Black forest: Jeweller Ileana Makri’s flagship store evokes an enchanted wood

Kois Associated Architects’ design for Makri intrigues and beguiles from the outset. The exterior, divided into three main sections, features three heavy stone façades, framing the space within, and an installation that emits soft plumes of white smoke.

Entering through a large black oak door, customers can explore the vaulted room, divided by great slabs of marble and grey rock, accentuated with copper furnishings to reflect and transform the light. Lean trunks of black span floor to ceiling, displaying Makri’s designs on cabinet fauna, the pieces hanging like fruit within.

‘We wanted the customers to be able to explore the space with freedom, as if they have arrived in a peculiar forest, sustained by the imagination and creative force of Ileana Makri,’ says Stelios Kois, principal architect at Kois.

For more on the mixing of precious and humble materials to create a globally inspired luxury finish, read our Geo Luxe design direction.