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    Bindloss Dawes converts 18th-century pub into light-filled Michelin-starred restaurant

    Architecture studio Bindloss Dawes has renovated an 18th-century pub in Somerset, England, to create an “intimate” new home for the Osip farm-to-table restaurant.

    Helmed by chef Merlin Labron-Johnson, Michelin-starred Osip was located on Bruton High Street in Somerset until August of this year, when it was transferred to a nearby Georgian pub built in 1730.
    Bindloss Dawes has created a new home for OsipLocal architecture office Bindloss Dawes stripped the three-storey building back to its original shell by removing a series of recent additions. The studio also stabilised the pub’s existing stone walls and relayed its slate roofs.
    Rewashed in white lime, the textured facade is characterised by limestone door and window frames, which complement the surrounding planted garden that supports Osip’s seasonal menu.
    An open theatre kitchen features floor-to-ceiling glazingOn the interior, Bindloss Dawes sought to illuminate the ground-floor restaurant with natural light while retaining a sense of the pub’s former character.

    Low, beamed ceilings feature across the seating area, which overlooks an open kitchen framed by floor-to-ceiling glazing and crowned by a geometric skylight.
    Earthenware flooring was laid across the seating area”The original Osip had a road-facing window and a small serving hatch, giving diners a limited view of the kitchen,” studio co-founder Oliver Bindloss told Dezeen.
    “In the new restaurant, we have opened up new windows and the garden to create wide views of the surrounding landscape.”
    The kitchen includes chunky bar stoolsBindloss Dawes chose a palette of natural materials when dressing the interior spaces.
    A deep red, locally sourced earthenware floor was laid across the seating area in a nod to the pub’s original charred crimson clinker floors. The breathable material was also selected for its acoustically absorbent properties.
    Artist Max Bainbridge hand-carved a knobbly timber barArtist Max Bainbridge of Somerset studio Forest + Found hand-carved a knobbly central drinks bar out of local timber gathered from the neighbouring woods, while abstract artworks add subtle colour to the otherwise white-washed walls.
    The kitchen is defined by a mixture of stainless steel, timber accents and chunky bar stools upholstered in Somerset textiles. Dimmable lighting was fitted throughout the restaurant to enhance a setting where diners can “focus on the food”, according to Bindloss.

    William Floyd Maclean designs modular timber furniture that “considers a wider picture”

    “The interior design is intimate, filled with natural light and open to the landscape,” said the studio co-founder.
    “Osip’s materials and makers represent the same things as its food – locally sourced and representing the best of Somerset and the south west,” he added.
    Osip includes a garden for growing seasonal produceBindloss Dawes also restored the building’s first and second floors, which extend into the original roof rafters and house four double guestrooms with en-suite bathrooms, furnished to reflect the downstairs restaurant.
    The studio opened its Bruton practice in 2018 and has completed Somerset projects ranging from the renovation of a Grade II-listed house in Pitcombe with a contemporary timber extension to a car barn for a classic Porsche collector.
    The photography is by Dave Watts.

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    Eight wooden kitchens that make the most of the material

    Swirly cabinets and oak-lined ceilings feature in our latest lookbook, which collects eight residential kitchens from around the world where wood takes centre stage.

    Strong, versatile and often sustainable, timber is a favourite material among architects and designers.
    From an east London dwelling that is almost entirely underground to a rural Tasmanian farmhouse, here are eight homes united by their wooden kitchens.
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration, see previous lookbooks featuring converted barns, eclectic hotels and micro interiors.
    Photo by Fionn McCannChurchtown, Ireland, by Scullion Architects

    Churchtown is a curved glass extension to a family home in Dublin, designed by Scullion Architects as a family-focussed space.
    The studio was informed by 1930s modernism when creating the kitchen, which is characterised by stained oak-panelled cabinetry.
    Find out more about Churchtown ›
    Photo by Max Hart NibbrigBolívar House, Spain, by Juan Gurrea Rumeu
    Architect Gurrea Rumeu designed this home for himself and his wife in Barcelona.
    Swirly dark wood was used to create tall kitchen cabinets, while concrete walls and floors add an industrial touch to the interior.
    Find out more about Bolívar House ›
    Photo courtesy of James ShawLondon house, UK, by James Shaw
    Known for making extruded recycled plastic furniture, designer Shaw applied his off-beat creative approach to his own London home which he designed with architect Nicholas Ashby to be almost entirely underground.
    Shaw created kitchen cabinets out of veneered MDF, which he paired with worktops formed from pale blue HIMACS and stainless steel.
    Find out more about this London house ›
    Photo by Jonas Bjerre-PoulsenFjord Boat House, Denmark, by Norm Architects
    Fjord Boat House is a lakeside holiday home that sits near the border of Denmark and Germany.
    Danish studio Norm Architects chose a warm interior palette for the dwelling, including a kitchen defined by oak cabinets and ceilings and handmade ceramic brick flooring.
    Find out more about Fjord Boat House ›
    Photo by Dianna SnapeCoopworth, Tasmania, by FMD Architects
    FMD Architects designed a farmhouse in rural Tasmania with a plywood-lined kitchen and living spaces separated by a statement wood-burning stove.
    Located on Bruny Island, Coopworth features corrugated metal cladding that references vernacular agricultural buildings.
    Find out more about Coopworth ›
    Photo by Daniëlle SiobhánZwaag house, the Netherlands, by DAB Studio
    Two types of timber were used to clad the floors, walls, ceiling and cabinets of this kitchen at a family home in Zwaag, the Netherlands.
    DAB Studio renovated the floors and ceiling with hand-scraped oak, while Afromosia wood – a tropical hardwood native to west Africa – was applied to the cabinets and walls.
    Find out more about this Zwaag house ›
    Photo by Andrew PogueHood Cliff Retreat, USA, by Wittman Estes
    Architecture studio Wittman Estes sought to immerse Hood Cliff Retreat “in the stillness of the forest” on its wooded site in Washington State.
    White oak floors and pine plywood ceilings feature in the neutral-hued kitchen, designed with floor-to-ceiling glazing that reveals the surrounding trees.
    Find out more about Hood Cliff Retreat ›
    Photo by Mark Durling PhotographyMalibu Surf Shack, USA, by Kelly Wearstler
    Interior designer Kelly Wearstler transformed a 1950s beachfront cottage in Malibu, California, into a bohemian retreat for herself and her family.
    Chunky wooden cabinets and drawers characterise the kitchen, created in the designer’s distinctive eclectic style.
    Find out more about Malibu Surf Shack ›
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration, see previous lookbooks featuring converted barns, eclectic hotels and micro interiors. 

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    Niceworkshop applies artificial wood grain texture to Seoul cafe interior

    South Korean studio Niceworkshop has designed a pared-back interior for a cafe in Seoul, where concrete walls and stainless-steel furnishings are finished to mimic wood.

    Set in the city’s multicultural Itaewon district, HaHouse Cafe operates alongside an exhibition space on the floor above, designed by Niceworkshop founder Hyunseog Oh in 2022.
    Niceworkshop has given Seoul’s HaHouse Cafe a pared-back makeoverThe initial demolition phase revealed a pair of concrete walls that informed the spatial arrangement of both the gallery and the cafe, as well as influencing the raw material palette applied across both interiors.
    Oh used concrete, metal and wood to reference the project’s urban setting, adding natural textures to the manmade materials to create a sense of visual cohesion.
    The studio etched a wood grain pattern onto stainless-steel furnishings”The wood inside HaHouse Cafe serves as the basis for the texture that expresses nature,” the designer explained. “It bridges the modern urban environment with nature, symbolising their coexistence.”

    The interior applies the same principles as Oh’s Neo-Naturalism furniture series, which features a wood grain pattern etched onto geometric stainless-steel seats and tables.
    Hand-sanded doors with opaque framing lead to a storage area and restroomThe use of concrete for the walls and ceiling was informed by the two existing walls that delineate the space. Concrete applied to the surfaces was stamped with wood to create a natural texture.
    The serving counter and utility spaces along one wall are clad in aluminium with a subtly reflective satin finish.

    Teki Design creates Kyoto cafe as hub to “learn about the future of coffee”

    A pair of doors leading to a storage area and restroom feature reflective surfaces that Oh sanded by hand to create an opaque frame around the edges.
    “Through the opaque reflective surface, I wanted to show both the artificial nature inside the space and the real nature outside the window,” he told Dezeen.
    Individual NN stools combine to create a larger bench with a concave seatMuch of the furniture used in the cafe was created especially to complement the interior’s pared-back material palette.
    Expanding on the Neo-Naturalism furniture series from 2023, the chairs and lights were engraved using a Dremel tool to create a wood grain pattern.
    The tactile Neo-Naturalism tables are made from solid ash and red oakThe NN tables are made from solid ash and red oak, bringing warmth and tactility to the otherwise austere space. The legs and tops are joined at the corners using simple nuts and bolts.
    Other furniture items include the NN stools, which are informed by standard-sawn timber logs. Four of the 20-by-20 centimetre sections are combined to create a stool with a concave seat.
    Niceworkshop also created a series of custom lights for the cafeAccording to Oh, the main objective with the HaHouse project was to create a cultural space that appeals to a variety of people and provides them with a new spatial experience.
    Previous experimental projects from Niceworkshop include a furniture collection made using skyscraper formwork salvaged from construction sites that was presented at this year’s Milan design week.
    Oh founded his studio in 2021 after completing a bachelor’s degree in interior architecture at Soongsil University. He works alongside Sangmyeong Yoo, who manages the office’s business affairs.
    The photography is courtesy of HaHouse Cafe.

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