Premium children’s boutique with playful design and collectibles in Moscow

A new 550-square-meter boutique, Wisteria, in Moscow is not just a multi-brand store — it’s also a space with a playroom, coffee corner, and surprisingly sophisticated furniture scaled thoughtfully to a younger perspective. This concept was realized by interior designer Ariana Ahmad, who reimagined what family shopping could be.

The initial brief was both clear and open-ended: create a space where families would actually want to spend time. Of the total area, 365 square meters are dedicated to retail, while the rest is carved out for play, rest, and backstage logistics — including a staff zone with its own entrance. “We didn’t want the store to just look good,” she says. “It had to work for everyone — especially the smallest visitors.”

Instead of one large open space, Wisteria is divided into intuitive zones: shoes, babywear, clothing for boys and girls, and a quiet area for embroidery and tailoring. Ahmad began by mapping out the customer journey, then used color and form to subtly guide visitors through.

Soft pastels and curved edges help make the space feel gentle. There are no sharp lines or loud contrasts — just a consistent palette that’s bright without being overstimulating. The floors are finished in porcelain tile with candy-like flecks, while custom pendant lights float above like glass lollipops. A rain pipe, which could have disrupted the visual rhythm, is now hidden inside a balloon-shaped sculpture.

The store’s materials were chosen as carefully as its layout. The wallpaper adds quiet depth to the walls, and furniture edges are rounded and scaled to suit kids — not just visually, but in how they feel. “The owner checks the inside seams of garments for softness,” says Ahmad. “That mindset influenced the entire approach — we kept asking, will this feel good?”

The fitting rooms, for example, are designed more like small stages, with plenty of space for strollers, siblings, or simply trying things on at your own pace.

Much of the furniture is bespoke, but Ahmad also brought in a few design classics — not as showpieces, but as familiar shapes children can grow up with. There are Chubby stools by Dirk van der Kooij, Bold chairs from Moustache, and Normann Copenhagen’s stackable seats. The F598 Groovy lounge chair by Pierre Paulin is tucked into the reading area, and the Ultrafragola mirror by Ettore Sottsass glows with soft pink neon.

“Even if a child doesn’t know what the Ultrafragola is, they still register that it’s different — that it has a certain energy,” Ahmad says. “You’re not teaching design, exactly. You’re just showing that things can be made beautifully.”

Wisteria was designed to be both functional and quietly engaging, with no forced theming or over-the-top installations. Instead, Ahmad’s design gives children — and their parents — a bit of room: to look around, to rest, and perhaps to notice, for the first time, how well a space can be put together.

Architect and interior designer Ariana Ahmad
arianaahmaddesign.com
Instagram @arianaahmad_design

Photo credit Mikhail Loskutov
Instagram @loskutoff

Style by Natalia Onufreichuk
Instagram @onufreichuk_before_after