The Tattoo Studio in Mumbai has a subtle yet edgy look, perfectly suited to the client’s restrained approach.
Mumbai-based Kavan Shah Design Studio (KSDS) walked a tricky line of mixing subtlety, edginess, and informality to realise this project.
“The main consideration while designing The Tattoo Studio was to divide the zones and create an elevated podium, which was visible from the outside,” say design team members while discussing the dismantling and re-imagination process.
The client brand is admittedly restrained in its approach and the design team was careful about keeping up with that ethos. This art form has a bit of theatricality and quite a lot of sterility involved, and in a space like this which looks like a tropical café; it gets an unconventional thriving ground.
The team has peppered the studio with terrarium plants that stand alongside scuffed teal doors, smooth floors, prim white upholstery, benches made out of cement, mesh partitions, and sand-blasted granite surfaces. The art pieces work the range from eccentric to abstract to more conventional forms, with contemplative busts of Buddha standing by in many places. But the less obvious clincher in establishing a unique aesthetic is the lighting scheme—it seems to travel in waves through the space, lighting up and dimming down the segments to create a satisfyingly brooding but welcoming space.
Regarding the design of The Tattoo Studio on the whole, the team has seen to it that each piece of art complemented the space instead of overpowering it.
