Knoll Home Design Shop

Designed by LA-based Johnston Marklee, in collaboration with Knoll design director Benjamin Pardo, with interior space by Barbara Reimelt, NinetyNineGroup, the new 4,000 square foot space captures the modern spirit of Knoll, focusing on creative lifestyle inspiration for Los Angeles natives and its international audience alike. Located at 314 North Robertson Boulevard, just a few blocks from the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood, the Shop opened on January 16, 2018. It is the brand's second direct-to-consumer retail location, following the success of its midtown New York City location.

The Shop features contemporary ideas and palettes for living influenced by Modernist ideas -– background pieces that create a sub-architecture in a dynamic total space foiled against exuberant expressions of classic and new Knoll designs. The approach typifies pioneering interior design work by Florence Knoll. "Los Angeles interior designers set the benchmark for modern with a special passion for stunning materials and finishes," noted Benjamin Pardo. "Our LA Shop experience is designed to deliver their bold vision by offering unsurpassed customization of furniture forms that complement architectural space."

Inspired by Yves Vidal's Tangier York Castle and the historic milieu of innovative spaces for Knoll, the Shop is organized around a rich material palette reminiscent of Northern Italian architecture of the 1950s and 60s. It offers the full selection of Knoll designs, including new collections and introductions from David Adjaye, Mark Krusin, and David Rockwell, as well as classics from Florence Knoll, Eero Saarinen, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Marcel Breuer and Harry Bertoia.

In addition, the Shop showcases Knoll designs now available in the U.S. for the first time: Avio sofas and Grasshopper tables by Piero Lissoni and Tobia Scarpa's Bastino lounge collection. To celebrate the opening, Knoll has also introduced a new palette of fabrics and finishes for truly unique customization to realize signature design schemes. These include metallic finishes, including rose gold; new marbles, including rosso rubino; and rich upholsteries, including cavallini hair hide leather and curly shearling. Unique customization options include thousands of high-end finishes, KnollTextiles fabrics and Spinneybeck leathers for residential and home office applications.

The facade of the corner building, prominently visible along Robertson Boulevard to the west and north, is clad in hand polished grey terrazzo with white marble aggregate. Brass framing details complement the old-world terrazzo cladding, while framing the large-scale window openings and views to the interior. The material palette within the store complements the cool, hand crafted terrazzo with herringbone laid oak flooring, golden tone mirrors and additional brass fittings. Paired with the oversized storefront windows, each opening incorporates an arch that frames specific furniture tableaus. To complement the floor and wall finishes, a simple modulated system of draped felt panels from FilzFelt defines the ceiling and integrates lighting tracks and other infrastructure, echoing the simple fabric canopies of traditional Italian festivals and park pavilions.

Much like the adaptable nature of contemporary homes, the display concept for the furniture collections integrates room dividers from Knoll's Rockwell Unscripted collection to accommodate flexibility and creative combinations of various vignettes.

Johnston Marklee
Benjamin Pardo (KnollStudio)
Interiors: Barbara Reimelt (NinetyNineGroup)