Bar/Bistro Makeover

Our client recently purchased a new leisure venue and asked us to undertake a high impact, quick-makeover with the minimum of disruption (the venue could only close for 48 hours), followed up by a proposed major renovation project in Spring 2010.

The venue is a bistro by day and a bar by night. Although it is in a great location, it was not reaching its potential in an area with significant night-life activity.

The main challenge was to develop a scheme which had to work both during the daytime as a comfortable eating venue and then transform to a trendy bar in the evening (seeking to attract a sophisticated clientele). Structural change was out of the question until the major renovation.

The first thing we did was to get rid of the retro 80s black, red & magnolia theme that was a little harsh for daytime and a little too retro for the evening. We started by doing away with the large amount of magnolia walls and the odd red feature wall, replacing these with rich claret and greens. A little light silver was introduced to highlight key areas, whilst woodwork was refreshed with a soft putty hue. These combinations work well during the day being restful on the eye and surprisingly complementary, but come alive at night when they ooze trendy chic. The overall effect was to stop the room feeling too cavernous and cold, instead introducing an inviting atmosphere that customers will want to embrace and feel welcome in for a long time.

Lighting was altered to be less harsh throughout and wall panels were replaced with smoked mirrors – which lessened the impact of a wall in the middle of the venue and helped guests look just that little bit better!
Exhausted leather dining chairs that were scuffed from being hauled about, were replaced with trendy Panton Chairs in Matt Black that stack neatly away creating great bar space in the evening, without giving the staff too many storage headaches to deal with. These worked terrifically with the great black granite and steel tables that came from the original venue.

Comfortable table level stools upholstered in Olive and Mulberry were introduced to provide somewhere to perch in the evening, whilst new coffee tables and colour co-ordinated sofa cushions were added to allow relaxed drinking and dining.

The obligatory legal certificates were framed with smart black surrounds to ensure they also felt part of the scheme. Both bar areas were reorganised, de-cluttered and made to sparkle.

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