I have started playing mahjong and I have fully caught the mahj-fever that seems to be going around. We sell mahjong products in our store, and this summer started a local social play group called Green Table Club. It’s a fun way to socialize, get together with friends and put my brain to use.
