On the 11th, in Unjung-dong, Bundang-gu, Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. As we entered the beginning of Unjung-ro, called the Pangyo furniture street because furniture stores are clustered there, a store with an interior clearly visible through floor-to-ceiling glass caught the eye. Inside, warm-toned lighting spread softly, and various interior materials such as tiles, wood flooring, and vinyl flooring were densely displayed on the walls and tables.
A couple pushing a stroller picked up floor samples one by one, checking the texture and comparing them. A store employee stood by and explained the characteristics of each material and the installation methods.
This is the first offline interior hub unveiled by the lifestyle platform Ohouse, called the Ohouse Interior Pangyo Lounge. Ohouse, which has grown mainly online, created the space as part of an O2O (Online to Offline) strategy to strengthen its interior business in earnest. After a soft opening in January, it began full operations earlier this month.
Ohouse operates a platform that connects interior specialists and customers. Late last year, it established a subsidiary, Ohouse Construction, specializing in partial installations such as kitchens and bathrooms, and completed registration as a specialty contractor.
Unlike furniture or household goods, interior work is often considered a field where consumers check materials and consult experts before making decisions, making fully online transactions difficult. An Ohouse official said, "We designed the space so visitors can check in-person details that are hard to see on a screen, and we set up the Pangyo Lounge to improve consumers' access to interior services."
Inside the store, a hands-on area was set up centered on Ohouse's kitchen installation brand, Ohouse Kitchen, recreating an actual kitchen space. Visitors can visually check real kitchen layouts, storage methods, and finishes, allowing them to better envision the post-installation result.
The store also lets visitors touch and compare more than 150 types of interior materials, including tiles, wood flooring, vinyl flooring, and wallpaper. In particular, in collaboration with the smart lighting brand "Akira," a separate area was created to show how materials feel different in a space as brightness changes. An on-site official explained, "Even with the same material, the overall mood and perceived feel can change depending on the lighting in a home, so we made it possible to check materials under brightness levels similar to customers' real living environments."
Ohouse is also opening the Pangyo Lounge for estimate consultations between customers and interior specialists. It has extended the consultation and matching functions that took place on the online platform into an offline space. Visitors can check materials, consult with experts, and flesh out installation plans and estimates. Because consultations take place in a neutral platform space rather than at a specific company's office, officials said customers can feel more confident they are receiving advice in an objective environment.
Ohouse chose Pangyo as the first local offline hub for its interior business because it judged that demand there is strong. In Ohouse's own analysis of interior installation consultation demand on its platform, the number of consultations in southern Gyeonggi Province was tallied as more than double that of major Seoul areas such as Gangnam and Songpa. An analysis of apartment sales volume data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport also showed that transactions in southern Gyeonggi Province were about 1.5 times higher than in core Seoul areas like Gangnam and Songpa.
In the Pangyo Unjung-dong area where the Pangyo Lounge opened, a so-called furniture street has formed, with furniture and interior stores clustered together. The area is close to new towns such as Pangyo, Bundang, and Yongin, and is cited as a region where remodeling and new interior demand steadily flows in.
An Ohouse official said, "We determined that interior demand driven by active apartment sales cycles is most concentrated in southern Gyeonggi, so we chose the region for our first store," adding, "By opening on Pangyo's furniture street, where related stores are clustered, we also improved customer access."
Since officially opening earlier this month, weekend visitors to the Ohouse Pangyo Lounge have increased two to three times compared with the soft-opening period. Starting with the Pangyo Lounge, Ohouse plans to expand its offline touchpoints to major areas, including Seoul.
An Ohouse official said, "We will continue to refine a consultation and installation experience that connects online and offline so customers can start interior projects with confidence."