Bernhardt Design
The concept for this showroom was to create a space much like a gallery, with the intent to be ever evolving from year to year. As new product is introduced, the space can be transformed to showcase the product in this blank canvas.
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A Gallery-Inspired Showroom for Bernhardt Design
Bernhardt Design has been making furniture since 1889, with its commercial contract division shaping the showroom and hospitality category since 1981. For the brand's Chicago showroom at the Merchandise Mart, Bernhardt asked Kuchar to design a space that could function as a gallery — a blank canvas that recedes between collections and reasserts itself every time a new furniture line is introduced. Kuchar anchored the showroom by precision lighting throughout. A jewel-box entry sets the tone with carefully lit product moments; a central catwalk lined with a glowing marble wall runs through curated furniture vignettes; and an event kitchen overlooking the Chicago River hosts client gatherings on flexible lighting. The result is a showroom built to evolve with Bernhardt's collections rather than compete with them.
Showroom interior design for a contract furniture brand has to do two things at once. The architecture has to recede so the product reads clearly, and it also has to assert enough character that the space doesn't feel anonymous when it sits empty between collections. Gallery-style showroom design in Chicago calls for precise lighting, restrained material choices, and a circulation plan that lets vignettes change without redesigning the architecture. A neutral envelope, used well, gives a contract manufacturer a long-running showroom that adapts year after year as the catalog grows, without losing the discipline that makes the product the point.
A Chicago Showroom Design Partner You Can Build With
Showroom design is a core part of Kuchar's practice, and our team carries more than 90 years of combined industry experience across commercial interiors. We build environments that put a brand's product and identity at the center, delivering showrooms designed to evolve with the collections they hold.