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American practice Bunch Design has completed a colourful granny flat modelled on an oversized suit at the back of a home in Los Angeles, with sliding doors that enable it to become a single open space. More
Plump white walls and undulating ceilings can be found inside this house near San Francisco, which has been updated by design studio OPA to feature cloud-like forms. More
Mediterranean influences, warm wood tones and vintage objects are found throughout this Los Angeles hotel with interiors by Home Studios. More
Architecture office Studio Hagen Hall has transformed a townhouse in north London into a home inspired by 1970s Californian modernism to remind its owners of time spent living in Los Angeles. More
Interior designer Kelly Wearstler has transformed a 1950s beachfront cottage in Southern California into a bohemian retreat for herself and her family. More
From rustic fine dining to colourful ceilings designed to “stimulate the appetite”, here are six top examples of interior design for restaurants from California.
Loqui in Downtown Los Angeles, California, by Wick Architecture & Design
Los Angeles studio Wick Architecture & Design looked to materials more commonly found on construction sites when designing Loqui, the second location of a “mom and pop” taqueria in Downtown Los Angeles.
Concrete floors and exposed pipes from the renovation have been left in situ while walls and surfaces are clad with terracotta brick and olive-pained stucco. Tables, chairs and benches are made of stained oak and the facade is made of patinated steel.
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Madison in San Diego, California, by Archisects
California studio Archisects designed bright-blue alcoves and cedar-clad walls and ceilings for Madison, a restaurant and cocktail bar built in a former nightclub in San Diego’s University Heights neighbourhood.
The designers used wood and geometric shapes to create a warm and welcoming space, with nautical light fixtures that nod to the city’s coastal location.
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Bavel in Los Angeles Arts District, California, by Studio Unltd
Los Angeles-based Studio Unltd turned a former warehouse in the Los Angeles Arts District into a Middle Eastern restaurant called Bavel (pictured top and above).
Plants trail down whitewashed walls and banquettes are upholstered with geometric-patterned fabric. The bar area draws inspiration from Casablanca, Morocco, with pink metal seats and gold-and-turquoise shelves set in arched niches.
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Auburn on Los Angeles’ Melrose Avenue, California, by Klein Agency
Jon and Maša Kleinhample, a husband-and-wife design team from Belgium, wanted to create a homey aesthetic for Auburn, a fine-dining restaurant on Melrose Avenue.
The kitchen is open to the dining area and crockery is stored in open-faced cupboards. Rustic ceiling beams project from the inside through to an outdoor dining area where a tree grows through a hole cut into the roof.
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Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura in Beverly Hills, California, by Gucci
The Gucci store in Beverly Hills has its own Italian restaurant on the top floor. The intimate 50-cover eatery is designed to look like the fashion house’s restaurant in Florence, with a marble entrance and tapestry rugs spread over wooden parquet flooring.
An outdoor terrace has a mosaic floor patterned with stars and a retractable awning that is supported by steel beams painted jade green.
Find out more about Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura ›
The Salted Pig in Riverside, California, by Project M Plus
Project M Plus, a Los Angeles-based collective of architects and designers, used a palette of warm tones to “stimulate the appetite and the senses” for this restaurant in Riverside.
The ceiling and exposed ducts are brick red, with sage-green accents in the dining space below. Banquettes upholstered in leather are wrapped in wooden louvres and illuminated with domed copper lights.
Find out more about The Salted Pig ›
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Granite, oak and rattan are among the materials found in a California winery’s hospitality building that has been refurbished by Danish designer David Thulstrup.
The Donum Home facility is part of the 200-acre (81-hectare) Donum Estate, which sits within the rolling hills of Sonoma County, just north of San Pablo Bay.
The Donum Home winery building features rattan elementsFounded in 2001, the winery is well known for its pinot noirs, along with the dozens of distinctive sculptures that dot its estate. The collection features work by famed artists such as Doug Aitken, Yayoi Kusama and Ai Weiwei.
Donum Home – which functions as a venue for tastings, dining and entertainment – opened in 2017 with a design by Matt Hollis of MH Architects in San Francisco. The modern-style building has a crisp profile and white cladding.
Sonoma County’s hills can be seen from the winery
In advance of the winery’s 20th anniversary this year, designer David Thulstrup – who leads an eponymous studio in Copenhagen – was brought in to freshen up the interior.
The project entailed adding new finishes and decor, along with reconfiguring the space to form three new tasting rooms. The aim was to create an environment that felt refined yet relaxed through a careful use of light and local materials.
Studio David Thulstrup designs “co-dependent” Pair side tables for Møbel
“The outcome is an honest, simple and not over-designed place that reflects its surroundings, while also paying an ode to my Scandinavian roots without any Nordic clichés,” said Thulstrup.
Rooms feature neutral colours and earthy materials, such as oak-and-rattan screens designed by Thulstrup, and walls and floors covered in oak.
A rounded walnut table is surrounded by woven chairs in a tasting roomIn one room, a rounded walnut dining table by e15 is surrounded by woven chairs by Thulstrup. An exuberant light fixture from Louis Poulsen hangs overhead.
In another room, a streamlined walnut table by Thulstrup is paired with a row of simple pendants designed by architect Peter Zumthor for Viabizzuno.
Original artworks feature all through the buildingFor the building’s great room, where skylights usher in soft daylight, Thulstrup created a table made of California granite.
Floating near the ceiling are three mirrored-glass balloons that were created by Danish artist Jeppe Hein. The sculpture, called Three Colours for Donum, moves gently with the wind and refracts sunlight.
Skylights bring soft light into the building’s great room”Their mirrored surfaces reflect the surroundings and you at the same time, so you become a part of the artwork,” said Hein.
The Donum Home also features a custom, hand-blown-glass vase by Danish artist Lene Bødker, and artwork by Chinese artists Yue Minjun and Liu Xiaodong. There also is a neon piece, titled Surrounded by You, created by UK artist Tracey Emin.
A neon work by Tracy Emin can be seen through a doorwayStudio David Thulstrup has designed a wide range of spaces and decor, including a photographer’s studio inside a former factory building and the Michelin-star Noma restaurant in Copenhagen.
Last year, the studio teamed up with Danish furniture brand Møbel to create a pair of tables – one made entirely from ceramic and the other from powder-coated steel.
Photography is by Eric Petschek.
Project credits:
Designer: David ThulstrupStyling: Dung NgoClient: The Donum Estate
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Designer Adi Goodrich has created the interiors for Wine and Eggs, a neighbourhood grocery in Los Angeles’ Atwater Village, with custom-made furniture and details that nod to Parisian cafes and Italian tobacconists. More
