A Matter of Balance : Anna Karlin's Design Showroom in New York City

A few weeks ago, the London-born multidisciplinary designer Anna Karlin opened her first showroom in New York City. Located in the Lower East Side, the space gives a really good insight into the creative world of the designer.

Karlin undertook a former burned-down print shop, researched and recovered archival documents depicting the initial storefront in order to restore it to its original state. While preserving hints of the past, she completely reimagined the interior and transformed it into a gateway to her aesthetical world.

The showroom is rich in references. It’s easy to see that Karlin is trying to push the boundaries of contemporary design by creating junctions between completely different styles.

The general aspect is industrial, but the textures and materials are diverse, offering stimulations to the senses. Warm domestic touches are present through the Shaker-inspired cabinetry in the full English country kitchen. The lights hanging on the walls could also be seen as a nod to the Shakers who used to find space-saving solutions to hang furniture on the walls when not in use.

The whole project also seems to draw on the wabi-sabi mindfulness. The walls have been kept imperfect and the atmosphere dives us into a narrative exploration of harmonious sensibility and poetic.

Some objects in the showroom are there to give depth and weight to the atmosphere, but, as a whole, Karlin’s elements of design seem to be exempt from gravity.

She surely knows how to play with balance.