The High Sign

When a Palm Beach inspector first walked into Miami’s new Babalu store he gazed up and said something unexpected: “Damn, I lost my bet – it looks great!”

He had his eyes on the accidental pièce de résistance of the interior design, a pink Babalu sign affixed to the ceiling of the store. Each letter is made from an acrylic frame with LEDs inside. Fabricated in Germany, the custom sign is designed to shed light from each side. Its unusual placement was a matter of necessity – and some hand-wringing – as the ceilings were too low to apply it to the wall.

The sign began as a practical solution to a space problem, but turned out to be a stroke a genius for the retailer’s newest location on Palm Beach’s historical Via Mizner, which opened last November after a whirlwind three months of design and construction.

“It’s our signature element, and customers either don’t notice or simply love it. We’re adventurous, but prior to the final installation, even we treaded lightly, knowing we might have to make a last-minute adjustment,” says co-owner Greg Melvin.

The Palm Beach boutique marks Babalu’s third location. The brand’s flagship is located on Miami Beach’s famed Lincoln Road, and Babalu also serves as the lobby shop for the deco-inspired Raleigh Hotel in Miami Beach, providing a pared down product selection.

The petite, 535-square-foot Palm Beach sundries shop offers classed-up, sassed-up basics, from organic apothecary products to personal accessories to housewares in an intimate, neatly organized setting. The eclectic, high-end products – priced from $2-$35,000 – are situated on open shelves and inside showcases made of glass and gleaming white acrylic.

A 360-degree gray-and-white striped wrap envelops the long, narrow space, creating a beach cabana mood and setting off the store’s signature pink accent color. When selecting the shades of gray and white, the owners took a practical approach and first specified the 6-by-24-inch floor tiles, then matched the paint colors for the walls and ceiling.

Tucked away at the end of the store, a small nook does double duty as a dressing room and a vignette for Missoni Home, one of Babalu’s merchandise partners. The area features gray-and-white striped curtains that create a beachy energy. The walls offer a pop of pink while pink ambient lighting helps customers’ skin look warm and healthy.

The design incorporates a mixture of warm-color-temperature LEDs and halogens. “We tried LEDs for the tracks, but the technology doesn’t seem to be there as of this installation,” Melvin says. “So, we resorted to warm-tone, narrow-beam halogen spots.”

When the sun sets on this beach-town boutique, ambient lighting creates a cozy glow, and the store’s signature perfume bar takes the spotlight, giving the freestanding unit a jeweled effect.

PROJECT SUPPLIERS

Retailer and Design
Babalu, Palm Beach, Fla.: Greg Melvin, president and Paolo Ambu; Babalu in-house design team

Design Consultants
Rawlins Design Inc., New York
H. Devinn Visual, New York

Fixtures and Furniture
Bon Vivant, Miami

Lighting
McAfee Electric, West Palm Beach, Fla.

Signage/Graphics
Colite, Columbia, S.C.
Graphplex, Miami

Audio/Visual
Quantum AV, Miami

Materials/Wallcoverings
Palm Beach Glass, Palm Beach, Fla.

General Contractor
Batten Construction, West Palm Beach, Fla.

Photography: Craig Denis, Miami