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    Akram Fahmi gives Etch restaurant monochrome revamp to reflect two-ingredient dishes

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    Interior designer Akram Fahmi has revamped the Etch restaurant in Hove, East Sussex, creating black and white interiors to reflect its minimalist menu.

    Located in a space that was originally a bank, Etch was first renovated and opened as a restaurant in 2017.
    It has been reimagined by Fahmi, the founder of interiors studio London Design House, with an open kitchen and subterranean speakeasy bar.
    Two modern arches were added to complement the three period arches of the existing buildingFahmi chose the simple colour palette to echo the approach of the restaurant’s menu, where most of the dishes are comprised of just two ingredients.
    Wide-plank chalk-washed timber floors and white walls contrast black banquette seating and timber framing.

    “We identified, and tried to achieve, three key principles in the design; refinement, texture, and locality,” Fahmi told Dezeen.
    Black-framed windows stand in stark contrast to the white interior wallsRough quarry tiles, matte-finished stone and sinuous stretched-fabric lighting were chosen to reflect the textures of the nearby South Downs, the coastline and the urban landscape.
    “The balance in texture and tone is key to the guests’ journey through every space in the restaurant and bar,” Fahmi explained.
    The renovation involved merging two ground-floor units together and uniting a single space that is flooded by natural light from five arched windows.
    The lighting fixtures continue the monochrome themeThe studio kept three original Victorian arched windows on the corner and added two further full-height arches with modernised detailing to create a uniform facade.
    This was further united by painting the whole ground-floor facade charcoal grey.
    The subterranean speakeasy is decorated all in black with dramatic lighting”You want to feel as though the architecture and interiors that you journey through are as curated and elegant as the food in front of you,” Fahmi said.
    Internally, cast iron columns from the old bank were retained and suspended ceilings in the main spaces were stripped out to expose the original high ceilings.
    Stretched lampshades recall the nearby coastal landscapeFahmi worked with the local council to find solutions for extract routes and plans that would “retain and respect the fabric of the historic building as much as possible”.
    The studio used passive devices, such as tinting the glazing to reduce solar glare, to help control the internal temperature more efficiently.

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    New external planting troughs soften the austere facade and hard pavement. The studio chose plants, herbs and grasses that would be suitable for the local coastal environment.
    London Design House also worked with local craftspeople and suppliers on the project to reflect Etch’s ethos of sourcing its produce locally and seasonally.
    A speakeasy bar is underneath the restaurant”I wanted the restaurant to feel like an extension of the food and service we offer, which I would describe as British contemporary, but also minimalist  – mainly using two quality ingredients,” Etch’s chef and owner Steven Edwards told Dezeen.
    The monochrome palette “gives a slightly nordic minimalist feel that works completely with my food style,” he added.
    “I think the relationship between the food you eat and the setting you eat it in is really important. It’s not just about the food – although it’s hard for me to say that being a chef!”
    Other restaurant interiors recently featured on Dezeen include Studio Becky Carter’s “distinctly New York” interiors for Cecchi’s and Otherworlds’ transformation of a Goan villa into restaurant.
    The photography is by Justin de Souza and David Charbit.

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      Anastasiia Novikova gives monochrome makeover to artists' apartment in Kyiv

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      Parisian decor flourishes feature throughout this apartment in Kyiv, outfitted with black-and-white living spaces by Ukrainian designer Anastasiia Novikova.

      Renovated just before the start of the Ukraine war, the apartment is located on the third floor of a five-storey residential building erected in 1912.
      Anastasiia Novikova has reinstated stucco inside a 1912 apartment in KyivAfter its previous owners had completely ripped out all of the original stucco, doors and floorboards, Novikova wanted to restore the home’s historic charm – particularly in the living room.
      “When I saw the large empty room with its four-metre-high ceiling and four big windows, I immediately came up with a picture of how it would look in the future,” she said.
      “I wanted to make the walls, the floor, ceiling and windows like they were in the past and implement some modern furniture, light and art.”

      A vintage French mirror and fireplace mantel were added for decorationThe living room was freshened up with a lick of white paint while stucco was reinstated on its ceiling.
      “I created a few sketches, then a Ukrainian craftsman sculpted them entirely in one-to-one scale out of plasticine,” explained Novikova. “After that, they made it from plaster.”
      The kitchen features jet-black cabinetryElements of the stucco design are based on an ornate Napoleon II-era gilded mirror that’s mounted on a wall at the far end of the room, directly above a vintage Louis XV fireplace mantel.
      Novikova included these decor features to bring a slightly Parisian feel to the apartment as the owners – a pair of artists – love visiting the French capital.
      Grey tones permeate the principal bedroomThe living room is otherwise occupied by an L-shaped grey sofa, a selection of contemporary artworks by Ukrainian artists and an old piano that’s played at family parties.
      The adjacent kitchen was fitted with jet-black cabinets and a matching breakfast island. From the centre of the island extends a white marble dining table, accompanied by chairs with olive-green velvet seats.

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      The apartment’s largely monochromatic colour scheme continues into the principal bedroom, where the walls, curtains and curved headboard are all a shade of putty grey.
      Textural interest is added by a shiny brass pendant lamp that’s been suspended over one of the side tables and a cane-inlaid bench that sits at the foot of the bed.
      Its ensuite bathroom is almost entirely lined with white marbleThe ensuite bathroom is housed inside a separate volume in the corner of the room, lined inside and out with panels of white veiny marble.
      Brighter shades appear in the children’s bedrooms – one of which is finished in sage green while the other is blush pink with mustard-yellow accents.
      Brighter colours were applied in the children’s bedroomsNovikova connected the two rooms via a small mezzanine, where the kids can hide away to play, read and nap throughout the day.
      The apartment is among a number of residential projects that were completed in the Ukrainian capital just before the start of the war and are now finally starting to be published.
      A cosy mezzanine connects the two kids’ roomsMakhno Studio finished Mureli House, an all-beige dwelling with intricate ceramic walls on the city’s outskirts, while designer Yana Molodykh reconfigured an attic apartment to allow for more storage and natural light.
      The photography is by Yevhenii Avramenko.

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      Makhno Studio celebrates Ukrainian craft in all-beige home near Kyiv

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      Kyiv-based Makhno Studio has paired soft, bumpy textures and intricate ceramic walls inside this all-beige home in Ukraine, which was completed right before the Russian invasion.

      Located in Kozyn, a rural town just south of Kyiv, Mureli House is a celebration of summertime and Ukrainian design, with mureli being an old Ukrainian word for apricot.
      Intricate ceramics feature throughout the Mureli House interior by Makhno StudioThe home, which was completed just two months before the start of the invasion in February 2022, comprises an open-plan living room and kitchen, three bedrooms with three bathrooms, a guest bathroom, a laundry room and a garage with a terrace.
      The clients – a local Ukrainian couple with a large family – requested from the outset that Makhno Studio should work with as many Ukrainian manufacturers and craftsmen as possible to create bespoke products for the house.
      A bulbous sculpture decorates the fireplace mantel in the lounge”All materials in the home are natural,” the studio’s founder Serhii Makhno told Dezeen. “The team used almost all Ukrainian brands and worked with several local contractors to minimise the distance and logistics.”

      The clients wanted a neutral, beige interior across all of the rooms to create a cohesive look. As a result, the house’s second floor is finished mostly in wood while the entire ground floor is decorated with beige-coloured plaster.
      Makhno designed the pendant lights in the lounge to resemble seed podsMakhno Studio emphasised the generous volumes and curved staircase in the home’s entrance hallway through a wall of three-dimensional ceramic tiles and a dramatic cluster of pendant lamps made of clay and polystyrene foam.
      References to the natural world are integrated throughout the interior. Highlights include a cluster of Makhno-designed pendants in the living room that resemble seed pods and washbasins that appear like hollowed-out boulders.
      The entire ground floor including the kitchen is finished in beige-coloured plasterThe only exception to Mureli House’s monochrome colour scheme is the main bathroom, which features pink accents including ombre shower doors and scale-shaped concrete tiles that can be tilted away from the wall to double up as hooks for hanging towels and bathrobes.
      “Ceramic craftsmanship is an ancient Ukrainian tradition,” Makhno explained. “At the end of the 1920s, the ceramic tradition began to be restored in various parts of Ukraine. At Makhno, the tradition is continued today to highlight its uniqueness and naturalistic appeal.”

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      Mureli House currently stands empty since the owners were forced to flee to safer areas in the west of Ukraine following Russia’s attempts to storm Kyiv in the early days of the war.
      The exact condition of the home is unknown. But Makhno Studio says a Russian military plane and several missiles were shot down over the surrounding area in Kozyn.
      Russian troops were forced to retreat from Kyiv at the start of April but left behind a trail of destruction in the city’s outskirts and have since carried out a number of airstrikes on the Ukrainian capital.
      The monochrome colour palette extends into the home’s three bedroomsIn total, more than 143 significant cultural sites have been damaged in Ukraine since the start of the war, including the Ivankiv Museum in Kyiv and several second world war memorial monuments in the surrounding region.
      Serhii Makhno says he currently remains safe in Ukraine, while the rest of his team is scattered throughout Europe and is working mainly on international projects.
      Boulder-like sinks and scale-shaped tiles feature in the main bathroomThe studio is among a number of Ukrainian practices that have told Dezeen they are now looking for support and commissions from foreign clients.
      Previous projects from the studio include Makhno’s own thatched-roof house in Kozyn and his duplex apartment in Kyiv.
      The photography is courtesy of Makhno Studio.

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      Muted material palette defines monochrome Chinese restaurant by StudioAC

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      Canadian firm StudioAC combined micro cement, stainless steel and vinyl to form the interiors of a Chinese restaurant in Ontario designed to “respond to the context of the strip mall” in which it is located.

      Called Bao, the restaurant is located in the city of Markham, Ontario. It is positioned between a convenience store and a pharmacy along a strip of suburban shops.
      Bao is positioned along a strip of suburban shopsStudioAC’s aim was to create an interior that would provide an efficient dining experience as well as easy takeaway and delivery access, while also promoting Bao’s distinctive visual style.
      To do so, the studio arranged the interior around two angled tangent lines drawn from large street-facing windows to an open kitchen positioned at the back of the restaurant.
      StudioAC designed the eatery with monochrome interiors”These lines skew the visual perspective into the store to dramatise food preparation,” StudioAC told Dezeen.

      While Bao’s interior design stands out from the traditional shops that flank it, the restaurant’s facade was kept deliberately simple to blend into its suburban environment.
      Tables and seating were created in microcement”On the one hand, the project embraces the banal nature of the strip mall as we haven’t really done anything to the exterior,” explained the designers.
      “But on the other hand, the project’s interior responds to the context of the strip mall by introducing a unique visual terminus along an otherwise mundane facade made up of repetitive box stores.”

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      StudioAC chose to use a minimal palette of three materials throughout the monochrome interior design to let the restaurant’s statement layout speak for itself.
      Rectilinear grey microcement tables, benches and stools are positioned on each side of the restaurant, while the open kitchen was finished in stainless steel that was chosen for its striking reflective design as well as its durability.
      Two tangent lines were drawn from the windows to the open kitchenAbove the seating, the team built chunky bulkheads that are positioned parallel to one another. Below these hang contrastingly delicate banners made from vinyl vertical blinds, which were designed in a nod to traditional Chinese lanterns.
      Chosen as a material partly for their cost-effectiveness, the backlit blinds also aim to introduce “moments of softness and intimacy” to the otherwise harsh and muted interiors.
      “We considered all of the furniture as part of the architecture,” explained the designers, who created the custom tables and seating for the project.
      Vinyl backlit “banners” create playful lightingStudioAC has completed numerous other interior designs that are led by a minimalist approach. These include a Toronto house with a pair of timber-clad bedrooms and a luxury cannabis dispensery with faceted walls.
      The photography is by Jeremie Warshafsky Photography.

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      Atmosphere Architects creates optical illusion in Chengdu jewellery store

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      Geometric grids cover most of the surfaces in this futuristic jewellery store in Chengdu, China, designed by local studio Atmosphere Architects to play with customers’ spacial perception.

      Located in the Jingronghui shopping centre in Chegdu’s Jinjiang district, the 180-square-metre concept store belongs to jewellery brand Kill Via Kindness, abbreviated as KVK.
      KVK is a jewellery store in Chendu’s Jingronghui shopping centreThe store features a dimly-lit entrance lined with green resin panels, which leads through to a windowless display space where the walls are clad in matt black tiles.
      A gridded black framework is installed across the interior’s luminous, frosted acrylic ceiling and matched below by white floor tiles. At one end of the room, a mirrored wall creates the impression that the interior stretches on to infinity.
      Glossy black tiles cover the store’s modular display units”The core concept behind KVK is ‘the reorganised philosophy of art’,” Atmosphere Architects told Dezeen. “Therefore, the client wanted a space that is flexible and easy to reorganise with flexible and adaptable modules.”

      In response, the studio created display units clad in glossy black tiles, which can be divided and joined together to form different modular configurations.
      Drawers hidden in the walls illuminate when openedDrawers integrated into the shop’s tiled walls provide additional storage and double up as adaptable lighting features.
      “When the drawers are pulled out, the light turns on immediately,” said Atmosphere Architects, which is led by designer Tommy Yu.

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      Spiders are a reoccurring motif in KVK’s jewellery. The brand’s concept store nods to this idea via the spindly legs jutting out from the entrance and the black gridded framework that covers the floors and ceilings like a web.
      “There are many elements about conflict, consciousness awakening, aggression and sharpness in KVK’s product concept,” the studio said.
      “In the space, materials and colours with different lights and shades, depths and textures are selected to express the ideology and beauty of collision.”
      The entranced is lined with green resin panelsOther futuristic monochrome interiors featured on Dezeen include a space-themed cafe in central Shanghai by design studio Linehouse.
      The photography is by Chuan He of Here Space.

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      Art takes centre stage in monochrome London loft by Originate

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      Monochrome interiors create a minimal backdrop to artworks by William Klein, Ellen von Unwerth and Bill Viola inside this renovated loft in central London. Designed by architecture studio Originate, Regent’s Park Loft serves as a pied-a-terre for a family of four who are based in Israel, but frequently travel to the UK for business. The 185-square-metre residence […] More

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      Eight Montreal homes updated with greyscale interiors

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      US reporter Bridget Cogley has rounded up eight homes in Montreal with interiors that make the most of a monochrome palette – highlighted by Michelle Ogundehin as a key trend for 2020. Maison du Parc by La Shed Architecture A white staircase leads down to a wine cellar, which is concealed behind frosted glass walls, […] More