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The owners of the design store ELTE tasked BURDIFILEK to reimagine the new home for their luxury bath and kitchen brand, Ginger’s. The vision was to move Gingers’ showroom above their ELTE store. By consolidating everything under one roof, it would create a streamlined shopping experience and become the go-to destination for all things home in Toronto. When the designers first walked through the raw space, they were faced with a large volume. The first impression was as if walking into a large art gallery within an industrial warehouse. The uniqueness of the architectural envelope incited the team to keep the integrity of the building and play with the concept of the art gallery. In the end, much of the design detailing took its cues from the quality of the existing industrial warehouse.
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The ELTE Department store and the Ginger’s showroom are located within Toronto’s Castlefield Design District. Once an industrial district, the area has evolved over the years into a vibrant commercial hub. It is now recognized as the city’s premier destination for luxury home furnishings and décor, drawing discerning homeowners, interior designers, and architects alike.
In a strategic effort to elevate their customer experience, the owners of Elte relocated their Ginger’s kitchen and bath showroom to the second floor of their Elte store - a former warehouse space. As a tribute to the industrial era, BURDIFILEK retained the original architectural envelope, using its raw, historic character to create a striking contrast with the new showroom’s contemporary design.
Although this particular project was not focused on sustainability. As conscious designers, BURDIFILEK preserved as much of the original architectural envelope as possible and minimized the environmental impact by using power efficient lighting, sustainable paints, and minimizing the amount of waste contributed to landfill. Additionally, the firm always aims to have a positive rather than negative impact on the surrounding area of its projects socially, economically, and environmentally.
The success of the design is embedded in the originality, innovative and creative solutions the designers found to break the large volume of space, while keeping the historical quality of the building, all within an exciting and unique concept that is highly functional, approachable, and beautiful. The designers used compartmentalization by creating pavilions. BURDIFILEK took inspiration from the upper clerestory windows to design the larger-than-life black metal and glass frames of the pavilions. The aesthetic design decision to leave the perimeter of the building intact, with its high ceiling, against the modern design and polished products is also part of the design dialogue. As a nod to the art gallery concept, monolithic sculptural displays and pedestals were created, at times brutalist in form and shape, casting an industrial feel with a functional and modern sensibility. To enhance the aesthetic and functionality of the spaces, all materiality was purposely chosen to be matte, since all products are polished metals and high gloss porcelains, the resulting effect allows the collections to shine against the matte surfaces. Finally, instead of signage, colors, shapes, and forms guide customers through the various spaces. Complementary zones were strategically placed adjacent to one another to ensure customers would have an intuitive and seamless shopping experience.
The result is a space that inspires confidence and delivers a memorable experience - inviting moments of contemplation, even while selecting something as essential as a kitchen faucet. Designed to endure, it encourages repeat visits through its timeless appeal. BURDIFILEK’s global approach resonates throughout, positioning the showroom as a sophisticated environment that could belong anywhere in the world, while remaining a testament to Ginger’s impact on Toronto’s design landscape.
BURDIFILEK is an award-winning interior design studio that transforms spaces to inspire possibility and purpose through design. Founded by Diego Burdi and Paul Filek in 1993, the firm puts creative intelligence, cultural relevance, and flawless execution at the forefront of all projects to create unexpected and expressive interiors for world-class brands around the globe.
