A Bold First Impression: Johanson’s London Showroom by Trifle*
Commercial Interior Design agency, Trifle* has collaborated with Johanson on the design of their first London showroom, completed just in time to welcome hundreds of guests during Clerkenwell Design Week 2025.
The family run Swedish furniture company differentiates through distinctly modern and memorable designs. With fast lead-times and approximately 200 finishes and fabrics, a competitive approach continues to underpin the brand.
Johanson was initially impressed with Trifle*’s 2024 redesign of the Deadgood showroom, inviting the agency to collaborate on a space, which serves also as a launchpad during CDW, for new pieces such as xxx. The brief for Trifle* was to showcase a design evolution, from task chairs and desks to more memorable and fun products, in-keeping with the shift in workspaces to be collaborative and comfortable.
The intention was to create a working hub for clients, specifiers and as a place for internal activations such as talks, events and presentations. Trifle*’s concept needed a degree of flexibility to accommodate these aspects in an unusually shaped and relatively small space.
The overall concept is a series of functional zones effectively showing the breadth of the collections. Trifle* worked as many core pieces into the scheme as possible, within curated areas, which are practical but where the furniture is very much the hero.
Of primary importance was the promotion of colour and the vast number of options. For example, a fabric swatch wall is a sales tool which also works to elevate colour within the space. A meeting table with different chairs upholstered in a tonal way, shows textures and is a vibrant, design-led feature used daily by the team and clients.
Trifle* took colour inspiration from a ballet that Lead Designer Nadia had attended, and which incorporated the colour of the brick wall backdrop. Whites were used on pillars and muted tones to the floor, to soften the overall look and feel.
Space saving ideas included a display unit for chairs which sits behind a curtain to give flexibility, to store as much furniture as possible in an inspiring way, and to allow for a big ‘reveal’ moment.
Trifle* responded to the multiple needs of the business by creating a floorplan which gives Johanson options of a presentation format for events and showcases, or showroom format geared towards meetings and workshops. Furniture can be moved or stored, as the space needs to adapt. An ‘installation’ space as visitors arrive is for new pieces and to share stories.
A best-selling product for Johanson within the hospitality market, is the Jupiter bar stool and in-keeping with the fun nature of the brand and team, a bar area gives character – finished in creams and reds, and with the hero Charlie sofa for maximum comfort. The ‘Dezabel’ acoustic panels have been used strategically as wall art, to add more colour and pattern to the design.