All five companies that office at LOCAL Design Studios + Gallery started at home. So, naturally, when the owners of one of those companies - Paige Casey and Amanda Galati of Lila + Hayes - designed the West Vickery space, they chose a similar detail found in their own homes: white paint.
Specifically, Snowbound by Sherwin Williams.
"We love white," Casey says. "It can do wonders to a space."
But the decision to let white permeate the color palette was more than a matter of taste. With five businesses crammed into one storefront - and virtually no windows besides the glass at the front entrance - LOCAL needed a way to make the space feel bigger. White walls did the trick, along with exposing the ceiling and painting the ventilation white too.
That's why, when visitors come on Wednesdays (the day LOCAL opens its showroom for shopping), many compliment the space's openness and airy feel - despite it being just 2,500 square feet.
Lila + Haynes
Lila + Haynes
The design was purely the work of LOCAL's seven business owners, who celebrated one year at the location in October. Before LOCAL, Casey and Galati used to run their children's boutique out of their homes and used an empty bank space to store clothing. On the hunt for more space, they came across a former graduation services storefront on West Vickery Boulevard and decided that, financially, it would make sense to share the space with other local entrepreneurs.
So, by six degrees of separation, Casey and Galati connected with Emily Lee of The Bow Next Door, Kori Green of Kori Green Designs, Ro Rynd of RM Rynd Interiors and Calli Galati and Rachel Hausser of Wabash Road to create LOCAL Design Studios + Gallery; and each business owner customized her own workspace with both style and functionality in mind.
Nearest the entrance is Kori Green Designs, a clean, spacious nook marked by a gold sputnik chandelier hovering above a wood island, used as both a worktable and a space for showcasing jewelry.Other stylish yet functional additions are the lockable, sliding barn doors, which provide additional security for Green's products.
Kori Green Designs
Kori Green Designs
Down the hall is the office of Lila + Hayes, which carries on the clean, white-on-white theme along with touches of gold. The space incorporates a few rustic elements as well, from the tree branch lampstand to the burlap pinboard, where Casey and Galati post fabric patterns and photos of their children.
Wabash Road's office follows a similar motif - white on white, but with silver and beige accents. Being a stationery company, a pinboard showcases a hodgepodge of colorful invitations and photos.
Wabash Road
Wabash Road
Interior designer RM Rynd Interiors" space is slightly more ornate, interrupting the white walls with a dramatic, gray-and-white speckled wallpaper. The space features more black-and-gold touches, a plaster elephant by the desk and shelving stacked with sample books of fabrics and wallpapers.
The only company that doesn't office at LOCAL is children's hairbow and accessory company, The Bow Next Door. While owner Emily Lee still works out of her home, she utilizes LOCAL's showroom as retail space for her products. All the racks on the floor are movable so the space can be easily cleared for events.
And, as self-dubbed "mompreneurs," the women of LOCAL knew there would be days when they'd need to bring their children to work. So, they added a playroom, decked out with toys and a TV playing cartoons. Most of the furniture here, as is with the rest of the office, comes from Dallas shops Wysteria and Arteriors. Warm woods and burlap give the room a softer feel; popping out of the gray upholstered couch is a Chinese dragon pillow, sporting deep reds, blues and yellows to offset the room's neutral tones.
And while LOCAL's palette is predominantly neutral, the space is not devoid of color - in fact, the white gives LOCAL the opportunity to showcase the work of local artists, and everything hung on the wall is for sale. The art rotates every so often; so far, the artists featured have included Heather Essian, Ginger Walker and Mimi Clemons.
Artwork
Artwork
The only area that differs is the far back of the office - a bathroom and sink area painted a dark, grayish blue, as well as a warehouse space that's also utilized for events.
One year into LOCAL, the women say each of their businesses has grown, citing the location's visibility and their ability to meet clients at an actual office. Green and Rynd also collaborated to add a sixth company, Clearly Handbags, which designs clear handbags that sports fans can bring into stadiums.
Back Office
Back Office
The other benefit - newfound coworkers.
"It's this think tank," Rynd says. "I love that these women are here, and we can bounce ideas off each other. We're all in this together."