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    Eero Saarinen’s Black Rock skyscraper refurbished in New York

    The first and only skyscraper designed by Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen in New York City has undergone a renovation by Vocon Architects and MdeAS Architects to help it “meet the expectations of today”.

    At the behest of developer HGI, local architecture studios Vocon Architects and MdeAS Architects renovated and restored the 51W52 skyscraper, also known as Black Rock, which was completed as a headquarters for American media giant CBS in 1964.
    CBS moved all of its facilities out in late 2023 and Black Rock now contains offices for a variety of companies, including HGI itself.
    Eero Saarinen’s first and only skyscraper has been renovatedDesigned by modernist architect Saarinen as his first and only skyscraper, 51W52’s original symmetrical facade of granite, bronze and travertine has survived, with the bronze fins updated by the renovation team.
    At the time, Saarinen called it the “simplest skyscraper statement in New York”.

    The original design was mostly maintained, and the developer, which purchased the landmarked building in 2021, said that the relatively column-less floor plans made it a perfect candidate for a contemporary office, though the interiors needed an update.
    The building’s facade is made of granite, bronze and travertine”From the beginning, we understood the immense potential of 51W52 given its architectural significance, desirable floor plans, and central location in Midtown,” said HGI president T Richard Litton Jr.
    “The structure of the building was optimal, we just needed to make subtle enhancements to reflect and appreciate its original design.”
    Most of the structural elements in the building were left intact. The architectural team completely renovated two lobbies on the ground floor, including a revamp of the finishes and the elevators. They also redid the building’s rooftop garden.
    Contemporary details and furnishings were added to the lobbyThe project also included the renovation of key amenities spaces including a lounge, fitness centre and a private cafe.
    The studios said that instead of completely rethinking the aesthetics of the 900,000-square-foot (83,600 square-metre) building, they aimed to “let the significant architecture speak for itself”.
    The wide, long walls of the lobby were finished in detailing that echoes those used for the original facade. Some of the walls were covered in brass-tipped wooden slats, while others feature monolithic granite slabs.
    The elevator bay was clad in light-coloured stoneBack-lit stone clads the reception desk, above which was placed a modernist fresco that incorporates the CBS logo to call attention to the history of the building.
    This artwork, by artist Vincent Ashbahian, was originally displayed in the building in the 1970s and willed back to the building after his death.
    Toronto outfit Viso created a massive lighting fixture made of dangling lights on strands to cover a large swath of the lobby.

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    “By conceptualizing the experience from the outside in, we were able to restore the fundamental beauty of his design and apply the principles of form, light, and even water to new elements such as the feature stair and water feature that meet the preferences of contemporary office users,” said MdeAS Architects managing partner Dan Shannon.
    From the lobby, a glass-lined stairwell leads down to lounge areas. The stairwell shaft is clad in stainless steel rendered in an undulating pattern.
    Models of furniture originally designed by Saarinen and architect Florence Knoll were placed throughout the renovated spaces.
    A water feature was placed underneath the staircase leading to the below-lobby loungeAs it leads to lounge areas below, it passes over a small, still water feature: a small pool of water retained by black-painted metal.
    “The creation of private lounges, a conference center, and fitness studios help the building meet the expectations of today’s best corporate talent, while their designs maintain the integrity of Saarinen’s original architecture,” said Vocon Architects principal Tom Vecchione.
    Saarinen is known for his modernist architecture, with built work across the United States and Europe. Recently, a number of his buildings have been undergoing renovation, including his TWA terminal at JFK, which was repurposed into a hotel.
    Other modernist skyscrapers that have undergone restorations and renovations in New York City include the famous Lever House skyscraper, which was restored by SOM, its original architects.
    The photography is by Colin Miller.

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    Almost Studio designs Loft for a Chocolatier in Brooklyn

    Brooklyn practice Almost Studio has completed an apartment renovation inside a former chocolate factory, retaining an open layout while adding level changes to demarcate functional spaces.

    The Loft for a Chocolatier occupies part of a 1947 industrial building along Myrtle Avenue, in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn.
    The loft’s kitchen revolves around an island that’s anchored by a structural column surrounded by corrugated metalThe apartment boasts many features typical of loft-style living, including high ceilings, large windows, and exposed pipes and ductwork.
    In one sense, Almost Studio founders Anthony Gagliardi and Dorian Booth aimed to retain this character through an open floor plan, adding powder-coated white mesh boxes and metallic accents.
    Exposed ductwork and white powder-coated mesh boxes highlight the industrial character of the spaceIn another, the pair chose to denote or separate some of the functional areas using changes in angle or elevation.

    They looked to artists like Kazimir Malevich and Josef Albers for ways to honour the original spatial composition while organising the various spaces.
    The kitchen counter integrates a work-from-home area, where pale wood panels are contrasted by lime-green storage niches”It became a way for us to distinguish different areas – such as entry, kitchen, living room, dining room, and office – through these subtle rotational moves in a space that was otherwise entirely open,” said Gagliardi and Booth.
    “In many lofts, every space is equally capable of hosting any activity, and is therefore equally inadequate to host any activity,” the duo continued. “If a dining room can also be an office, gym, and workshop – is it the best place to have dinner?”
    A lounge area is located in the middle of the open-plan spaceThe apartment’s dining room is therefore located on a raised platform at the end of the space, where the ceiling is also lowered using the mesh boxes.
    This set-up aims to create “a closer relationship with the high loft windows, and light, as well as a smaller, more intimate space for conversations”, Gagliardi and Booth said.
    The dining area is raised on a platform to differentiate it from the rest of the apartmentThe raised area is accessed via a short staircase that’s covered in green carpet and flanked by sculptural pale pink screens.
    These elements – covered in Shirasu Kabe plaster – are indicative of the studio’s approach to softening the industrial architecture, along with cork flooring and wainscoting, and upholstered seating.
    Shutters can be opened to connect the mezzanine bedroom and the main living areaPale millwork fronts the pill-shaped kitchen island and curved cabinets behind, while other niches are left open and lined in chartreuse.
    The kitchen counter integrates an area for a desk, used as a home office, where the shelving also continues overhead.

    Another Seedbed is a Brooklyn apartment that doubles as a performance space

    Meanwhile, corrugated metal surrounds a structural column that anchors the island, and the dining chairs have tubular steel frames.
    At the opposite end from the dining room, another elevated portion of the space houses a bedroom, which is closed off from the rest of the apartment.
    The light-filled bedroom features cork wainscoting and plenty of built-in storageThis space is more intimate, and features cream walls, built-in storage, and an arched niche beside the bed that’s lined with more green carpet for the owner’s cats to nap in.
    A fritted glass door slides across for privacy, and a series of shutters that offer views between the bedroom and the main living area can be closed when desired.
    An arched niche lined with green carpet provides a spot for cat napsBrooklyn has many former industrial buildings that have been converted for residential use over the past decade.
    Others include a 19th-century hat factory in Williamsburg that is now home to an apartment that doubles as a performance space and a warehouse in Dumbo where one loft features a book-filled mezzanine.
    The photography is by Jonathan Hokklo.

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    Woods Bagot designs art deco-informed restaurant at Rockefeller Center

    Dim lighting and dark tones define the interiors of the second Smith & Mills restaurant in New York, recently completed by architecture studio Woods Bagot.

    Situated in New York’s Rockefeller Center, the restaurant’s interiors were designed by Woods Bagot in collaboration with New York City-based hospitality management consultancy Neighborhood Projects.
    To enter the space, guests walk through a snug hallway covered with vintage elevator-cab panels.
    Architecture studio Woods Bagot has completed the Smith & Mills restaurant in New York”It was very important to us that we created a transition zone off the concourse before you enter the main dining room,” explained Wood Bagot’s Krista Ninivaggi.
    “This would act as a buffer to feel the buzz of the heart of Rock Center diminish, and then be enveloped in our warm amber glow.”

    “We achieved this by using old wrought iron elevator cab screens to partition off the entry and lowering the ceiling for a classic design move of compression before being ‘released’ into the carefully crafted atmosphere of the restaurant,” she continued.
    To enter the space, guests walk through a hallway covered with vintage elevator-cab panelsColumns clad in zellige tiles and mirrors divide the space, while antique-style mirrors on the walls and reclaimed wood panelling were used to create a vintage feel in the restaurant, which is the second Smith & Mills to open in the city.
    “We used the reclaimed panelling and zellige tile to ‘paint’ all of the wall surfaces,” Ninivaggi explained. “We alternated them in key locations by deciding what should feel ‘warm’ with the wood or ‘hard’ with the tile.”
    An oval bar made of zinc and walnut is also featuredAn oval bar made of zinc and walnut, which sits on a tiled black stone floor, functions as the restaurant’s focal point.
    In the dining area, the studio chose banquette seating dressed in oxblood velvet in a nod to the restaurant’s original location in New York’s Tribeca neighbourhood. Marble tables with brass accents and bistro chairs complement the design.
    Banquette seating in the restaurant is dressed in oxblood velvetThe interior of the restaurant’s private dining room features a transition from handmade red zellige tiles sourced from Morocco on one wall to a botanical print wall covering above.
    Lighting fixtures, such as pendants and sconces, cast ambient lighting throughout the space. Artwork by Ukrainian artist Yelena Yemchuk hangs on the walls.

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    “The lighting was very carefully considered both in its design and light quality, to give the appropriate hue to the space,” Neighborhood Projects’ Matt Abramcyk told Dezeen.
    “We went so far as to undertake tests to find the right vinyl to veil the light from the concourse to give a warm backdrop,” he continued.
    Pendants and sconces provide ambient lighting throughout the spaceThe location of the new restaurant also had a big influence on the design.
    “At both locations, Smith & Mills strives for simple, rustic design, with materials that nod to the past,” Abramcyk concluded. “Because of the new location’s iconic surroundings, the Rockefeller Center design also nods to art deco, in particular.”
    Other restaurant interiors recently featured on Dezeeen include a Korean fried chicken restaurant in New York designed by Rockwell Group and a cocktail lounge in Las Vegas created by musician Bruno Mars in collaboration with design studio Yabu Pushelberg.

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    Al-Jawad Pike creates marble “immersive experience” for APL’s Soho flagship store

    British architecture studio Al-Jawad Pike has used colourful marble for the interiors of trainer brand Athletic Propulsion Labs’ second flagship store in Soho, New York City.

    The interior of the 3,900-square-foot space (1,188 square metre) was laid out in a curving amphitheatre design, which the studio designed to be “simple yet severe” while creating a “completely immersive experience,” Al-Jawad Pike studio co-founder Jessam Al-Jawad told Dezeen.
    The centrepiece of the Athletic Propulsion Labs (APL) store is five “vanity rooms” in a radial design, each clad in different-coloured onyx or marble stone with matching stone stools and back-lit mirrors.
    The rainbow-colour array of stone, chosen by the client from different quarries, was “intended to represent the five boroughs of New York,” Al-Jawad said.
    Five vanity rooms are each clad in distinctive coloured onyx or marbleA teardrop-shaped column is located in the centre of the store, while boulder-like plinths positioned around the space are used for product displays.

    The textured display plinths were developed with a bespoke fabricator based in New York, who CNC-carved the forms.
    The studio incorporated various other materials into the scheme such as textured sprayed plaster on the walls, Romano travertine for the floor, and champagne-coloured anodised aluminium for the display boxes.
    Al Jawad Pike completed the interiors for Athletic Propulsion Lab’s flagship store in New YorkThe aim of the store layout was to allow customers to see all the products from all parts of the store.
    “We approached this by creating an architectural form that displays the product in a pan-optical array to provide visibility in completeness from almost any part of the store; whilst maintaining a seamless link between staff back-of-house functions at the basement level with the main retail space,” the studio explained.
    The space features a layout designed in a curvilinear amphitheatre styleThe shoes are displayed in simple box frames, which are raised and lit up like artwork in a gallery. Ensuring that the trainers on display were the focal point was a main objective for the architects.
    “The goal was to make sure the products were the main attraction in the store, while also making everything work smoothly for both customers and staff,” Al-Jawad Pike said.
    The studio devised a store layout enabling customers to view all products from any part of the storeThe store’s semi-circular layout has street-facing windows that let in the light, and the studio also added adjustable warm lighting from the back-lit, semi-circular ceiling to provide additional illumination.
    “We wanted to create a wash of light from above to bath the space in a warm and comfortable ambience,” said Al-Jawad.
    “At its top, the perimeter wall banks into a semi-circular, back-lit stretch ceiling with adjustable warmth to dramatically alter the atmosphere in the space.”
    Sculpted boulders are dotted around the store spaceAl-Jawad Pike was founded in 2014 by Al-Jawad and Dean Pike and aims to create spaces that “engender a sense of well-being and intrigue, as well as fun”.
    Other retail interiors recently featured on Dezeen include Bottega Veneta’s Avenue Montaigne flagship store in Paris and Cúpla’s design for a boutique in central London.
    The photography is by Ståle Eriksen.

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    Rockwell Group creates “the cathedral of fried chicken” for New York restaurant

    Arches of light warmly illuminate this Korean fried chicken restaurant in New York’s Flatiron district, designed by Rockwell Group.

    Coqodaq is the brainchild of restauranteur Simon Kim’s Gracious Hospitality Management, the group behind the Michelin-starred and James Beard-nominated COTE Korean Steakhouse.
    At Cododaq, glass and bronze modules form arches of light over dinersThe new restaurant offers an elevated take on traditional Korean-style fried chicken, encouraging diners to indulge in nuggets topped with caviar and to pair its “bucket” dishes with champagne.
    “Designed by Rockwell Group as ‘the cathedral of fried chicken’, the restaurant design delivers a daring, yet refined dining experience that skillfully integrates Korean and American influences, placing them at the forefront of this enticing culinary adventure,” said the restaurant team.
    The restaurant’s moody material palette and warm lighting set the tone for an elevated take on Korean fried chickenTo create the right atmosphere for this experience, Rockwell Group opted for a dark and moody interior of rich materials and low, warm lighting.

    “Our goal was to capture the essence of this unique concept and innovative approach to fried chicken and translate it into a memorable dining experience,” said founder David Rockwell.
    Plaster wall panels feature a crackled effect akin to fried chicken skinUpon entry, guests are invited to wash their hands in leathered soapstone basins, above which a row of pill-shaped light bands glow within a bronzed mirror that also wraps onto the side walls.
    Past the host stand, an area with four high-top tables offers a space reserved for walk-ins in front of garage-style windows.
    The long bar is topped with black soapstone and fronted with tambour woodThe main dining area is formed by a series of green leather and dark walnut booths on either side of a central walkway.
    A series of illuminated arches soar overhead, formed from rippled glass and bronze modules that resemble bubbling oil in a deep-fat fryer.
    The restaurant’s extensive champagne collection is displayed in glass cases with bubble-like lightingAt the end of this procession, a mirrored wall reflects glowing arches and creates the illusion of doubled space. Meanwhile, plaster wall panels feature a crackled effect, nodding to the crispy skin of the fried chicken.
    “The material palette was driven by a desire to surround diners in an envelope of warmth, creating a joyful place to be at any time,” Rockwell said.
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    Additional booth seating to one side is followed by the long bar, topped with black soapstone, fronted by tambour wood and backed by a luminous black liquor shelf.
    The restaurant’s extensive champagne collection – which it claims is the largest in America – is displayed inside glass cabinets installed with globe-shaped lights that look like giant bubbles.
    At the front of the restaurant is an area with high-top tables reserved for walk-in diners”Simon and I share the belief that the most important thing about restaurants is how they ritualise coming together for a shared, celebratory experience and Coqodaq provides the perfect template for that,” said Rockwell.
    Since Tony Award-winning designer founded his eponymous firm in New York 40 years ago, the studio has grown to a 250-person operation with additional offices in Los Angeles and Madrid.
    Upon arrival, guests are encouraged to wash their hands in leathered soapstone basinsAmong Rockwell Group’s recent hospitality projects are the Metropolis restaurant and lobby spaces at the Perelman Arts Center (PAC NYC) and Zaytina inside the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.
    We’ve featured a few fried chicken restaurants recently, including a 1960s-influenced spot in Los Angeles and a neon-illuminated eatery in Calgary.
    The photography is by Jason Varney.

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    Timothy Godbold adorns Tribeca loft with modernist relief panels

    New York interior designer Timothy Godbold has renovated an apartment in a historic Tribeca building, adding various relief treatments across its neutral walls including panels influenced by a 1970s sci-fi series.

    The spacious loft is located in an 1881 cast-iron building on Franklin Street, which was formerly a textile factory and was overhauled by Pritzker Prize-winning Japanese architect Shigeru Ban in 2019.
    The most dramatic space in the loft is a double-height living room surrounded by windows”The homeowners, a young family with two children, set out with the objective of creating a great home for entertaining that simultaneously utilized space efficiently to create a comfortable family living space,” said Godbold’s team.
    The designer helped to organise the layout so that it functioned optimally for the family, and despite opting for a neutral colour palette, Godbold upped the drama through the scale of the furniture and artwork.
    Rather than disguise a structural column, Timothy Godbold used it as an anchor for the dining tableA double-height living room occupies a corner flooded with light from windows on two sides, which can be diffused by drawing the sheer curtains.

    To work around a large structural column disrupting the view to the living room, Godbold used the column to anchor a stone dining table to turn it into a focal feature.
    The kitchen is intentionally minimal, benefitting from the absence of cabinet and drawer pullsThe table references a 1930s design by Hans and Wassili Luckhardt and Alfons Anker, in keeping with the industrial style of the building.
    The kitchen is very minimal, thanks to the omission of cabinet and drawer pulls, and includes an island with a waterfall stone top that creates space for a breakfast bar.
    An area behind the kitchen was converted into a flexible office and bar spaceHidden behind the kitchen is a former TV room converted into a bar room and an office “to maximise the versatility of the space and meet multiple needs”.
    The walls in this flexible room are covered in geometric plaster-relief panels, which add shadows and texture, while the furniture is darker and more masculine.
    Plaster relief panels based on a 1970s sci-fi series cover the wallsA Reprise pendant light from New York design studio Apparatus hangs in a corner that has been curved to accentuate the modernist-style wall panelling.
    “The wall details in this Tribeca space are inspired by a classic 1970s sci-fi series that showcases an all-Italian modern aesthetic within a futuristic environment,” said the team.
    A feature wall behind the bed in the primary bedroom is fluted across its full widthA row of plastered arched niches separates the formal entertaining areas from a more casual seating area, where a large pale grey sofa shifts the tone from the warm whites found elsewhere.
    In the primary bedroom, the built-in bed and nightstands are installed below a tufted upholstered headboard that runs the full width of the room, and a fluted wall feature that extends to the ceiling.
    The bedroom also features a sculptural sofa, large planters and a huge artwork by Etienne MoyatOpposite the bed is a sculptural sofa surrounded by oversized planters and a large, carved relief artwork by French sculptor Etienne Moyat on the wall.
    Godbold custom-designed many of the pieces throughout the home, including most of the furniture and decorative elements.

    Timothy Godbold turns his Hamptons home into a “villain’s hideout”

    His references included mid-century Italian designers like Joe Colombo, whose space-age shapes are echoed in the dining chairs, sofas, and smaller lighting and decor items.
    Godbold also played with proportion to add drama, as seen in the living room’s custom stone sofas that are upholstered in a “brutalist” fabric made in England, and the coffee table with an integrated planter.
    A variety of space-age shapes and materials can be found throughout the loftThe rugs also feature custom designs that outline the furniture in the same space.
    Overall, the goal was to “marry the industrial, the art deco and the more surreal aspects of 1970s noir cult cinema for a glamorous and intriguing end product.”
    The home’s neutral colour palette continues through to the nurseryOriginally from Australia, Godbold is currently based in the Hamptons, where he renovated his mid-century home to resemble a “villain’s hideout”.
    He also aims to preserve other modernist dwellings built across the area through the nonprofit organisation Hamptons 20th Century Modern.
    The photography is by David Mitchell.

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    Lissoni Architecture creates expansion for Design Holding with “melting pot attitude”

    Local studio Lissoni Architecture has expanded the Design Holding flagship in New York City, creating an entirely new floor outfitted with light displays and curving metallic installations.

    Lissoni Architecture, the US branch of Italian studio Lissoni & Partners, created an entirely new second floor and redesigned a portion of the first floor for the Design Holding showroom, which displays furniture and lighting brands including B&B Italia, Flos, Louis Poulsen, Maxalto, Arclinea and Azucena.
    Lissoni Architecture has created an expansion for the Design Holding showroom in New YorkLighting and design elements from the brands were distributed across the second-floor space, spread out amongst vertical stone-clad panels, transparent, metal showcases, and curving chrome benches and walls.
    Each area of the floor was dedicated to a specific brand and the interior architecture was tailored to each brand’s identity, according to the studio.
    The project encompasses a new second floor and an expansion and redesign of the first”We wanted to share the melting pot attitude of New York City where everyone and everything can blend together holistically so we went to the essence of the iconic brands,” said Lissoni Architecture founder Piero Lissoni.

    “[We highlighted] their DNA and proposed a common ground that could host and enhance the design codes of each identity.”
    The studio created dedicated areas for brands including Flos and B&B ItaliaFor lighting brand Flos, the studio created a series of display cases backed by a transparent mesh. A magnetized, geometric Bilboquet light by designer Philippe Malouin is on display, as well as the Almendra chandelier affixed with almond-shaped flakes by Patricia Urquiola.
    A testing room for clients was also created for the brand, which consists of a curved, metal wall that meets a series of angled panels that act as an entrance for the room.
    The various displays were informed by the “melting pot” attitude of New York CityAnother corner of the floor was dedicated to the display of the Skynest chandelier by Marcel Wanders, which resembles an inverted basket interlaced with cords of light.
    Displays for Flos and Louis Poulsen consist of inserted panels and curving planting beds that are populated with a number of lighting fixtures from both brands.
    Metallic panels, warm wood, and dark cladding were used throughout the second-floor spaceDark, metal cladding used in the Flos displays contrasts the off-white and beiges used throughout the Louis Poulsen space, but both flank a B&B Italia lounge that sits at the centre of the floor, which features a bright-red chair from the Up series by Gaetano Pesce.
    A B&B Italia wardrobe was also created for the showroom, which sits next to an Arclinea kitchen display.

    US becoming more open-minded says Piero Lissoni as he announces New York architecture office

    A black ash finish was used to clad a large cabinet unit, which sits behind a Thea island topped with a quartz waterfall countertop.
    Lighting by Louis Poulsen, including the Patera Oval pendant by designer Øivind Slaatt, was tucked into the furthest corner of the space, with pieces distributed amongst wooden tables and a low-lying display unit.
    A separate entrance leads to a Maxalto space on the first floorOn the first floor, a new space dedicated to Maxalto is accessible through a separate entrance, with pieces such as the brand’s Arbiter sofa system positioned against walls clad in black.
    Design Holding, a global retailer founded in 2018, recently added furniture brands Menu, By Lassen and Brdr Petersen to its portfolio after an agreement with Denmark-based company Designers Company.
    Piero Lissoni announced the founding of the US branch of his studio last year, saying that the US has become more “open-minded” in terms of architecture.
    The photography is courtesy Design Holding.

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    Home Studios refreshes The Wren pub on New York’s Bowery

    Brooklyn-based Home Studios has remodelled a bar and restaurant in New York’s East Village, using dark wood and velvet seating to retain a “worn-in and aged appearance”.

    The Wren on the busy Bowery thoroughfare has become a neighbourhood staple since opening in 2012, but was ready for an interior revamp.
    The Wren has been remodelled in a way that retains its rustic charmHome Studios refreshed both levels of the upscale pub, including the upper-floor dining and drinking area, and private lounge downstairs.
    “Despite the changes in the city and the evolution of the neighbourhood, The Wren has maintained its timeless appeal, offering visitors a glimpse into the past and an authentic pub experience,” said Home Studios, led by founder Oliver Halsegrave.
    The L-shaped bar has a marble counter and is surrounded by GAR Products stoolsAcross the main level, dark and moody materials have been used to retain the pub-like quality of the spaces, assisted by the exposed wooden ceiling beams and columns, and hardwood floors.

    Either side of the entrance, black-painted, booth-style benches are installed against the walnut wall panelling, creating cosy nooks for pairs or small groups to occupy.
    Towards the back, a chocolate-coloured velvet banquette features ribbed cushionsThe bar area features an L-shaped marble counter surrounded by GAR Products stools, opposite black wainscoting that runs below vintage-looking wallpaper.
    Towards the back, a long banquette is dressed in ribbed cushions that form the seating and backrests, all wrapped in brown velvet.
    Custom mirrors alternate with disk-shaped sconces by In Common WithCustom arched shaped mirrors mounted on the walls alternate with disk-shaped sconces by In Common With, against a beige textured plaster backdrop.
    A variety of other sconces throughout were sourced from lighting brands including O’Lampia, Shades of Light, Allied Maker and Rejuvenation.
    Guests can choose from a variety of booths, two-tops or standing areas”With a worn-in and aged appearance, the space now exudes a moody winter-like atmosphere,” said Home Studios.
    Downstairs, the mood is even more “sultry” and intimate, thanks to darker surfaces and a variety of dim, warm lighting sources.

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    The bar counter is made from Black Portoro marble and the wood floors are also stained black, while the banquette upholstery is a lighter tone than found on the upper level.
    Between the two floors, guests can choose from a variety of seating or standing spots for enjoying their beers, cocktails and bar food.
    In the private area downstairs, the mood is more sultry and the banquette upholstery is lighter in colour”Home Studios has seamlessly blended nostalgic and rustic charm throughout The Wren’s interior, creating an inviting and distinctive ambiance that pays homage to the bar’s storied history,” said the team.
    Home Studios is no stranger to refreshing beloved establishments, having completed interiors for The Bird in Montauk and The Pearl in Nantucket.
    The downstairs area features dark-stained floors and a black marble bar counterThe firm also recently turned a conference centre in Northern California back into a luxury hotel, as originally intended by the property’s founder: the inventor of the radio.
    The photography is by Brian W Ferry.

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