Project Type

A 1,500 sq. ft. luxury nail boutique, built out and branded from a blank space.

Scope

Space planning and design concept / architectural coordination / city and permit coordination / finish selections / lighting / custom millwork / branding support / GC interviews and budget coordination / subcontractor coordination and project management / furnishings, styling, and opening support

A second Flamant location, built to feel like the brand.

When a returning client opened a second Flamant location, they came back to Studio MAK to design it, this time a luxury nail boutique in one of Wilmette's most visible North Shore shopping districts. It started as a blank commercial space and had to become a polished, fully functioning salon by opening day.

The brief had two sides that had to meet. Front of house, it needed to feel calm, refined, and memorable, a boutique wellness destination rather than a standard nail salon. Behind the scenes, it had to work hard: supporting elevated services, daily operations, a full staff, and every city and structural requirement that comes with a commercial build. A beautiful room that couldn't run smoothly would have failed either way.

So we led the project end to end, from the early site and lease conversations through opening day. Space planning and design direction set the tone. Architectural coordination, city back-and-forth, contractor interviews, budgeting, procurement, and subcontractor management kept it moving. Custom millwork, lighting, and finishes built the polish, and we stayed through final installation to see it open.

The finished salon feels elevated, soft, and hospitality-driven, far more boutique than retail. Most of all, it reads unmistakably as Flamant, a true expansion of the brand rather than a copy-and-paste of the first location.