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    Cúpla decorates Rixo Marylebone store with hand-painted murals

    Interior design studio Cúpla has completed a boutique for fashion brand Rixo in central London that features hand-painted illustrations and colourful zellige tiles.

    The clothing store on Marylebone High Street was revamped by Cúpla, whose creative director Gemma McCloskey is the twin sister of Rixo co-founder Orlagh McCloskey.
    The interior designer had previously designed the brand’s flagship store on the King’s Road and wanted the refurbished Marylebone location to have a similar feel.
    Rixo’s Marylebone store is covered in hand-painted murals”We wanted the store to embody everything we had previously created for Rixo’s flagship store but within its own right,” Gemma McCloskey told Dezeen.
    “A sense of escapism paired with a welcoming warmth within a boutique setting were the key emotions we wanted the customer to feel.”

    As the brand sells hand-painted prints, the designer wanted the store’s interior to feature illustrations to reflect the style of the clothes.
    It features modified vintage furniture”Understanding Rixo’s roots and the fact their USP is hand-painted prints, it felt tangible to represent the brand’s values and beginnings with the illustrations,” Gemma McCloskey said.
    “Given the space is quite small, we treated it almost like a living room space within a home and felt we could make it all-encompassing and personal.”
    Artist Sam Wood created colourful illustrations for the storeArtist Sam Wood hand-painted murals and illustrations throughout the store, which has a bright and playful colour palette and also features traditional glazed Moroccan zellige tiles.
    “We wanted the colour palette to feel really fresh and bright,” the designer explained.
    “Although there is an abundance of colours used, every line of the mural or the ‘random’ coloured zellige tile layout was methodically composed to ensure a right balance between the colours was struck.”

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    The studio added decorative arches and classical mouldings to the store in a nod to the architecture and heritage of its Marylebone neighbourhood.
    The store also features bespoke fitting room curtains with pickle-green and flora-pink stripes by fabric brand Colours of Arley.
    Moroccan zellige tiles add to the playful interiorCúpla used vintage furniture pieces throughout the store, which sells Rixo’s full collection including ready-to-wear and bridalwear.
    “We actually modified existing pieces of vintage furniture, which had been previously sourced by [Rixo founders] Orlagh and Henrietta years ago in the early days of Rixo,” Gemma McCloskey said.
    “They were the perfect fit for the space but didn’t have the functionality we required, so we decided to alter these instead or replace them.”
    The store is located on Marylebone High Street”It was much more sustainable and because the pieces were from the early years of Rixo, they had sentimental value so we didn’t want to replace them,” she added.
    Other recent London stores featured on Dezeen include a Camper store with a giant foot sculpture and a stationery store with a demountable interior.
    The photography is courtesy of Rixo.

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    Brazilian-informed murals bring character to Parisian restaurant duo Oka Fogo

    Architect Arnaud Behzadi and artist Florence Bamberger have combined French and Brazilian influences to create interiors for a pair of adjoining restaurants.

    Located in Paris’ 17th arrondissement, Oka Fogo is the latest eatery from Raphael Rego, a Michelin-starred chef who is originally from Rio de Janeiro.
    Behzadi designed interiors that aim to capture the spirit of Rego’s cuisine, while Bamberger painted wall and ceiling murals that bring an extra spark of energy.
    Bamberger reinterpreted Manet’s Le Déjeuner sur l’Herbe on the wall of FogoThe two restaurants each have a distinct character.
    Oka, which means “house” in the language of Brazil’s indigenous Tupi people, is an intimate 16-seat dinner-service restaurant with the feel of a grand yet cosy lounge.

    The neighbouring Fogo, which translates as “fire”, is a less formal space that offers a sense of dining al fresco. With an adjoining bar and grill, this 40-seat space is open for lunch and dinner.
    Oka is a 16-seat restaurant with the feel of a grand but cosy lounge”I approached the project as a journey through a house,” Behzadi told Dezeen.
    “I see Oka as a prestigious living room and Fogo as an interior garden.”
    A ceiling mural incorporates references to Brazil’s flora and faunaBamberger’s expressive murals reinforce this approach.
    In Fogo, she has painted a reinterpretation of the Édouard Manet artwork, Le Déjeuner sur l’Herbe. The work takes cues from the free-flowing lines of Brazilian artist José Francisco Borgès, resulting in a vibrant style.
    The Oka mural features on the ceiling rather than a wall. This more abstract work is based on Brazil’s flora and fauna, along with objects that represent the nation’s culture.
    The facade combines Jatoba wood with striated marbleBehzadi chose richly toned woods and highly textural marbles for the interior design palette, in a nod to materials favoured by Brazil’s prolific mid-century designers.
    This partnering of stone and wood begins with the facade, where panels of Jatoba wood from the Amazon sit above a plinth of striated Iranian marble.

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    “I decided to interpret a classical style for the storefront,” said Behzadi.
    “It’s a very Parisian approach, using an exotic material to start evoking the interior that you will discover inside.”
    Fogo’s floor is a grid of green marble and travertine tilesInside, decorative wooden furniture and joinery are accompanied by a mix of different stones, including white travertine and various green-toned marbles.
    Other eye-catching details include sculptural wall lights by Behzadi’s former business partner, designer Cathy Crinon, and chairs by the late Brazilian designer Sergio Rodrigues.
    “There is a clear Brazilian inspiration,” added Behzadi.
    Additional spaces include a private alcoveThe venue also includes an alcove dining space with room for six, featuring a mirrored ceiling and curved banquette in red velvet, and a wine and champagne tasting room with a vaulted ceiling.
    Oka Fogo opened earlier this month. Other recent openings in Paris include Moët Hennessy’s Cravan cocktail bar and oyster bar Citrons et Huîtres.
    The photography is by Claire Israel.

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    Method Architecture outfits its Houston office with vibrant mural

    Texas studio Method Architecture has completed an office for itself in Houston with maximalist design, vibrant colours and a mural at its centre.

    The 8,612-square foot (800-square metre) studio was completed in 2023 with a reception area, open office plan, private and collaborative meeting spaces and staff lounges.
    Method Architecture has completed its self-designed studioLocated in the mixed-use East River development, designed by architecture studio Page, the office was designed to serve as an inspiration source for the studio’s clients.
    “Our approach was to pursue maximalism with the goal of creating an environment where our clients would feel safe expressing their bold and innovative ideas with us,” Ashley Bettcher, Research and Design Specialist with Method Architecture told Dezeen.
    The office was designed to serve as an inspiration source”Creativity has no limits and great design doesn’t necessarily need to cost more. Method’s new Houston office perfectly encapsulates that mantra.”

    The “ego-free” focus of the design is a nearly 50-foot multi-wall mural by local artist David Maldonado, known for creating nearly 20 pieces of public artwork throughout Houston.
    David Maldonado created a multi-wall mural for the studioWith pops of magenta, cobalt, and yellow, the mural features icons from the city and state like the skyline, a rocket for Johnson Space Center, a bluebonnet as the Texas state flower, and the neighbouring Buffalo Bayou.
    The artwork also slips in custom motifs representing the studio, such as Method’s rubber duck mascot.
    Light grey flower-like acoustic baffles hang from the ceiling”This feature piece of artwork helps set the tone for the remainder of the office including bold colors, geometric patterns and shapes and a secondary mural designed and installed by Maldanado featuring drip paint in mirroring colorways located at the back of the office,” the team said.
    The mural is complemented by a 3D-printed wall installation behind the reception desk composed of the studio’s signature “M” logo and the raw ceiling with exposed mechanical lines all painted a vibrant shade of fuchsia.
    Clients pass through a half-arched portalLight grey flower-like acoustic baffles hang from the ceiling adding to the maximalist design. Light blue bicycles are mounted on one wall as another unique installation.
    From the reception area lounge, clients pass through a half-arched portal – created with custom millwork and embedded lights – into the main office space which includes rows of desks over custom greyscale carpet.
    Hotel desk stations accommodate hybrid work stylesHotel desk stations accommodate hybrid work styles for both in-office and at-home work.
    “Cozy architectural work booths are nestled amid the bustling breakroom and office areas, offering a quiet refuge for more private work, private conversations or meals with coworkers,” the team said.

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    The workspace is flanked by six meeting rooms: a large creative conference space, three medium-sized conference rooms and two smaller huddle spaces.
    The all-white conference room was left intentionally blank to showcase the client’s material selections with tunable white lights to adjust the light temperature for each project.
    An M-shaped window cutout opens the conference room to the rest of the officeAn M-shaped window cutout opens the conference room to the rest of the office.
    In the break room, bright blue suede fabric adorns the walls to provide an unexpected texture and pale blue lamp shades – reminiscent of the shape of inverted cupcake liners – serve as a geometric juxtaposition to the rounded banquette boxes.
    Bright blue suede fabric adorns the walls in the break room”Plush, psychedelic-inspired fabrics in meeting booths and distinctive light fixtures keep the space feeling light and fun to inspire creative design,” the studio said.
    In addition to being designed for flexible workflows and teams, the space features multiple sustainable and WELL features like ample daylighting, repurposed materials and ergonomic furniture.
    Other recently completed projects in Houston include Nelson Byrd Woltz’s grassed park that bridges a six-lane highway and Modu’s design for a wellness building with a self-cooling exterior.
    The photography is by Ana Larranaga, Method Architecture.
    Project credits:
    Architecture: Method ArchitectureMEP: Telios EngineeringGeneral contractor: Burton ConstructionFurniture: AGILE Interiors, MDI, OP,Flooring: Interface, Shaw ContractTile: Trinity Surfaces, La NovaTextiles: Knoll TextilesMasonry: Upchurch KimbroughDemountable partitions: DIRTTCountertops: CAMBRIAMural: David MaldonadoLighting: Lighting Associates Inc.Signage: ARIA Signs

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    Socca restaurant feels like “a pocket of Southern France in Mayfair”

    Local practice Fabled Studio has designed the interiors for London’s Socca restaurant, adding hand-painted murals informed by the French Riviera.

    Fabled Studio co-founder Tom Strother describes the eatery as “a pocket of Southern France in Mayfair,” with a playful and whimsical interior that complements the French Mediterranean menu.
    Socca is a French restaurant in London’s Mayfair”Both the menu and the interior are inspired by the Côte d’Azur and Nice,” Strother told Dezeen. “They have a laidback attitude but with French finesse.”
    Fabled Studio restored the original terracotta tiles on the facade of Socca’s Grade II-listed building, as well as maintaining its ornate ceiling mouldings.
    Hand-painted murals decorate the wallsThe main dining area, named the grand salon, is decorated with wood panelling on the lower portions of the walls while a warm-toned stucco finish covers the upper portions.

    Informed by French painter Raoul Dufy’s depictions of Nice, artist Mark Sands hand-painted blue-toned murals onto the walls to frame the hung artworks.
    Dark wood and bronze details feature throughout the interiorDark wood parquet covers the floors and short cream curtains were used to separate the dining room’s navy-blue leather banquette seats.
    The curtains are suspended from bronze metal rails, with matching metallic details dotted around the room in the form of fixtures and lights including the whimsical shell-shaped sconces.

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    To the side of the dining space is a bar topped with Breccia Violetta marble. This backs onto a trio of arched mirrors in a wooden box frame, stretching up to the same height as the picture rail moulding that encircles the room.
    Beyond the grand salon is a second bar space with oxblood leather seating and murals depicting illustrations of leaves and faces.
    Breccia Violetta marble tops the barAt the rear of the restaurant is a second dining space named the petit salon, designed to have a cosy, almost residential appearance.
    The petit salon is dominated by green hues, found across walls and seats to differentiate it from the other dining space.
    “We did this to give it a different identity and unique personality to the grand salon,” said Strother.
    Green tones were used in the petit salonMore hand-painted murals by Sands adorn the walls, including curving frames, faces and curling vines informed by artist and poet Jean Cocteau.
    Downstairs, the bathrooms were also designed to have a “residential ambience” with striped wallpaper, marble vanities and bronze hardware.
    Murals on the walls were informed by French artistsFabled is a London-based interior design practice founded in 2011 by Tom Strother and Steven Saunders. Socca is the sixth restaurant the practice has completed in collaboration with restauranteur Samyukta Nair of LSL Capital.
    Other London restaurants recently featured on Dezeen include 20 Berkeley, with Arts-and-Crafts-style interiors by Pirajean Lees, and an Italian restaurant designed to mimic the glamorous atmosphere of a 1980s Italo-American trattoria.
    The photography is by James McDonald.

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    Álvaro Siza designs tiled mural for Space Copenhagen’s Porto restaurant interior

    A ceramic mural by Álvaro Siza is at the heart of this rustic restaurant interior in Porto, Portugal, designed by Space Copenhagen.

    Located in a renovated 16th-century building in Porto’s Largo de São Domingos area, the Cozinha das Flores restaurant features a mural designed by the Pritzker Architecture Prize-winning Portuguese architect.
    Pritzker Prize-winner Álvaro Siza designed the mural”Whilst Siza has created many pieces of non-architectural works worldwide, he had never created something of this kind for his hometown of Porto,” Space Copenhagen founders Peter Bundgaard Rützou and Signe Bindslev Henriksen told Dezeen.
    “Given Siza’s prominence and contribution to Porto life, having him manifest this into a mural depicting his perception of the city was beyond our expectations.”
    Cozinha das Flores is located in a 16th-century building in Porto, PortugalSketches of figures playing musical instruments stand out in black against contrasting green and burnt orange tiles, which were completed by ceramic tile company Viuva Lamego.

    “When asked to imagine a piece for Cozinha das Flores, he [Siza] depicted the recurrent theme of musicians, representing time well spent; fun, relaxed moments; a medley of emotions; and people joined by arts and culture,” said the studio.
    “The specialist craftspeople used a traditional technique of hand painting the scaled-up facsimile of a sketched image from paper onto the tiles, painted dot by dot.”
    The studio used green and orange tones throughout the interiorThe green and orange hues of the tiles appear elsewhere in the interior. Green cushions top the built-in oak seating bench that runs along the wall below the mural, while doorways were painted dark green.
    The colour palette was unified with coppery plastered walls and warm lighting.
    “We introduced plastered walls in earthy warm tones and a conscious use of light to enhance and saturate,” the studio explained.
    The focus on the local area is reflected in the studio’s design choicesNatural materials like stone, marble, brass and oak were used throughout the interior. The seating was arranged around an open kitchen, which has dark grey quartzite stone surfaces and wooden cabinets.
    Under the direction of Lisbon-born chef Nuno Mendes, the restaurant aims to celebrate the ingredients, wine and culture of northern Portugal.
    Space Copenhagen’s approach involved collaborations with local craftspeopleThe warm, earthy hues chosen by Space Copenhagen were informed by the restaurant’s food, as well as the building and area in which it is located.
    “The historical building structure that frames the restaurant and bar provided the base palette, which we have built upon,” said Space Copenhagen.
    “Aged stone and dark-stained wood were our existing starting points. All elements are associated with the city of Porto”, it added.
    Materials were sourced from across PortugalThroughout the project, the studio prioritised regional materials and collaborated with a variety of local architects, artists and craftspeople. Woodworkers from northern Portugal crafted the dark wood furnishings and fittings.
    “All stone, wood, metal and tiling has been sourced from regions in Portugal using a proximity criterion as priority,” said the studio. “All the millwork has been made by local artisans.”
    Natural materials like stone, marble, brass and oak feature throughout the interiorCozinha das Flores, and its adjacent 12-seater bar, Flôr, are amongst five heritage buildings that make up the Largo project, set to open later this year.
    Other local projects by Siza include his 1963 Boa Nova Tea House, which was transformed into a seafood restaurant for Portuguese chef Rui Paula in 2014.
    Previous projects by Space Copenhagen include the renovation of the Mammertsberg restaurant and hotel in Switzerland and the Blueness restaurant in Antwerp.
    The photography is by Luís Moreira and Matilde Cunha.

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    Monumental Damien Hirst sculptures feature inside Bacchanalia London restaurant

    Interior architect Martin Brudnizki Design Studio has created a classical Greek and Roman mythology-informed restaurant complete with sculptures by British artist Damien Hirst in Mayfair, London.

    Named Bacchanalia London, the restaurant is located on a corner site of 1 Mount Street in Mayfair that was previously a Porsche showroom.
    Sculptures more than 2,000 years old sit on the bar at Bacchanalia LondonOpened 1 December, the restaurant has an opulent interior designed by Martin Brudnizki Design Studio that makes use of mosaics, classical details, hand-painted ceiling murals and Greek and Roman artworks more than 2,000 years old.
    The main dining room features five monumental statues designed by British artist Hirst that depict a winged lion, a unicorn ridden by a pair of winged lovers, another unicorn, Medusa and Bacchus.

    Dezeen filmed an exclusive first-look video tour of the restaurant.
    The walls of the main space were covered in floor-to-ceiling murals painted by artist Gary Myatt that interpret French artist Thomas Couture’s 1847 painting Romans in their Decadence.
    However, in Myatt’s murals the classically dressed figures can be seen using laptops and holding iPhones.
    Gary Myatt’s mural depicts classical figures using modern technologyThroughout the restaurant period and modern Greek and Roman art was showcased. Many pieces are over 2,000 years old. Over 300 books of 24-carat gold leaf were used across the interiors of the project.
    Over 400,000 tiles were used in the ladies restroom to conjure orchard greenery inspired by the Garden of Hesperides, where according to Greek mythology golden apples grow.
    The men’s restrooms – with high-gloss black toilets – are supposed to represent Hades’ underworld.

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    Informed by the Roman festival of Bacchus’ drunken celebrations, Bacchanalia London is the latest restaurant from restauranteur Richard Caring.
    At the launch event in November, Caring heralded it as a place for “the drinking of wine in excess and the co-mingling of the sexes thereafter”, adding that “Bacchanalia London could help with the former but guests would have to work out the latter for themselves”.
    Martin Brudnizki Design Studio previously renovated Caring’s other London club, Annabel’s, in 2018. Hélène Darroze at The Connaught is another Mayfair restaurant that has been recently revamped. To mark its 10-year anniversary in 2019, French designer Pierre Yovanovitch overhauled the dining space in the luxury hotel.
    The photography is by Johnny Stephens Photography.

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    Danielle Brustman decorates children's centre in Melbourne with pastel hues and rainbow murals

    Designer Danielle Brustman used pastel colours, marmoleum flooring and playful hand-painted murals to create the interior of the Brighton Street Early Learning Centre in a brutalist building in Melbourne.Each playroom in the concrete building, which was converted by Perkins Architects into a childcare centre, was allocated its own motif, which includes a river, meadow, star, sun and cloud. Brustman used these themes to come up with a narrative, treatment and palette for each space.
    “The brief and scope for this project was so exciting as the clients were after something bold and unique,” Brustman told Dezeen.
    “I regularly use colour in my interior design work but it’s not often I get the opportunity to be as bold with colours specification.”

    Top image: a rainbow mural decorates a wall. Above: the designer used 47 different colours within the centre

    She used 47 colours in total for the early learning centre, which is located in Richmond, Melbourne, adapting them based on the themes of each room and pushing the colour palette to its limits.
    “I wanted it to be complex and colourful whilst still adhering to a level of sophistication, gentleness and balance,” she said.

    Geometric designs decorate the walls
    Brustman also added several wall murals, hand-painted by Ben Maitland, to the design, which she hopes will be a source of inspiration and creativity for the children.
    The graphic murals feature star bursts, boats made from circles and triangles, rainbows and trees, among other designs.
    The rooms also have a seasonal feel. “The forest and river rooms have an autumnal feel to them, while the sun and cloud rooms have a more summery palette and atmosphere,” Brustman explained.

    Playful motifs decorate the walls
    Within the centre, the ground floor rooms relate conceptually to the earth, while the top floor rooms relate to the sky.
    Some of the original concrete structure of the building was deliberately left exposed when the space was repurposed to become a children’s centre, and has been complemented with natural, durable materials and decorative textiles that soften the space.

    The floors are made from marmoleum
    Marmoleum, which is made of 70 per cent natural fibre and 40 per cent recycled materials, is used on floors throughout the centre.
    Brustman’s studio also designed a number of customised rugs for the rooms, including patterned Tretford rugs made from goat hair.

    Coloured pendants were created by a local designer
    The reception area and stairwell were decorated with coloured pendants made from toughened glass, traditionally used for manufacturing laboratory beakers, by local lighting designer Copper ID.
    All playrooms have floating acoustic ceilings to tamper noise, as well as child-friendly soft wool and vinyl furnishings.

    The studio designed customised rugs for the early learning centre
    Keeping some of the concrete structure visible has created a contrast to the softer interior details, according to Brustman.
    “There’s something lovely and unexpected about the intersection between these original raw building materials and the softer, more colourful material surfaces,” she said.
    Brustman’s background is in set design, and the Brighton Street Early Learning Centre design offered an opportunity to create more dramatic designs than some of her regular interior work.

    Murals add colour and whimsy to the space
    “There is such freedom when you are aiming to please and tend to the imagination of a young child,” she said. “I think my design work is compatible with childcare design in that it’s playful and a little fantastical.”
    “My approach to this project has been different in that the same limitations are not placed on the design in terms of what is considered to be a current or tasteful palette,” she added.

    Even the functional spaces have colourful interiors
    Other colourful interior designs for children include Integrated Field’s design for a hospital in Thailand that features slides and a pool, and Atelier Scale’s playground with bright-yellow details in China.
    Photography is by Sean Fennessey.
    Project credits:
    Interior design: Danielle BrustmanArchitecture: Perkins ArchitectsBuilder: I BUILD MMurals: Painted by Ben Maitland

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