Designing A Dog Grooming Salon + Cafe For The Paws And Pals of Koda & Co.
Koda & Co. Pet Store Designed by Malcolm Studio
Koda & Co. Pet Store Designed by Malcolm Studio
CLIENT: Koda & Co
DESIGN INTENTION: To create a dog grooming salon + cafe that’s both dog and human-friendly
MATERIAL PALETTE: Square tiles, soap tiles, wood accents, stone, terrazzo, pastel colors
MAIN INSPO: The material palette, Shane and Koda’s playfulness, and Korean Cafés
Koda & Co. Pet Store Designed by Malcolm Studio
About Koda & Co.
Koda & Co. is a modern pet-care and lifestyle brand based in Cebu founded by Shane Velasco, an empowered dog mom to Koda, a cuddly Labrador Retriever.
Koda & Co was born out of a silly idea of wishing I’d get to spend every single day with Koda. I wanted to create a space for both paws and pals. After all, we are family. – SHANE VELASCO, Founder of Koda & Co.
For this design project, we leaned into Shane’s not so silly idea. Like a design fairy godmother, we wanted to make her wish come true!
Shane’s vision of creating a space for both paws and pals was our project’s north star and the sense of playfulness and fun between her and her beloved Koda was our greatest inspiration.
Koda & Co. Pet Store Designed by Malcolm Studio
Setting The Mood
Designing a dog grooming salon + cafe is a unique challenge and the moment we laid eyes on Shane’s mood board we knew that it was going to be a lot of fun too. A client’s mood board translates their vision into a language we can understand. As professional designers we don’t copy a client’s mood board down to the last Pantone, instead we take elements of a client's vision or mood board and combine it with our own fresh new ideas to transform a space. “Typically, when I review a client’s mood board, I carefully analyze and dissect the different aspects of the board to create something entirely new,” Kisha, our founder and creative director, explained. Shane’s mood board was playful, pastel, and full of quirky details we were so excited to explore in the space. We were determined to make the most out of every square meter we were working with. We even added a huge window in the backroom to let all the natural light in and make the space really shine.
Koda & Co. Pet Store Designed by Malcolm Studio
Koda & Co. Pet Store Designed by Malcolm Studio
Designing for Dogs
We’re used to designing spaces for people so it was quite a treat to find thoughtful ways to create a space for dogs! From the get-go, the safety of our furry friends was our main priority, which is why we made the conscious decision to use tempered glass in all spaces that enclose the dogs. While this comes at an extra cost, we wanted to ensure no harm would come to the puppers getting pampered at Koda & Co.
Koda & Co. Pet Store Designed by Malcolm Studio
A Human-friendly Space
In the R&D phase of this project something stuck out to us like a sore thumb: most grooming salons aren’t human-friendly! Pet owners are either standing around, sitting on an uncomfortable bench shoulder to shoulder, or forced to leave their pets unsupervised. So we designed a dedicated lounge area for Koda & Co. complete with comfy benches, terrazzo drink tables, and electrical outlets (this feature is a crowd favorite). We pushed the idea even further and took inspiration from Korean cafes Shane loves to create the perfect aesthetic and ambiance.The space is designed to be a fully functioning café too, serving lattes and pastries to customers while their dog gets a Cherry Bomb Bath but–sigh–COVID happened. Rest assured, when the world opens up again, the pals of Koda & Co. are surely in for a caffeinated treat.
Koda & Co. Pet Store Designed by Malcolm Studio
Koda & Co. Pet Store Designed by Malcolm Studio
Dog Vibes Only
The groomers at Koda & Co. are absolute rock stars! Shane really cares for her staff and wanted to give them enough space to do what they do best. We added a partition between the grooming area and the lounge, and we didn’t forget to add glass to the partitions because we knew that fur parents would love to see their pets being groomed. We’re seeing so many pet owner sharing cute pup pics on the gram!
Koda & Co. Pet Store Designed by Malcolm Studio
Our Favorite Features
Koda & Co. Pet Store Designed by Malcolm Studio
Terrazzo Drink Table
If you’ve ever waited for your pupper at the lounge area of Koda & Co. and made good use of the terrazzo drink tables, you have our founder and creative director, Kisha, to thank! That was her brilliant idea. “Not only did the terrazzo drink tables add a fun texture to the space but they also served as a functional piece that a lot of the customers really enjoy.” she said, pleased with the outcome.
Koda & Co. Pet Store Designed by Malcolm Studio
Magnetic Letter Board
To give the grooming salon the café vibe we were going for we installed a magnetic letter board at the front desk. But instead of coffee, it lists all the grooming services on offer for your dog. We encountered issues with this design feature, as the magnets were too heavy to stick on the letterboard. We decided to alter their thickness and after a few rounds of trial and error we eventually found the perfect dimensions for the letters to finally stick! Safe to say it was worth the trouble, as it turned out to be a key feature of the space.
Koda & Co. Pet Store Designed by Malcolm Studio
Empowering business women by designing a space where they could grow and thrive is so fulfilling. And I’m proud to say, it’s what we do best. – KISHA BRUCE, Founder and Creative Director of Malcolm Studio
Looooove this! Everytime I visit Koda & Co I always admire their interiors. So happy that this was designed by a Cebu Designer, and so excited we now have designers in cebu that can create spaces like these. Kudos!