Furniture Lab
Furniture Lab approached Kuchar wanting an experiential showroom instead of the typical product display. Working with the client to customize a few of their pieces, our team pulled together a café respite on the 10th floor of the Merchandise Mart. Featuring an architectural portal into the space, a custom bar, scalloped booths and lots of color to make the user feel welcome and ready to stay awhile.
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A Merchandise Mart Showroom Designed to Be Lived In
Furniture Lab, a commercial furniture manufacturer known for its customizable booths, seating, and table systems, came to Kuchar with a clear intention — a showroom that would do more than line products up on a floor. Set on the tenth floor of Chicago's Merchandise Mart, the space was conceived as a café respite, a collaborative environment where clients could settle in and stay awhile. Kuchar anchored the design in a scallop-and-arch motif and a confident use of color, opening with a dramatic blue entry portal that frames seasonal products like a stage. A central branding wall clad in textured yellow tile, purple monochromatic booths displaying wood laminate options, and a rust velvet banquette tucked into a back nook give each zone its own character while reading as one cohesive room.
Experiential showroom design in Chicago asks for more than well-lit product displays; it calls for an environment that invites people to linger and engage with the work on its own terms. Building a showroom around a café concept borrows the language of hospitality — comfortable seating, a custom bar, warm materials — so visitors experience the furniture in the setting it was made for. Commercial showroom design works hardest when every finish reinforces the brand behind it, which is why the fluted bar panels, mirror-dipped pendants, and tufted velvet banquettes were specified to showcase customization rather than compete with it. That same attention to atmosphere shapes Kuchar's approach to café and coffee shop design, where the measure of success is simply how long someone wants to stay.
A Chicago Showroom Design Partner With Range
Designing showrooms that hold a visitor's attention is Kuchar's craft, backed by more than 90 years of combined industry experience. The team pairs architectural rigor with each brand's identity, creating commercial spaces that feel as considered and distinctive as the products inside them.