It’s not unusual for designers to open showrooms. From a practical business standpoint, a showroom serves as a portfolio for the designer’s work, a studio and another source of income in the way of retail sales. Sunday Shop, the new retail venture of Katie Logan Leblanc and Jensen Killen of Logan Killen Interiors, however, is a bit different than the typical designer showroom; it’s a glimpse into the bespoke yet unpretentious world of the designers.
“We named it Sunday Shop to give it its own identity,” says Killen. “People are sometimes intimidated to go into a design studio. Approachable is one of our top [philosophies], not just with our shop, but with our spaces and clients too.”
Housed in a circa-1870s building in the Lower Garden District, the light-flooded shop is set up like a home, complete with a doorbell at the entrance. Customers and clients enter through the “living room,” which is arranged in signature Logan Killen Interiors style — inviting, eclectic, a little modern and multilayered. The walls are decorated with colorful collages by New Orleans artist Mark Bercier, which are on display from the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. To the right of the front door, on an antique butcher’s presentation table that was sourced at Fireside Antiques in Baton Rouge, stainless steel buckets are filled with single seasonal florals, grasses and branches by local floral designer Emily Eberwine of Pick-A-Petal Floral Design.
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TOP LEFT: Sunday Shop is set up like a home. The “living room” entrance currently features artwork by New Orleans artist Mark Bercier and a mix of antiques, custom pieces designed by Killen and Logan Leblanc, as well as textiles and decorative items available for sale. TOP RIGHT: The back “courtyard room” is an oasis of bath, body and home products, as well as Turkish towels and other fine home accessories. The water closet is adjacent to an outdoor courtyard, currently under design. Killen and Logan Leblanc are working with landscape designer and master gardener, Niki Epstein, who specializes in container and porch gardens and small herb and vegetable gardens.
“There are a lot of people in New Orleans who do antiques well, so we didn’t want to get too heavy into that,” says Logan Leblanc. “We’ll go to Baton Rouge and hand select a few pieces to layer in.”
A custom designed island is the centerpiece in the “kitchen” area. It is complemented by a buffet made by local furniture maker Chip Martinson of Monkey-Wid-A-Fez. The buffet has a hidden refrigerator drawer that houses beer, LaCroix sparkling water and other beverages. Atop the buffet an espresso machine is at the ready. Custom glass shelving is home to a variety of kitchen essentials and products.
The “bedroom” is a study in textiles, including rugs sourced at Texas’ popular Round Top Antiques Fair and NOLA Rugs, lighting by Lambert et Fils (which is found throughout the shop), a custom bed and an upholstered sofa. Everything is layered to comfy completion with toss pillows and throws.
“We’re really heavy into textiles, layers,” says Logan Leblanc. “We wanted people who come in or hire us to have a little taste of what we do.”
Home fragrance and body products fill the airy back “courtyard room” with the heady scents of the Caribbean, via the Coqui Coqui line of fragrances. Logan Leblanc and Killen are working with landscape designer and master gardener Niki Epstein for the outdoor courtyard. Epstein specializes in container and porch gardens and small herb and vegetable gardens.
Upstairs, the studio offers a refuge from the shop floor, where the designers can meet with clients and focus on design projects.
“Because of the separation, it makes it fairly easy to separate ourselves and get some work done,” says Logan Leblanc. “We have a few people that we’ve brought on that help with both the store and the studio, and we have some people that just help with the store.”
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LEFT: An antique butcher’s presentation table in the “living room” —sourced at Fireside Antiques in Baton Rouge — is topped with stainless steel buckets filled with single seasonal florals, grasses and branches by local floral designer Emily Eberwine of Pick-A-Petal Floral Design. RIGHT: In the “bedroom” Killen and Logan Leblanc’s signature warm, eclectic and multi-layered style is in full effect. Textiles, pillows and artwork complement the large bed with upholstered headboard.
Sunlight streams into the sprawling studio through the expanse of windows in the front of the building. Each has a window box overflowing with flowers and foliage. A materials library, custom, white work-and-storage table, as well as a vast table and desks for the company’s nine employees fill the main studio area. The designers share a private office, which is off a cozy eating nook and flanked by a kitchenette. Scented candles and incense afford the studio the same homey feeling as the downstairs shop.
“Now that we have the store, we physically can pull together some full-scale pieces and that’s nice,” says Logan Leblanc. “It has changed the way we work.”
Popping downstairs to the shop to play and rearrange; taking in the wealth of places to eat and hang out in the neighborhood; and field trips to places like the New Orleans Museum of Art, Botanical Gardens and Sculpture Garden help fuel the designers’ and their employees’ creativity, so they can come back to the office and tap into a refilled and refreshed creative well. But the shop and studio is the anchor.
“Katie and I are both — and I think everyone is — affected by their environment, whether at home or work,” says Killen. “I think it’s important that your space is comfortable.”
Truly living their brand is also at the forefront of what they do, hence the candles and comforts in the upstairs studio.
“It’s a fantastic space,” says Logan Leblanc. “It’s definitely a dream come true for us.”
At a Glance
Sunday Shop and Logan Killen Interiors
Company Name: Sunday Shop and Logan Killen Interiors
Address: 2025 Magazine St.
Office completed: November 2016
Architect: Albert Architecture
Interior Designer: Katie Logan Leblanc and Jensen Killen
Furnishings: Sunday Shop: Butcher’s presentation table, Fireside Antiques; green velvet sofa, custom; Ralph Lauren leather and wood side table, vintage; striped lamp with linen shade, vintage; custom coffee table, LKI Studio; rattan settee, vintage; custom island, LKI Studio; custom dining table, Fireside Antiques; upholstered bed, custom; cherry storage cabinet with brass and glass shelving, custom. Upstairs Studio: White storage and work table, custom. Upstairs private office: Desk 51, ivory, Modern Market.
Square footage: 2,300 square feet
Main Goal: The primary goal was to use the first floor for retail and second floor for studio space. The goal was to maximize square footage by utilizing every room and integrating smart storage solutions where possible. The retail space was built out to feel like a home, while showcasing the design aesthetic of Logan Killen Interiors.
Biggest Challenge: “Working with an old building is always challenging. Every day you discover new things and have to be able to make decisions on the fly based on your specific needs, the overall design intent, and the architectural integrity of the building,” notes interior designer Jensen Killen.
