Decorate Gastown

Sea Monstr Sushi – Sapporo Beer Can Wreath

Interior design firm Falken Reynolds has decorated the shops of 10 area merchants for the holidays with the help of 40 volunteers. For the month of November, local students, designers and architects congregated in Falken Reynolds’ studio to create unique temporary displays reflective of the individual stores themselves.

“I had the same opportunities when I started my design training in Barcelona, a city completely saturated with creativity and amazing design and architecture,” says principal Chad Falkenberg. “That same culture of design collaboration is really starting to take root in Vancouver and this is a project that brings so many people together simply because they love good design.”

Each participating store was responsible for supplying the materials. All the labour and design was free. Go to Falken Reynolds, vote for your favourite and enter to win a stylish birch bark and copper wreath.

The beer can wreath created for Sea Monstr Sushi has a slightly frat house feel with its crumpled cans and lighthearted, slightly irreverent styling.

B&B Italia window for Inform Interiors – Home for the Holidays

The Decorate Gastown team worked with Object Outdoors, Colin Campbell Carpets and Jeff Martin Joinery to convey a sense of cosiness and family for Inform Interiors. “We had a vision of a young Sophia Loren curled up on a sofa with her family watching home videos from the 1960s,” says Falkenberg.

The giant weeping spruce lends a casual air while the video projecting on the front window brings the space to life. A wood nativity scene made by Chad’s grandfather reinforces the concept of family.

bulthaup – Birch Bark and Solid Copper Wreath

The team played off the same materials bulthaup uses to craft it’s beautifully precise German kitchens  –  natural woods and metals. White birch bark inparts a warm and wintery feeling while the copper frame by Matthew Mate Lighting adds a subtle bit of sparkle to the minimal showroom. 

Complex Geometries – Light Stick Tree

This neon decoration for Complex Geometries was made from flourescent tubes left over from a previous tenant. The bold and geometric design bounces off the interior windows and creates the illusion of a forest.

Litchfield – Origami Inspired Craft Paper Cube

JJ Bean – Coffee Sack Burlap Wreath

Coffee sacks were wrapped around giant wreath frames to create clever window displays at both JJ Bean’s Woodwards and Railway Street locations.

Lynn Steven Boutique – The Cosy Bookworm Scarf

Roden Gray – Christmas Columns

The theme of bare deciduous trees was the jumping off point for this ingenious display created by Decorate Gastown in conjunction with Object Outdoors for Roden Gray. The way the trees are staggered from the front to the back of the shop suggests subtle movement when viewed from the street. A 20-foot tall tree inside the shop creates an enchanted forest-like feeling.

Six Acres – Retro Multi-Light Bulb Wreath

Three different styles of light bulbs, all on dimmers, make this wreath design for Six Acres look full while creating the illusion of candlelight. The warm glow welcomes patrons into the cosy space on a rainy winter night.