Sex shops generally recall sleazy drapes, bad lighting, and questionable carpets—not at Njoy. Located in Kyiv, Ukraine, this educational space and store looks to modernize and soften the experience. Instead, Ukrainian designer Nastia Mirzoyan approached Njoy as a place to support open conversations around sex, sexuality, and self-discovery. To that end, Mirzoyan uses lightweight and open forms with hints of play to create a space sensitive to stigma.

The 646-square-foot store is anchored around a central, ring-shaped shelving structure with integrated openings that act as passageways. The shelving’s thin form and baby blue color add brightness to the otherwise soft gray space while keeping visibility clear. It’s lit with a cluster of metal downlights above, which allow Njoy to use the ring as exhibition space. A circular golden brown rug grounds the area.

More display perimeters the store, organizing merchandise as well as a collection of educational books. This shelving continues the lightweight and blue storage at the center with added shiny, aluminum cabinets at its base. Materiality continues at the rear where metallic walls extend from the floor to the ceiling in a touch of sleekness.

While the dominant scheme is blue and gray, Mirzoyan incorporates bold departures for added play. The team commissioned Ukrainian artist Serhii Drofa to create a table and chair that appear drenched in paint globs, dripping and sticking to the furniture. The unexpected furnishings are tied together with the bright red sales counter, which evades a bulky feeling in favor of a minimal forms and cutouts at its center.

Soft colors and bold furnishings combine to create an inviting and non-judgemental envrionment. The open layout and forms convey Njoy’s attitude to sexuality, and hope to inspire the same embrace in its patrons.