Swedish furniture brand Hem has opened its first permanent US showroom in Los Angeles, featuring a courtyard decorated with colourful graphics that resemble confetti.

Hem opened the showroom in Downtown LA in collaboration with US flooring company Madera. The space is Hem's second permanent showroom, after a location Stockholm, and follows a series of pop-ups around the world.

At the West Coast hub, Hem enlisted San Francisco­-based designer Clark Thenhaus to create an installation for the outdoor patio.
Called Confetti Courtyard, it comprises square, squiggle, triangular and circular shapes typical of the paper confetti thrown at special occasions, but supersized.

Painted in hues of yellow, blue, pink and green, the graphics pop against the cracked grey flooring and weathered white-painted walls to create a bright backdrop for programmed events.
Thenhaus, who runs Endemic Architecture, also arranged the shapes to mark out particular areas during these activities.

"Distributed throughout the courtyard as though they are oversized pieces of confetti, they create a loose organisation with discrete spaces that cues visitors to move and interact in particular, nuanced ways," said a project description.

"The super­sized confetti graphics wrap up the walls and fold down onto the floors, implying rooms within the courtyard that sponsor social interactions, encourage active mingling, accommodate varied methods of display for future programming, and frame th...