The architectural studio Arch&Type has recently unveiled Blue Table Chocolates, a new retail chocolate store located in Buffalo, New York. The store features a stunning interior design that is sure to attract consumers and enhance sales. As a designer, I can attest to the importance of a well-designed retail space in drawing customers and increasing engagement with the products.

Designer: Arch&Type

The centerpiece of Blue Table Chocolates is a stunning sculptural ceiling inspired by the image of flowing, untempered chocolate. This ceiling, with its fluid and dynamic design, is composed of custom fluid ceiling tiles that were digitally modeled and crafted using CNC-milled, hand-assembled, and painted pieces. The visually captivating design extends into the chocolate workshop, creating a seamless transition between the retail and production areas. One of the design’s standout features is the part of the ceiling which appears to flow down onto the walls, creating an illusion of dripping chocolate. This effect makes customers feel more connected to the design, enhancing their sensory experience.

The material palette chosen for the store exudes luxury and warmth, much like the chocolates it houses. Gold, white oak, mirrored dishes, and white marble concrete form the foundation of the interior design. These elements are complemented by mirrored displays and magnetic labels, adding a touch of modernity and sophistication. The uniformly textured groove panels add to the sense of height and luxury, harmonizing with the ceiling’s curvy lines. The wooden finishes evoke the rich and comforting sensation of eating chocolate, enveloping customers in an atmosphere of indulgence and elegance.

Despite the store’s relatively compact size of approximately 900 square feet, clever design techniques have been employed to create an illusion of greater depth and space. The mirrored paneling on the back wall reflects the flowing chocolate ceiling, making it appear as though the design extends far beyond its actual limits. This visual trickery not only makes the space feel larger but also leaves a lasting impression on visitors.

The interior design of Blue Table Chocolates goes beyond mere aesthetics. By translating the brand’s values and the essence of its products into the physical space, the store offers a more immersive experience for consumers. This approach allows customers to relate to and engage with the products more deeply, fostering greater appreciation and connection. In recent times, the trend of visiting aesthetically pleasing places for the ambiance, rather than just the quality of food, highlights the mindset of contemporary audiences. This store perfectly captures this trend with its captivating design.

The careful curation of chocolate displays, resembling luxury items boxed in glass, further enhances the sense of opulence. Each chocolate vignette showcases mirrored displays and magnetic labels, elevating the presentation of the products to an art form.

The store’s design is a symphony of carefully curated elements. From the vertical groove panels to the frameless lime plaster door with a brass base, and the recessed white oak millwork with LED lighting, every detail has been meticulously planned. The chocolate workshop continues this theme with a marble table slab featuring tenon details, adding both functionality and beauty.

The creation of this store was a collaborative effort that celebrated local resources and craftsmanship. Designers Seth Amman and Adam McCullough worked with a diverse team, including Amman’s father, Mark, and students from the University at Buffalo’s SMART fabrication factory. This multidisciplinary approach not only brought the design to life but also ensured that every element was crafted with precision and care.

Blue Table Chocolates stands as a prime example of how thoughtful design can transform a retail space into an unforgettable experience. By leaning into the emotional and physiological impacts of chocolate, Arch&Type has created a store that celebrates both the art of chocolate-making and the craft of architecture. The result is a space that is distinctly Buffalo, yet universally appealing, offering consumers a unique and delightful experience that goes beyond the ordinary. Whether you’re drawn in by the sculptural ceiling, the luxurious materials, or the inviting ambiance, one thing is certain: a visit to Blue Table Chocolates is an experience to be savored.

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Furniture can be made from any material, with the only requirement that it should be strong enough to serve its purpose. Wood is the most common choice and one that’s beloved by designers, but there are also a number that are made of metal or even glass. There is also furniture made from plastic, though these bear the stigma of not only being cheap in terms of cost but also in quality and durability. Of course, not all plastic is made equal, and some perform better than others. And depending on how you actually use the material, they can look as plain or as luxurious as you can make them. This furniture collection, for example, looks like it has been carefully carved out of blocks of ice, but if you’ve been following the flow so far, then you’d probably guess they’re made from plastic and handcrafted plastic at that.

Designer: Kasper Kyster

Despite the harm they pose to the environment, plastic is still a common sight in many products. They’re cheap to make and easy to work with, which is why they’re used in mass-production pipelines. You’d almost be crazy to manually form the plastic by yourself, but it’s that inspired insanity that brought these beautiful masterpieces to life.

The project, called “Crafting Plastic,” is meant to challenge the way the material is perceived or even utilized. Rather than going through a machine or even a 3D printer, sheets of PETG plastic are cut into small sizes, heated with a heat gun, and then bent and shaped by hand. The pieces are turned into tubes that can be flattened, folded, and bent to create the classic forms of furniture. It’s definitely a painstaking method that won’t scale well, but it definitely serves its purpose, proving that plastic is not as simple as we presume it to be.

The result is a unique aesthetic that, on the one hand, looks like transparent glass but, on the other hand, also resembles sculpted ice with its imperfections and rough surfaces. It has an element of delicateness that almost makes you hesitant to even touch it, let alone put some weight on the pieces to actually use them for the furniture that they are. Fortunately, the lamps in the collection are fully functional without requiring interaction, though they may have also been the most difficult to make. The folds of the plastic pipes have to be done in a certain way and direction to make sure that light actually passes through.

It’s probably for the best that these pieces of furniture are more artistic and not easily replicated because, after all, they are made from plastic. There is some amount of recycled plastic but it’s kept at a low percentage in order to retain the material’s structural rigidity and stability. Hopefully, the eye-catching and thought-provoking design will inspire more experimentation on the use of plastic in furniture that will take into account not only functionality and beauty but also sustainability.

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