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FORJ

Interior Design

Blackhearts & Sparrows Elwood

Wine store interior

An award-winning wine store interior in Elwood, drawing on Mediterranean references, with colour, texture and material used to draw customers further into the store.

Relevant experienceDesigned by Sam Fossati in a previous role, before FORJ was established.
Client
Blackhearts & Sparrows
Sector
Retail
Type
Commercial
Location
Elwood, VIC
Year
2024
Status
Built
Blue arched opening at the rear of the store, with the tiled floor path curving past the fridges
Client
Blackhearts & Sparrows
Sector
Retail
Type
Commercial
Location
Elwood, VIC
Year
2024
Status
Built

How the project was decided

  1. Blue arched opening at the rear of the store, with the tiled floor path curving past the fridges

    01

    A coastal reference

    A retail interior drawing on Mediterranean references, with colour, texture and material used to encourage customers further into the store. Azure tones, textured finishes and glossy blue tiling establish a coastal reference, while stone, terrazzo and terracotta add warmth and durability.

  2. The main aisle, with timber display joinery, a blue counter front and the tiled path running to the rear of the store

    02

    Lighting and the tiled floor

    Lighting is positioned to work with the reflective tiled floor, giving the space depth without additional fitout cost.

  3. Blue and white glazed tiles meeting terrazzo in a curved floor pattern

    03

    Materials

    Azure tiling, terrazzo, stone and terracotta, with lighting positioned to work with the reflective floor.

Context. Blackhearts & Sparrows runs more than a dozen wine stores across Melbourne's inner suburbs. A new store has to feel familiar to existing customers and still give new ones a reason to step inside, and that balance set the brief.

Ceilings. The azure colour and textured paint carry from the walls onto the ceiling, so the room reads as open sky above the glossy blue floor, and track lighting overhead makes the floor read like water.

Recognition. Bronze Winner, Commercial Space Aesthetics, International Architecture and Design Awards 2024. Awarded to Sam Fossati in a previous role.

Materials and details

Close-ups of the finishes, joinery and the junctions between them.

Blue and white glazed tiles meeting terrazzo in a curved floor pattern

Blackhearts & Sparrows Elwood

The main aisle, with timber display joinery, a blue counter front and the tiled path running to the rear of the store
View past the stone-clad counter to the arched rear doorway
A long run of fridges beside the tiled path through the store
Timber counter with a rounded end below the wine display wall
Stone-topped service counter in front of timber and white steel shelving stocked with wine and spirits
Long timber display counter under floor-to-ceiling shelving, the blue ceiling running back to the arched doorway
Timber counter and cheese fridge beside the tiled floor path leading to the shopfront
Stone-clad service counter with timber joinery and blue tiles at its base
The Blackhearts & Sparrows shopfront on the Elwood street
Builder
Canopy Fitouts (design and construct)

Related Interior Design services

  1. Retail interior designHow FORJ plans and documents this kind of space.
  2. Commercial interior designPlanning through to design intent documentation.
  3. How the stages workWhat each stage includes and what it does not.

More Design work

Related reading

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