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Formerly Yes by Brad & Jenna Holdgrafer

Formerly Yes is a minimalist retail space located in Los Angeles, California, designed by Brad & Jenna Holdgrafer, who also own the company. The initial space was already gutted, giving the designers the opportunity to create a unique and welcoming interior that caters to their precise aesthetics. The couple went through hundreds of iterations on paper before settling on the final concept.

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Before settling on the final version, Brad and Jenna were sure about three elements for the space: uncoated concrete floors, uncoated white oak fixtures, and white walls. Given the fact that they would carry exquisite pieces from renowned designers – such as Jasper Morrison, Sori Yanagi, and Dieter Rams to name a few – they wanted to showcase their products in the simplest and most straightforward way possible in order for the focus to be on the objects themselves.

The slatted wall behind the register serves both an aesthetic and functional purpose. There are no windows in the back storage space, and the slats allow natural light to leak through without compromise to privacy. The designers wanted the space to have a museum-like feel, especially since a number of products have such interesting design histories and stories behind them.

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Tables and shelves made by Sean Woolsey.
Photos by Justin Segura.

Leo Lei translates his passion for minimalism into his daily-updated blog Leibal. In addition, you can find uniquely designed minimalist objects and furniture at the Leibal Store.