The white-on-white Aviary office in East Vancouver provides inspiration for aspiring minimalists.

When first setting out to design their Vancouver co-working space for creative entrepreneurs, the Aviary co-founders, Andrea McLean and Stella Cheung Boyland, were adamant their storefront be at street level. “We wanted to create a really vibrant and friendly community with the people who work out of our space while educating the public on what we do and what a design office looks like,” says McLean.

So they set up a storefront in East Vancouver and began bringing the outside in. Large windows look onto a minimalist open-concept room, perfect for local artists and designers to showcase their creative process in two-week rotating installations. A wheeled white pegboard, created by Lock and Mortice, functions as a wall dividing the space for regular workday but can be pushed aside for galleries, pop-up shops and photo shoots. Two communal tables can be broken apart for collaborative meetings. The individual workstations, made up of white Ikea tables and shelves, keep the environment simple and non-distracting for interior designers and florists alike. “We wanted it to be bright, clean and comfortable.”

Cascading pothos plants and potted tropicals that dot the studio add pops of green to the space and act as natural dividers throughout, whether in the cozy lounge near the Instagram-friendly front window or hanging in the large design-sample library. “Most creative thinkers don’t want clutter and chaos surrounding them,” says McLean. “This is a blank canvas.”

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