{"id":21057,"date":"2025-08-24T23:06:09","date_gmt":"2025-08-24T23:06:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/21057\/"},"modified":"2025-08-24T23:06:09","modified_gmt":"2025-08-24T23:06:09","slug":"odami-reinvents-the-old-world-apothecary-at-torontos-living-beauty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/21057\/","title":{"rendered":"Odami reinvents the “old-world apothecary” at Toronto’s Living Beauty"},"content":{"rendered":"

Terracotta-toned tiles fan out across the floor of this spa<\/a> and retail space, which Canadian studio Odami<\/a> has completed in a former industrial building in Toronto<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Living Beauty<\/a> in the city’s Christie Pits neighbourhood sells skincare, haircare, fragrance and other beauty products, and also offers treatments that range from make-up sessions to facials and injectables.<\/p>\n

\"RetailA marble-topped, L-shaped counter forms a focal point at Living Beauty<\/p>\n

Located in a former factory building with large columns and an exposed ceiling, the space was designed by Odami<\/a> to celebrate the industrial bones while providing a fresh take on beauty shops of yesteryear: apothecaries.<\/p>\n

“We reinterpreted the apothecary typology for this post-industrial space, in hopes of creating something that feels honest, interesting and new,” said Odami.<\/p>\n

\"RetailThe large columns and exposed services of the former factory space were left to create contrast with the contemporary interventions<\/p>\n

In the front of house area, the dark wood, elaborate detailing and rows of small drawers found in these old medicine stores have been lightened, pared back and expanded in scale.<\/p>\n

A large L-shaped counter topped with Breccia Oniciata marble forms a focal point and serves quick customer consultations.<\/p>\n

\"WhiteWhite Corian display plinths contrast the clay-toned millwork<\/p>\n

“The traditional apothecary was centred around personal consultation, so we bolstered that model with modern design approaches to create a contemporary, service-forward environment that’s geared toward community building,” Odami said.<\/p>\n

More marble forms counter-height shelving within arched product display bays, which are built from clay-hued millwork and wrap the walls.<\/p>\n

\"VanityBreccia Oniciata marble and tambour details add character to the space<\/p>\n

Items are showcased on open powder-coated steel shelves within the niches above, while supplementary stock is stored within the drawers below.<\/p>\n

White Corian display plinths add a contemporary contrast against the tambour and panelling of the millwork.<\/p>\n

\"ConcentricConcentric terracotta-hued floor tiles converge where the retail space meets the spa<\/p>\n

“While referencing the old-world apothecary, the space also invokes other eras and styles, incorporating retro elements like vintage light fixtures and reeded glass with chrome framing,” said Odami.<\/p>\n

“We want to be interpretive, experimental, and playful in how we nod to the past, allowing room for something uniquely contemporary to emerge.”<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

Odami creates textured minty interior for Aesop Palisades Village store\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

The floor is covered in terracotta-hued porcelain tiles that radiate in concentric arcs towards the glazed street facade.<\/p>\n

The circles converge at a central point where the retail space meets the entrance to the spa area, drawing visitors in.<\/p>\n

\"SpaThe spa waiting area is located behind chrome-framed, fluted-glass panels<\/p>\n

Behind the chrome-framed fluted glass windows are the treatment rooms, which feature a similar earthy palette and subtle detailing.<\/p>\n

These rooms revolve around a high-gloss, mint-toned cube that provides a refreshing shift in colour and lends a calming atmosphere to the spa.<\/p>\n

\"TreatmentThe earthy palette continues in the treatment rooms, while the corridors are accented in a glossy mint-toned finish<\/p>\n

Odami is no stranger to wellness retail design, having completed two stores for Aesop in Toronto: one covered in mint green materials<\/a> and another patterned with Victorian balusters<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The studio, founded in 2018 by Arancha Gonz\u00e1lez Bernardo and Michael Fohring, has also transformed a space for a womenswear retailer<\/a> in a local shopping mall and overhauled a split-level beach house<\/a> on Lake Ontario.<\/p>\n

The photography is by John Alunan<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Project credits:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Client:<\/strong> Living Beauty
Interior design:<\/strong> Odami
General contractor:<\/strong> Stein + Regency
Architect of record:<\/strong> NeverOnly Architecture
Engineering:<\/strong> Spline Group<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Terracotta-toned tiles fan out across the floor of this spa and retail space, which Canadian studio Odami has…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21058,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[267],"tags":[365,362,363,364,995,366,18,117,19,8081,17,18064,3439,10357,12755,18063,15935],"class_list":{"0":"post-21057","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-artsanddesign","11":"tag-artsdesign","12":"tag-canada","13":"tag-design","14":"tag-eire","15":"tag-entertainment","16":"tag-ie","17":"tag-interiors","18":"tag-ireland","19":"tag-odami","20":"tag-retail","21":"tag-sectionall","22":"tag-sectioninteriors","23":"tag-spas","24":"tag-toronto"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21057","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21057"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21057\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21058"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21057"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21057"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21057"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}