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    Xokol restaurant by ODAmx and Rubén Valdez celebrates “collective ritual” of eating

    Mexican architects ODAmx and Rubén Valdez have designed a restaurant with an ash-coloured interior inside a former mechanic’s workshop in Guadalajara.

    Now located in the Mexican city’s Santa Tere neighbourhood, Xokol began in 2017 within a small space that housed just four tables and room for 16 diners.
    Xokol occupies a former mechanic’s workshop that has been converted into a restaurantIn 2020, the restaurant relocated to this larger building, where the aim was to preserve as much of the intimacy and connection between the diners and chefs as possible.
    “Xokol is a restaurant in which the act of eating becomes a collective ritual,” said ODAmx and Rubén Valdez in a joint statement. “The architecture of the space acts a catalyst for the reinterpretation of Mexican culinary traditions and a communal dining experience in which the boundaries between diners, staff and food preparation are non-existent.”
    The interior is lined with dark grey stucco to create an intimate atmosphere, while corn cobs suspended above add the only colourThe restaurant’s interior has a minimalist, monastic quality thanks to the dark grey stucco covering the walls and ceiling, and the black clay comal ovens on full display in the open kitchen.

    “These muted tones foreground the naturally rich colour palettes of the dishes,” the architects said.
    The 15-metre-long dining table creates a communal setting for guests to share the experienceThe concrete workshop building’s exterior was left largely unchanged, aside from the layers of tall panels of steel added across the garage-door entrance to guide guests inside.
    A 15-metre-long oak table runs the length of the double-height interior, enabling 48 covers to be seated at once and share the experience.
    Traditional comal ovens made from black clay are on full display in the open kitchenSuspended above the table is an industrial pendant light that stretches its entice length, emitting a soft glow over the place settings.
    Over the centre of the dining area, a large skylight is covered by a metal grill from which hundreds of corn cobs hang – providing the only hint of colour in the otherwise monochrome restaurant, besides the dishes served.
    At the back, a grid of shelves hold glass jars for fermenting ingredientsThe kitchen runs alongside the table on the other side of the building, towards the back where a grid of shelves contains jars for fermenting ingredients.
    A staircase winds around a totemic stone sculpture by local artist José Dávila, up to a mezzanine level that overlooks the dining area.

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    All of the materials used for the project were sourced locally, and the dining table, pendant light and shelving were fabricated by Guadalajaran artisans.
    “Since its beginnings, Xokol has aimed to conserve and recover the Mazahua culinary traditions and share them with a broader public in a contemporary manner,” said the architects.
    The dark, minimalist interior has a monastic quality”The architectural project acts as an enabler for such goal where every design decision has been thought to achieve it,” they added.
    Xokol is shortlisted in the restaurant and bar interior category of Dezeen Awards 2023, along with a Toronto seafood restaurant by Omar Gandhi Architects, a vaulted brick brewery taproom in Poland by Projekt Praga and three more projects.
    A staircase up to a mezzanine level winds around a totemic sculpture by José DávilaGuadalajara, Mexico’s second-largest city, is a hotbed for architectural talent and has a thriving food scene.
    Other restaurants with impressive interiors in the city include Veneno, designed by Monteon Arquitectos Asociados to resemble an archeological site, and Hueso, which Cadena + Asociados lined with thousands of animal bones.
    The photography is by Rafael Palacios.
    Project credits:
    Architecture: ODAmx and Rubén ValdezCarpenter: Joselo MaderistaArtwork: José Dávila

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    Studio Tre models Bronx chocolate cafe on Puerto Rican general stores

    This South Bronx cafe that serves a chocolate-focused menu is designed by Brooklyn-based Studio Tre to reflect the brand’s Caribbean roots.

    Bright colours, palm fronds, references to Spanish architecture and wallpaper made of advertisements feature in the second cafe location of the chocolate manufacturer Chocobar Cortés.
    Several design elements in the cafe nod to spaces in Viejo San Juan, including arched openings and chequerboard floorsChocobar Cortés is a fourth-generation family company that has been growing cacao and manufacturing chocolate since 1929, first in the Dominican Republic and then in Puerto Rico.
    In 2013, they opened their first cafe-restaurant in Viejo San Juan (Old San Juan) – Puerto Rico’s historic capital – where every dish or drink incorporates chocolate in some way.
    Studio Tre travelled to Puerto Rico at the project’s onset to learn about the Chocobar Cortés brandThe second location in The Bronx brings the concept to New York City and is modelled on the “colmadito” general stores found in Viejo San Juan as a nod to its origins.

    “The design embraces the warmth of the Caribbean and recognisable textures, colours and patterns of the Viejo San Juan neighbourhood of the first location,” said Studio Tre.
    The 1,600-square-foot (150-square-metre) space on Alexander Avenue features a variety of elements borrowed from the colmaditos, including chequerboard cement-tile flooring.
    Historic photos and a rotation of works by local artists are displayed on the wallsA trio of arches that form niches for the back bar and an opening to the bathrooms echo Spanish colonial architecture.
    These arches were painted in the brand’s signature yellow hue, matching the front of the cafe counter and together adding warmth and vibrancy to the space.
    Pale green-grey plaster was applied above wood wainscoting in the cafe”Retired chocolate bar moulds repurposed as design feature above the cafe counter,” said the Studio Tre team, who travelled to San Juan at the project’s onset to learn about the company and its values.
    Ogee wood panelling and bronze hardware on the bar were chosen as an homage to the large doors found across the old city.

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    On the cafe walls, pale green-grey plaster was applied above wood wainscoting, and a mix of historic photos and a rotation of works by local and Caribbean artists are displayed.
    The bathrooms are lined with a collage of brightly coloured cartoons and old advertisments, while radio jingles play over the speakers.
    Yellow counterfronts match the brand’s signature colour, while chocolate moulds are installed aboveThe cafe also hosts a series of events and cultural programming for the neighborhood’s queer community, creating a “spirit of acceptance and celebration”.
    “Imbuing this Caribbean spirit into the design, with also the vibrant and artistic spirit of the neighborhood in The Bronx, the interiors of the restaurant establish Chocobar Cortés as the joyful celebration of culture, chocolate, and community that it is,” said Studio Tre.
    The bathrooms are lined with a collage of old advertismentsChocolate shops and cafes are popular across the globe, and their interiors vary dramatically based on their context.
    Others around the world include one that occupies a century-old house in Kyoto and another in São Paulo where the production processes are put on show.
    The photography is by Grant Legan.

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

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

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

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

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

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    Dorothée Meilichzon nods to Alice in Wonderland for Cotswolds hotel interior

    French interior designer Dorothée Meilichzon has created the interior for boutique hotel Cowley Manor Experimental, adding chequerboard details and hidden keyholes to the rooms of the former country house.

    Meilichzon drew on the history of the Cowley Manor Experimental, which is said to have inspired author Lewis Carroll to write Alice in Wonderland, when designing the interior for the hotel.
    According to the hotel, Caroll was walking in the gardens of the then Cowley Manor with Alice Liddell – for whom he wrote Alice in Wonderland – when he saw a rabbit disappear down a hole under a hedge.
    Nodding to the chessboard around which the classic story is constructed, Meilichzon designed bespoke chequerboard carpets that were produced by Hartley & Tissier.
    The designer added baldachin beds and colourful accents to the bedroom suites”Alice is subtly spread all over the place,” the designer told Dezeen.

    “Small doors are hidden in the rooms for the White Rabbit, there are hidden keyholes, rabbit ears, hearts and spades on the checkerboard carpet,” she explained.
    “We have used the checkerboard in many ways: hand-painted, tiled, on fabrics and wallpaper.”
    Touches of rattan, mixed with strong colour, glossy lacquer and lava stone feature throughout the 36-room hotel. Large bedroom suites have baldachin beds and interiors accented with blurred maple and verdigris.
    The games room features chequerboard rugsThe project, which Meilichzon designed for Experimental Group, saw her update an existing hotel at the site, which sits within 55 acres of Cotswolds countryside. The hotel also incorporates a spa, restaurant, cocktail bar, lounge, library and living rooms.
    Other than respecting the heritage-listed elements of the property, Meilichzon had full design freedom.
    Heritage-listed elements of the existing Cowley Manor were preserved”Historical buildings are something we are used to; we work a lot in Europe and often in very old buildings,” the designer said.
    “So we always try to respect them and start from there: the shape of the space, an architectural detail, a listed element.”

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    Meilichzon combined classical and contemporary elements, keeping all historical listed elements from the building, such as doors, wooden panels and windows.
    However, she added “some modernity through the furniture, the geometric patterns and colours,” she said.
    Hearts derived from the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland are worked into the stair carpet”Colour is everything, I am really not a grey and beige person,” explained Meilichzon.
    The hotel also features a restaurant and cocktail bar by chef Jackson Boxer that is focused on Cowley Manor’s kitchen garden, which has increased in size and is growing wider varieties of produce. The cocktail bar features a lacquered blue bar and tables.
    The bar has blurred walnut panelling and blue lacquered tablesMeilichzon, founder of Paris-based design agency Chzon, is a frequent collaborator of Experimental Group and has designed the interiors for several of its properties.
    “I see my work for Experimental Group as separate pieces but with a common DNA – the same hand. Because they are context-based, a hotel in Menorca cannot look the same as one in Venice or in the Cotswolds,” she said.
    Earlier this year, she gave a bohemian refresh to Ibiza’s first hotel, now called the Montesol Experimental, and has also renovated a Belle Epoque-era hotel in Biarritz, France.
    The photography is by Mr Tripper.

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    Anacapa Architecture converts historic building into Drift Santa Barbara hotel

    US studio Anacapa Architecture has transformed an early 1900s, stucco-clad building that was formerly closed off to the public into a welcoming hotel filled with compact rooms and handcrafted decor.

    Located in the heart of downtown Santa Barbara in central California, the 45-key hotel is the second outpost from Drift, with the first located in San José del Cabo, Mexico.
    Anacapa Architecture has renovated an early 1900s building to create the Drift HotelThe hotel occupies a three-storey, Italian Mediterranean-style building that totals 15,617 square feet (1,451 square metres).
    Guest rooms are spread across all three levels, and a penthouse suite is found on the top floor. The ground level contains a coffee shop and a bar.
    It is located in a three-storey, Italian Mediterranean-style buildingWhile the building’s original architect is unknown, the firm Soule, Murphy & Hastings performed a renovation following a 1925 earthquake. The building has served various uses over time.

    “One of the only downtown survivors of the 1925 Santa Barbara earthquake, the building has stood for well over 100 years and has had many lives,” said local firm Anacapa Architecture.
    Guestrooms and a penthouse occupy the top floors, while a coffee shop and bar are located on the ground levelA hotel operated in the building from 1901 to the 1980s. More recently, it served as a home for the Church of Scientology, which took over in the 1990s and kept the building closed off from the community.
    Making the building more welcoming and honouring its original character were key concerns for the design team. The project was envisioned as a “modern reincarnation” of the hotel that once operated on the site.
    The building’s original arched windows, stucco walls and terracotta roof were kept intact”As part of a restoration, the challenge was to work within the historic context while creating experiences that are appealing to the modern traveler,” the team said.
    The exterior facades, featuring white stucco and arched windows, were kept largely intact. The building’s terracotta tile roof was retained, as well.
    The hallways are darkly clad and feature wooden crossbeamsOn the ground level, the team added folding glass doors on the front wall, which faces a pedestrian promenade. Behind the doors are the coffeeshop and a bar, called Dawn and Dusk, respectively.
    The large openings draw in passersby and help reconnect the building to the neighbourhood.

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    “Space for both locals and travelers is accommodated, returning the building to its roots as a true hospitality venue,” the team said.
    While the exterior has a historic look, the interior is much more modern.
    Local goods from California and Mexican makers were used throughout the designThe team incorporated materials such as concrete and wood. The hotel brand’s Mexican property inspired much of the contemporary furnishings and decor.
    “The hotel is dressed with goods from Californian and Mexican makers, paying homage to the brand’s Baja roots while celebrating its coastal Californian locale,” the team said.
    Soft beige and greys were used throughout the projectThe guest rooms, which range from 145 to 165 square feet (13 to 15 square metres), are compact in comparison to average hotel rooms in the area. Creative solutions, such as under-bed storage, help maximize space.
    Overall, the project has revitalized a building that has long been a fixture in downtown Santa Barbara.
    The building was once closed to the public”The team brought modern life to a building inaccessible to most of the community for so long, bringing a breath of fresh air to downtown, and catering to all,” the team said.
    Anacapa Architecture has offices in Santa Barbara and Portland, Oregon. Additional work by the studio includes a minimalist residence for a California entrepreneur and a glamping resort in Sonoma County that features customised tents and Airstream trailers.
    The photography is by Erin Feinblatt.
    Project credits:
    Architecture and interior Design: ANACAPA ArchitectureContractor: Parton + Edwards ConstructionCivil and structural engineering: Ashley VanceMEP engineering: Consulting WestKitchen, bar, and coffee shop consultant: New School

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    Neon lighting illuminates Strip Joint Chicken by Amanda Hamilton

    Canadian studio Amanda Hamilton Interior Design has used bold colour-blocking and neon lighting to give this Calgary chicken shop a “1990s meets Memphis” feel.

    Strip Joint Chicken in the city’s East Village neighbourhood is a fast-casual restaurant that serves “chicken fingers with a twist”.
    A dark entrance vestibule sets the tone for Strip Joint Chicken’s dining space beyondThe brand is fun, playful and cheeky, so the interiors of its 2,200-square-foot (204-square-metre) space needed to reflect this.
    Working with a return client, Amanda Hamilton Interior Design leant fully into the “offbeat” concept, creating an elevated interpretation of a seedy bar or nightclub that founder Amanda Hamilton described as “1990s meets Memphis”.
    A trio of colourful stripes is used to guide customers to the ordering area, and also spells out the brand’s name on the wall”At times subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) design elements take a nod (or a big ol’ bow) playing to the restaurant’s name,” said the designer. “In a market saturated with options for fast casual, standing out was key.”

    The main entrance vestibule is painted midnight blue and illuminated by vertical bands of neon lighting that connect wall-to-wall across the ceiling. This immersive passageway sets the tone for the main dining area, which is similarly lit with neon.
    Tangles of fluorescent-blue neon tubes are suspended above the service counterTangled fluorescent-blue tubes are positioned above the bar and service counter, while pink and yellow glow from LED strips within large colour-blocked arches that accommodate built-in seating for a row of dining tables.
    “Coloured lighting is used extensively to feature architectural details, enhance volumetric space, ground the bar and highlight seating areas,” Hamilton said.
    LED strips illuminate colour-blocked arched niches, which accommodate bench seatingPart of a larger retail space that was divided into four units, the chicken shop is accessible from both sides of the building.
    Therefore, close attention was paid to the flow of people through the space, and wayfinding tools were implemented to assist both dine-in and take-out customers.
    The arched niches provide space for dine-in guests to enjoy their chicken out the way of take-out customersA trio of thin, coloured stripes are inlaid across floors to guide hungry patrons to the ordering area.
    The same triple-line motif spells out the brand’s name in large letters across a wall, above a pink scallop-topped bench accompanied by small tables and terrazzo stools.

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    Custom-designed feathery wallpaper adorns the back of the central arch and inside the “tender neutral” bathrooms, which are tucked behind bright pink doors.
    For guests wishing to stay longer, a private dining area named the Hens Den is obscured from view by gauzy drapery.
    Custom feathery wallpaper adorns the bathroom interiorsThis monochromatic room features a brass pole in the centre of its dining table, around which a lazy susan for sharing food rotates.
    “As an extension of the space, the predominately custom furniture is equal parts playful and sculptural, creating a conversation-worthy addition to the space,” Hamilton said.
    Located behind bright pink doors, the bathrooms are designated as “tender neutral”The designer founded her eponymous studio in Calgary, where she’s based, and also operates a second location out of Vancouver.
    A trend for bright psychedelia in hospitality and entertainment spaces has been gaining pace recently, with other examples found in Seattle’s Supernova nightclub and the Resonant Head music venue in Oklahoma City.
    The photography is by Joel Klassen.

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    Dion & Arles creates “salon in which you can dine” for Il Gattopardo restaurant

    French design and interiors studio Dion & Arles drew on the work of 20th-century Italian designers Carlo Mollino and Gio Ponti for the interior of Mayfair restaurant Il Gattopardo in London.

    “We envisioned Il Gattopardo to be a salon in which you can dine – not just a restaurant,” the designers told Dezeen.
    The studio looked to Mollino’s apartment in Turin for its balance between modernity and heritage.
    The inner dining room has curved crushed-velvet seating and a large fireplace”Modernity, heritage and sophistication are the three elements we think together define the Italian sensibility, which we tried to translate into the interiors,” Dion & Arles said.
    Il Gattopardo – which is Italian for leopard – is located in Mayfair in central London and aims to “celebrate the golden era of mid-century Italian design in an intimate setting” across five dining spaces, the studio said.

    The main dining room and crudo bar lead through to an inner dining area and second bar, which in turn reveals the intimate “salon”, or living room, which seats 10 people in soft-upholstered armchairs.
    Banquette seating is complemented by groupings of tables and chairsThere is a separate private dining room on the lower ground level.
    The salon room is characterised by crushed-velvet curved seating and a substantial fireplace featuring a bas-relief on its canopy.
    Tables are topped with sepia drawings after artist Piero Fornasetti, which complement the muted amber seating.
    Blue panthers feature on the walls in the entrance spaceIn the main dining room, banquette seating has been kept to a minimum, with tables and chairs otherwise arranged in close groupings.
    A signature leopard print motif appears on rugs, cushions and artworks in various tones ranging from amber to blue.
    “Each project should belong to its specific location,” the studio said.
    “We do not believe in cloning, as it gives the feeling of being everywhere, anywhere. We are trying to make people feel they are in a unique space that cannot be found anywhere else; ‘somewhere’ that belongs to ‘someone.”
    An Italian stone crudo bar sits in the corner of the dining roomThe spaces are decorated with an eclectic mix of free-form sculptures, objets, lamps, picture frames and carpets in vibrant colours.
    These “speak to the influence of the master of Italian flair, the interior designer and architect Gio Ponti,” the studio said.
    A striped fabric informed by the linings of Italian tailoring covers the ceiling. Panelled walls are intended to mimic the dashboard of a vintage Fiat coupé and, in the corner, Italian stone tops the crudo bar.

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    Informed by the eclectic, mix’n’match style of Mollino’s apartment, the private dining room – which features a leopard-print carpet from French interior designer Madeleine Castaing – was designed to feel like a secret refuge.
    “We see patterns as a variation of colour which add density to the palette,” the designers said. “We generally prefer to work with a small-scale pattern, which is less intrusive.”
    The private dining room has soft lighting diffused through fabricClassical sepia frescoes run around the wall of the private dining room above rich navy blue, textured fabric panels.
    Soft lighting is diffused through fabric resting between the ceiling beams, which was designed to mimic a sunset. An illuminated onyx bar adds to the warm lighting scheme.
    The crudo bar has a polished wood-panelled ceilingDesigning the interiors of Il Gattopardo was “a dream commission” the studio said, as it gave it the opportunity to work in a style the designers love.
    “We are always referring to earlier periods when every house and family inherited antique furniture and juxtaposed it with futuristic pieces,” the studio said.
    Reference points for the space also included project by interior designer David Hicks and movies by director Stanley Kubrick.
    “We don’t have rules and we like to take inspiration from great painters, as in most recent compositions by Peter Doig, or the way [Pedro] Almodóvar approaches colour in his films,” the studio added.
    “Everything can go together; bad or good taste is merely a place of refuge for under-confidence. Walking along the borders of taste is more exciting to us.”
    Other restaurant interiors recently featured on Dezeen include GRT Architects’ “vacation Italian” restaurant in New York and Lorenzo Botero and Martín Mendoza’s conversion of a Bogotá residence into a brick-lined restaurant.
    The photography is by James McDonald.

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    Home Studios utilises reclaimed timber for Montauk restaurant renovation

    Brooklyn-based Home Studios has renovated a bar and restaurant in Montauk, using materials like white-washed plaster, glazed tiles and reclaimed timber for a “deliberately minimal approach”.

    Formerly known as Bird on the Roof, the establishment reopened as The Bird earlier this year with refreshed interiors by Home Studios.
    The bar and restaurant areas at The Bird are connected through a cased openingThe space is run by the team behind the Daunt’s Albatross motel, located across the street, which Home Studios overhauled the previous year. The menu was created by chef Marcos Martinez Perez and a beverage programme by Sophia Depasquale.
    “[The clients’] intent was to celebrate the legacy of a 40-year-old adored Montauk establishment, imbuing a familial sense of warmth and hospitality threaded throughout the experience and the design,” said the team.
    Reclaimed timber clads the back bar, while white tiles cover the front of the counter”The aim of the space is to capture the spirit of old Montauk, providing a welcoming home-away-from-home for both visitors and locals to gather at any hour and any season.”

    Located in the town centre, the A-frame building that houses the restaurant has a white bird painted on the side of its roof – hence the original name.
    Red brick flooring is laid in a basketweave bond in the barThe interior is divided in two, with the bar area on one side and the restaurant on the other, connected through a cased opening.
    A muted colour palette across the spaces echoes that used at Daunt’s Albatross and is based on the natural coastal surroundings.
    A similar muted palette continues into the dining roomHome Studios describes it as “a spectrum of whites, warm grays, browns, faded yellows, rusts and ocean blues”.
    In the bar area, red bricks are laid in a basketweave pattern across the floor, and the russet hue is continued by the leather that covers the built-in seating and stool tops.
    Blue tapestries hang above wooden tables and chairsFlooring shifts to reclaimed timber in the dining area, where banquette cushions are upholstered in yellow fabric and the accompanying vintage chairs are all slightly different designs.
    “The restaurant includes a deliberately minimal approach to furniture, lighting and decor, which allows the materiality to shine on its own,” said Home Studios.
    Blue-grey glazed ceramic tiles surround the window and door framesBlue-grey glazed ceramic tiles surround the window and door frames, while thin white tiles wrap the front of the bar counter.
    The same white tiling is found in the bathroom, accessed via a powder-blue door, but with red grouting for a more contemporary twist.

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    Both The Bird and Daunt’s Albatross are run by third-generation proprietor Leo Daunt and his sister Zoe, who grew up in the town and wanted to return both properties to their former glory while retaining their neighbourhood feel.
    “Open year round and transforming with the seasons, [The Bird] will proudly continue its legacy as a community staple – and true Montauk landmark,” said the team.
    Wooden dining chairs that accompany the two-top tables are all slightly different designsSituated at the eastern tip of Long Island, Montauk is a popular summer getaway for New Yorkers that offers a more affordable alternative to the Hamptons nearby.
    However, it’s not without its fair share of expansive beach houses, with a grey wood-clad home by Desciencelab and a residence topped with a swimming pool by Bates Masi as examples.
    Accessed via a powder-blue door, the bathroom features white tiles and red groutingHome Studios was founded by Oliver Haslegrave in 2009 and has since completed a variety of hospitality projects across the US.
    Most recently, it has carried out a revamp of a Nantucket bar and restaurant using maritime references and an Italian restaurant close to Harvard University filled with plush booths and banquettes.
    The photography is by Brian W Ferry.

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