Sweet Cooie’s is the ultimate tastemaker—in the realms of dessert and design. The Congress Park treat shop, which opened in a renovated space in February, is the sister store to LoHi favorite Little Man Ice Cream. But this time, owner Paul Tamburello pays tribute to his late mother—nicknamed “Cooie”—with a jewel-box interior that’s more enchanting and whimsical than any in the city. “Our family called my mother ‘the elegant lady from the East,’ ” he says. “She always put herself together in an elegant way, which inspired all the details in the shop.”

Sweet Cooie's
Photograph by David Lauer
Sweet Cooie's
Photograph by David Lauer
Sweet Cooie's
Photograph by David Lauer

The pretty parlor’s good looks come courtesy of interior designer Melissa Friday of Denver-based Xan Creative. “We wanted authenticity with a feminine spin to honor Cooie,” Friday says. “We want people to sit and take it in—all the fine detail.” Walls in Sherwin-Williams’ Meander Blue trimmed with brass accents create a backdrop against which beautiful and playful details shine: a thick marble countertop, sparkly light fixtures, a custom-built back bar lined with gumball-filled jars, and wavy vinyl booths. Friday covered the walls beneath the wooden chair rail with Amelia Lincrusta paintable wallpaper, which has the texture and pattern of pressed-tin tiles, from Brewster Wallcovering Company.

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Taken together, the charming elements (magnified by the swoon-worthy scents from handcrafted truffles and cotton-candy-wrapped waffle cones) remind us that great design is more than the sum of its parts—kind of like great ice cream.