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      Home Studios revamps Nantucket bar and restaurant using maritime references

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      Brooklyn-based Home Studios has refreshed a trio of hospitality spaces on Nantucket that includes a bright restaurant and a subterranean lounge that immerses guests in an “cinematic” underwater scape.

      The Pearl restaurant, The Boarding House bar and Below the Rose lounge are all located under one roof at 12 Federal Street, Nantucket – an island off the coast of Massachusetts that is popular with summer vacationers.
      The Pearl is one of three hospitality spaces renovated by Home Studios at 12 Federal Street, NantucketAfter 30 years, the establishment changed hands and was in need of updates, so Home Studios was enlisted to rethink the interiors while retaining some familiarity for regulars.
      “The Pearl and its offshoot spaces are beloved Nantucket institutions, so Home Studios identified the goal as continuing the existing story and tradition: to reinterpret it, not rewrite it; polishing and refining its origin story,” said the studio, which took two years to complete the project.
      The restaurant features white oak tables and chairs, shaped to contrast the colonial-era architectural detailsThe aim of the interior design was to create an individual look and feel for each of the three spaces, yet keep a level of visual cohesion across the connected rooms.

      “There’s an immersive, cinematic experience across the board,” studio founder Oliver Haslegrave told Dezeen. “However, each space is distinct in its material and colour scheme choice.”
      Floral patterns by two different artists decorate the perimeter of the back barRenovating The Pearl involved “polishing” the main restaurant, private dining rooms and patio area.
      In the light-filled restaurant, warm white and beige tones are complemented by cooler blues, and glossy tiles that clad the chimney stacks introduce texture and sheen.
      The Pearl’s private dining rooms were also updated, including this earth-toned lounge areaThe white oak tables and chairs have soft, contemporary shapes that contrast the rigid, colonial-era architectural details.
      Behind the stone-topped bar, floral patterns including a mural by Lukas Geronimas Giniotis and mirror art by Paul Clifford add flourishes.
      The private dining rooms include a selection of vintage furnitureDarker earth tones decorate one of the private dining spaces, which includes a lounge area with leather and bouclé seating, and a selection of vintage furniture pieces.
      For The Boarding House revamp, Home Studios looked to the island’s maritime history for influences.

      Home Studios refreshes Daunt’s Albatross motel in Montauk

      Many of its original elements were kept, including the bar, back bar, and stone floors, while the interiors were updated to present a contemporary take on the building’s federal-style architecture.
      “With The Boarding House, we sought to create a space built to withstand the trials of life at sea, and the place to host the exuberant celebration of one’s return,” Haslegrave said.
      Home Studios also created a dark and moody subterranean lounge, Below the Rose, as part of the projectHis studio also designed a new dark and moody lounge in the basement, named Below the Rose, where a different take on the oceanic theme was applied.
      Envisioned as an underwater scape, the deep blue hues across the walls and ceilings feature a mural of aquatic creatures – also by Geronimas Giniotis – to make guests feel like they’re submerged below the waves.
      The dark blue space starkly contrasts the restaurant upstairs”We approached the spatial design as if it were an ocean filled with unfamiliar creatures, textures, and forms,” said Halsegrave. “It’s dark and moody, and full of character and unique detailing.”
      Richly grained wood wraps the cased openings and the base of columns, and forms arches across the back bar that frame more mirror artwork by Clifford.
      A mural of aquatic creatures allows guests to feel as if they’re underwaterRust-coloured bar stools, dark brass sconces and champagne-toned glass flush mounts all stand out against the darker hues.
      The lounge is starkly different in atmosphere to the dining spaces above, but together they bring a storied local institution back to life.
      Details like rust-coloured stool and dark brass lighting stand out against the blue surfacesHome Studios has multiple hospitality projects under its belt, ranging from the refresh of the Daunt’s Albatross motel in Montauk to the design of the Laurel Brasserie and Bar in Salt Lake City.
      Founded by Halsegrave in 2009, the studio has also created a Mediterranean-influenced hotel in Los Angeles and converted a Wisconsin train station into a restaurant.
      The photography is by Matt Kisiday.

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

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      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.

      Pirajean Lees creates Arts and Crafts-style interior for Mayfair restaurant

      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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      BAO Mary draws on “utilitarian design” of Taiwanese dumpling shops

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      London’s latest BAO restaurant is modelled on the liveliness of Taiwan’s dumpling shops, with designer MATHs opening up its shopfront to “allow people to spill out”.

      Design studio MATHs aimed for restaurant chain BAO London’s latest outpost in Marylebone, named BAO Mary, to let its visitors interact more with the space outside the restaurant to create a vibrant feel.
      “With all our sites, we look to distil an element of Taiwanese culture,” BAO co-founder Shing Tat Chung and MATHs designer Priscilla Wong told Dezeen.
      “Taiwanese dumpling shops are lively – there’s a sense of excitement and chaos,” they added. “As with a lot of informal eateries in Asia, there are diners pouring into the street.”
      BAO Mary is located in central London’s Marylebone areaThe first change the duo made when taking over the 110-square-metre restaurant, which had previously housed another eatery, was to open it up more towards the street by removing banquette seats that made its front look closed-off.

      “The first design move was to open up the shopfront to allow people to spill out and blur the threshold between inside and out,” MATHs said.
      “This helps to create the liveliness that we find in dumpling houses.”
      It has a wood-panelled interiorThe goal for the interior of the two-storey restaurant, which serves dumplings and quick cold dishes, was to create an intimate atmosphere.
      As its existing fit-out had been completed just 18 months earlier, MATHs kept the timber-lined walls but added a parquette floor and simple white tiles in the kitchen.
      “The main dining space is small, so we wanted to lean into that and create a sense of intimacy, whilst referencing the utilitarian design of dumpling houses,” Chung and Wong explained. “The overall material palette helps to strike a balance between the two.”
      Tables and chairs were custom-madeFor the outdoor dining space, the designers used brushed-metal terrace tables from Arcalo that are altered to be shorter and complemented by stools from Artek.
      Inside, chairs and tables are bespoke and the restaurant is lit by lamps from Flos and Artemide.

      BAO King’s Cross pays tribute to Asia’s Western-style cafes

      BAO Mary also features a nod to the open self-serve fridges often seen in Taiwan.
      “It’s quite common in Taiwan to have open self-serve fridges,” the designers said. “Whilst in London, we contemplated whether we could do the same but in the end decided against it.”
      “To reference this feature, we have a cold drinks fridge in the back corner of the room,” they added. “These points of reference, alongside the glass table tops and the softly swirling fans, add to the feel of what we wanted to achieve.”
      A fridge next to the kitchen nods to Taiwanese self-serve fridgesAs the primary material used inside the space was the existing wooden walls, MATHs wanted to create a colour palette that would complement the panelling.
      The studio chose a “buttery yellow colour” for the ceiling, while cream and tan leather add neutral colour details upstairs.
      The basement floor, which can be booked by larger groups, has orange banquette seating.
      The open kitchen is the focal point of the spaceThe designers also referenced BAO London’s beginnings as a market stall with the design of BAO Mary, where the tiled kitchen functions as a focal point.
      “We wanted to create a glow at the end of the space – almost theatrical – to draw people in and create a visual focus,” Chung and Wong said.
      “The first view on entry is the brightly lit kitchen and sharp light of the fridge, which is sandwiched by the dark timber walls,” they added.
      “When we first started as a market stall, the great satisfaction was that immediate interaction, and feeling part of the restaurant and seeing it feel and come together rather than being stuck in a basement.”
      BAO Mary is set over two storeysHaving the kitchen open also creates a connection between the chef and the diners, the duo said.
      “It creates that focus in the room, the buzz, the clatter, the chatter,” they added. “It becomes that activation in the small room.”
      Other recent bao restaurants featured on Dezeen include BAO London’s King’s Cross branch, which was informed by Asia’s Western-style cafes, and Bao Express in Paris, which draws on traditional Hong Kong diners.
      The photography is by Ash James.

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      Dog-friendly London club refurbished with giant 3D dachshund relief and Hockney artworks

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      Dog-friendly private members’ club George in London has been refurbished by restaurateur Richard Caring with David Hockney murals and Mayfair’s largest dining terrace.

      The revamped club was designed to be dog-friendly throughout as well as displaying a large collection of dog-related artwork.
      British painter Hockney created a mural for the dining room that sits alongside other original works of his, while London sculptor Jill Berelowitz has crafted a giant sculptural relief of a dachshund on the stairs descending to The Hound Club in the basement.
      A bespoke David Hockney artwork fills a mirrored wall panel at the George clubGeorge was designed to be “a home away from home” for its members and their pets, Caring told Dezeen.
      It was painted navy blue and features expansive navy awnings over an outdoor dining terrace that is the now the largest in Mayfair, providing space for guests and their pets.

      London sculptor Jill Berelowitz crafted a giant sculptural relief of a dachshundNamed after the club founder Mark Birley’s own dachsund, the George has been refurbished as “an oasis for both members and their four-legged friends –  continuing its legacy as London’s most dog friendly club”.
      Served from the revamped open kitchen, which has been clad in copper panels, a menu of snacks has been curated just for the canine guests, which includes “dog caviar”.
      The richly decorated interiors were painted a dark navy and furnished with bespoke furniture made in-house by The Birley Clubs’ design team.
      Paintings hang in mirror-tiled panels of the dining room, under a mirrored ceiling recessA circular bar, embellished with ornate metal work, separates the two dining rooms. Metal latticework cornicing echoes the level of decoration and detail throughout the scheme.
      Artworks hang in mirror-tiled wall panels, below similarly mirror-tiled ceiling recesses.
      A private dining room seats 16 and showcase works from Hockney’s iPad series, such as his 2011 work The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate.
      The main bar of George features high stools and intricate metal latticeworkBerelowitz’s dachschund sculpture dominates the main stairwell. The work was cast in bronze and patinated to match the club’s interior palette. The sculpture measures five by three metre and weighs 1.5 tons.
      The navy ground floor area leads to a burgundy red basement that houses The Hound Bar. An Art Deco theme dictated the use of antique brass and fluted mahogany panels for the bar.
      More mirrored glass has been used on columns and doorways almost to the effect of a hall of mirrors, creating an after-dark, subterranean feeling.
      The Hound Bar is a dark and dramatic subterranean space in the basementHighly polished mahogany was used to clad the vaulted ceilings and the same fluted panels from the bar were repeated in niches and around seating areas.
      Caring, who designed the interiors of George with his team, previously commissioned Martin Brudnizki Design Studio to renovate his other London club, Annabel’s, in 2018.

      Monumental Damien Hirst sculptures feature inside Bacchanalia London restaurant

      He also worked with Martin Brudnizki Design Studio on the launch of Bacchanalia London, which features monumental sculptures by Damien Hirst.
      Other restaurant interiors recently featured on Dezeen include nearby 20 Berkeley, also in Mayfair, where Pirajean Lees has created an Arts and Crafts-style interior, and an intimate cocktail lounge in Austin, USA, by Kelly Wearstler.
      The photography is by Ryan Wicks and Milo Brown.

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      Studio Kiki imbues Carlotta restaurant interiors with “old-school glitz and glamour”

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      Design firm Studio Kiki has created warmly-lit interiors for an Italian restaurant in London to mimic the decadent but familial atmosphere of a 1980s Italo-American trattoria.

      Located on Marylebone High Street, Carlotta is the latest project by the Big Mamma restaurant group. Studio Kiki, the group’s in-house design team, created its interiors to capture a sense of “old-school glitz and glamour”, it said.
      Carlotta is a restaurant on Marylebone High Street”[Carlotta is informed by] Italo-American neighbourhood restaurants in the 1980s, where the likes of [singer and actor] Frank Sinatra and friends would swing by for a bite to eat or a nightcap, and know the waiters’ names,” the team told Dezeen.
      Visitors enter the trattoria through a burgundy facade emblazoned with neon signage, which glows above clusters of spindly tables and chairs positioned for al fresco dining.
      The bar is defined by glowing sources of lightInside, a gilded bar is concealed behind a red velvet curtain. This space is defined by high stools upholstered with geometrically patterned textiles and a curved marble-topped bar clad with illuminated ribbed panels sourced from New York.

      “We wanted the bar to glow and have a back-lit element, so it feels incredibly welcoming as soon as you step inside, making it the jewelled centrepiece of the restaurant,” explained Studio Kiki.
      A psychedelic-style carpet adds a touch of humour to the main dining spaceBeyond the bar, the main dining space is draped with golden festoon curtains that take cues from 1950s Milanese casinos, and also features a psychedelic-style carpet covered with swirly flowers.
      This was informed by the 1998 film Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, a black comedy road movie based on the book by journalist Hunter S Thompson, according to the designers.
      The basement includes a mirror-striped ceilingIn the dining room, curved metallic chairs and burgundy banquettes finished in knotted leather hug small circular tables made from dark wood and dressed with sculptural lamps.
      “[Throughout the restaurant] we liked to ensure each table has its own source of light, which can come in various forms whether that be architectural lighting, back-lit tables or a handmade cordless table lamp,” said Studio Kiki.
      The main dining space also includes arrangements of framed photographs. Among the collection are retro wedding pictures from Italian weddings of the design team’s own parents and grandparents.

      Pirajean Lees creates Arts and Crafts-style interior for Mayfair restaurant

      Downstairs, a “midnight blue hideout” forms a subterranean drinking den, complete with a 1980s-style mirror-striped cavernous ceiling, eclectic crockery and an open kitchen.
      Bathed in bright red light, the bathrooms are equally playful – a haloed Jesus effigy was positioned atop a font-like basin, while slatted mirrored walls reflect the ceiling’s oversized chandelier.
      A Jesus effigy crowns the bathroom basinCarlotta joins a number of other recently designed eateries with decadent interiors.
      These include a pop-up cafe at London’s Harrods department store by Italian fashion house Prada and a bar and restaurant in Canada with rich colours and leather upholstery informed by author Truman Capote.
      The photography is by Jérôme Galland. 

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      GRT Architects uses “riot” of materials for Bad Roman restaurant in New York

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      Brooklyn studio GRT Architects has designed an Italian restaurant in New York City where a visual cacophony of colour, pattern and materials combine for a maximalist aesthetic.

      Bad Roman is the latest venture from the hospitality group Quality Branded, for which GRT Architects previously completed the interiors for Michelin-starred Don Angie.
      Bad Roman guests are greeted by a sculpture of a boar raised on a patterned podiumServing a “contemporary and whimsical” take on Italian cuisine, Bad Roman is located on the third level of a shopping centre in the Time Warner Center on Columbus Circle, at the southwest corner of Central Park.
      “Where The Shops at Columbus Circle are politely elegant, Bad Roman is a riot of rich and varied materials, textures, found objects, shapes and colour,” said GRT Architects.
      The organically shaped bar is clad in stripes of marble and glassThe 6,500-square-foot (604-square-metre) space has an open layout so that diners can enjoy the view of the park through the glass facade.

      To set the tone, guests are greeted by a sculpture of a boar, which is raised on a patterned podium and wears an illuminated collar.
      Booths lined up along the window feature stepped orange backsA curved bar sits in the middle of the restaurant. A light box above is clad in stripes of marble, mirror and cast glass, and emits a soft glow onto the marble bar counter below.
      Throughout the restaurant, a variety of booth seating arrangements are designed to accommodate parties of all sizes.
      Blown-glass lighting, 19th-century sculptures and various decor elements are combined in the colourful spaceThe booths have fabric-wrapped cushioned backs with multiple panels at stepped heights, which form waves when placed side-by-side around the tables.
      “We made these islands into worlds unto themselves, incorporating textured plaster cladding, assemblages of found objects and segmented upholstery in a family of orange fabrics,” said the studio.
      Private dining rooms at the end of the restaurant each have a distinct design languageAt one end of the 160-foot-long (49-metre) space are a pair of private dining rooms, while a fully glazed area is located at the other – each with a distinct design language.
      Greenery spills from planters suspended from the coffered ceilings, and several different types of lighting help to set the mood.

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      The bright dining room is contrasted by dark and moody bathrooms, where a two-tiered, classical-style garden fountain sits on a mosaic basin at their entrance.
      “Minimal it is not, but the design of Bad Roman is unified by a high level of handcraft, and a say-yes-to-all-beautiful-materials attitude,” GRT Architects said.
      A classical-style fountain is positioned at the entrance to the bathrooms”Locally blown-glass light fixtures, trompe l’oeil mosaics, 19th-century fragments and intricate tilework all collude to create an exuberant home for Bad Roman’s fresh take on modern Italian.”
      The studio was founded by Tal Schori and Rustam-Marc Mehta in 2014, and their team has since completed a variety of projects across the US.
      The dark and moody bathrooms contrast the bright and colourful dining roomOther restaurants in their portfolio include Cucina Alba in New York and Curtis Stone’s Georgie in Dallas.
      In the residential sector, GRT Architects recently completed the renovation of an East Village apartment and a house perched above the marshes in Connecticut.
      The photography is by Christian Harder.

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      Studio Wok designs Milan bakery Pan as contemporary take on Japanese culture

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      Architecture practice Studio Wok has created a matcha-green counter and Japanese-style fabric panels for bakery and wine bar Pan in Milan’s Acquabella district.

      The studio created the eatery, which is led by Japanese chefs Yoji Tokuyoshi and Alice Yamada, to have an interior that would represent a meeting between Japan and Milan.
      “There are references to Japanese culture, non-literal and far from stereotypes,” Studio Wok said. “The intention was for a deeper understanding, working on the concept of quality, both in materials and in details.”
      A fibreglass counter sits at the centre of the bakeryA central bread counter is the “protagonist piece” in Pan’s interior design.
      The counter was constructed from panels of fibreglass grid and its eye-catching colour was informed by the vivid green of matcha, an ingredient widely used in Pan’s food, the studio said.

      Fibreglass was also used to create an external bench, linking the bakery with the wider neighbourhood.
      Fibreglass was also used for an external bench”We did a lot of research looking for a ‘poor’ material that could be ennobled by being used in an innovative way,” Studio Wok told Dezeen.
      “Fiberglass grating is a material used in industry but little used in interiors and it seemed perfect to us.”
      Fabric hangs from the ceilingThe green of the fibreglass is echoed in vertical fins of hanging fabric that define the ceiling, creating a dialogue between hard and soft elements within the space.
      These suspended sheets of fabric are a contemporary update of the traditional Japanese design element of ‘noren’, meaning curtains or hanging divider panels.
      Wooden seats have views of the street”The ceiling sheets have the main function of creating a three-dimensional covering to make the environment more welcoming and also to work from an acoustic point of view,” the studio said.
      “They create a suspended three-dimensional world, both continuous and ephemeral. Furthermore, they dialogue with natural light during the day and with artificial light in the evening.”
      The bathroom has a decorative stone sinkIn the bathroom, the green theme continues with a wall and sliding door featuring translucent panels of pressed cellulose, which have been fixed onto a wooden grid frame.
      “We were looking for a translucent material to allow natural light to pass through the anteroom. It also reminded us of the rice paper walls, typical of Japan,” Studio Wok said.

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      The effect of these materials is to create “a green monochromatic box from which the monolithic element of the sink emerges,” Studio Wok said.
      The sink was made of a grey-tinted natural stone called Moltrasio.
      In the main space, light grey walls and floors in hand-trowelled cementitious resin amplify the sense of light, while chestnut was used in both its pale natural form and stained black across integrated and freestanding furniture.
      Black-stained chestnut was used for the bar areaThe bar area has a more serious, less playful atmosphere, informed by the black-stained chestnut wood of the counter and cabinetry.
      Here, a rough-hewn natural stone boulder serves as a water counter, introducing a freeform, sculptural element to the space.
      Studio Wok designed the bakery and wine bar with references to JapanTo anchor the space in the local neighbourhood, Studio Wok designed large windows with pale chestnut frames that open the bakery up towards the street.
      Seating in the window areas “project the interiors of the venue outwards, creating a hybrid threshold space between the domestic and the urban,” the studio said.
      “Our vision for the material palette at Pan was to seek a balance between elements with a contemporary and industrial flavour, with others that are more natural and timeless,” said Studio Wok.
      “It’s a celebration of Japan and its dualism between innovation and wabi-sabi spirit.”
      Studio Wok has previously designed a cavernous pizza restaurant and transformed a barn into a country home.
      The photography is by Simone Bossi.

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      Pirajean Lees creates Arts and Crafts-style interior for Mayfair restaurant

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      London design studio Pirajean Lees referenced Mayfair’s pastoral past and created a series of spaces that nod to the idea of a Georgian manor house when designing restaurant 20 Berkeley.

      Pirajean Lees aimed to build a story around the space and its sequence of many small rooms, while tapping into the restaurant’s British produce-led culinary approach.
      Pirajean Lees has completed the 20 Berkeley restaurant in Mayfair”The restaurant is situated in the heart of Mayfair, a place once on the cusp of the city and countryside,” Pirajean Lees told Dezeen.
      “The farming history of the area and its connection to the surrounding rural lands is prevalent throughout the project and paramount to the dining experience.”
      The restaurant features a series of cosy rooms on the first floorPirajean Lees wanted to put nature and craft at the heart of this design project to align it with the ethos of Creative Restaurant Group, the restaurant’s founders.

      “This led us to build on the strong connection of an imagined Mayfair Georgian manor house and its rural lands, which would have been used to grow produce,” the studio said.
      “A central staircase leads to rooms usually found in a traditional family home, such as the drawing room, music room, pantry, orangery and salon. Each room has its own character whilst belonging to the one property.”
      Among them is the music roomOn the upper-ground floor are the richly designed reception and main dining rooms.
      The lower-ground level houses a 14-seat private room with its own exclusive lounge and dining area, alongside the kitchen, wine cellar and main bar, The Nipperkin.
      The design of the interiors references the arts and crafts movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
      Stained glass features in the drawing room”At 20 Berkeley, we have developed a layered story of handmade details and tactile finishes that exude elegance,” said Pirajean Lees.
      “The project’s expression is rooted in the traditions of craftsmanship and how the process of making decorative objects and furniture should showcase the beauty of both its materials and construction.”
      Antique mirrors were used to surround the building’s columnsThe resulting aesthetic is detailed, with a palette of rich, warm tones including ambers, ochres and dark reds, used across upholstery and textural wallcoverings. Floor tiles have been hand-crafted in Wales and feature clay embedded with fossils.
      Bespoke joinery work was utilised throughout the space, including for the wall panelling, dowelled ceilings and an English oak staircase.

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      The project also features bespoke elements that were added to bring a sense of opulence to the various spaces.
      These include a pantry, in painted timber, that provides a strong focal point of the upper floor. Here, chefs prepare dishes on the pantry island, “inviting guests to witness the chefs’ craft, as one would do in one’s home, whilst hosting guests for dinner,” said Pirajean Lees.
      In the orangery, a bespoke pickling cupboard, made from sapele wood and marble, serves as “a pleasing curiosity”, used by the chefs to store jars of vegetables for their recipes.
      An English oak staircase leads down to 20 Berkeley’s lower ground levelThe bespoke dining tables and chairs were made of oak, while the chairs have been traditionally upholstered for maximum comfort.
      “The bespoke and craft elements bring depth to the project, anchoring it in its strong narrative and creating timeless interiors,” said Pirajean Lees.
      A private dining room is located on the lower ground floorBespoke stained glass, handcrafted in a North London studio, is another of the restaurant’s features.
      Used in the reception and drawing room, the stained glass has been strategically positioned, backing onto the busy central bar to give a sense of movement and energy.
      In front of the windows, it warms the light coming into the rooms to create an immersive atmosphere.
      Mixed clay tiles are laid across the floor”The stained glass introduces shadows and reflections, which change throughout the day and are different in each room,” said Pirajean Lees.
      “As per each of our projects, the tailored finishes, joinery and surfaces here, have been carefully created to ensure optimum use of the space by the restaurateur and their guests.”
      Other hospitality projects from the studio include an ornate sushi restaurant in Dubai with interiors informed by 1920s Japan and a members club in London, housed inside the iconic music venue Koko.
      The photography is by Polly Tootal.

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