Midtown East, NYC │ 1,380 SF
Year: 2022
Photographed by: Ivan Nikolov
Coletta
2022
The entrance of the restaurant features a brutalist design that showcases the bare polished concrete material with a hand-written logo and a minimalist front storefront window façade.
The front bar of the restaurant is designed with different wall textures, including a Nemo tile wall cover with a light sconce and a polished stucco wall with a hand-painted backdrop by NY-based artist Lia Ali, complementing the bar shelves and the whole cocktail area.
The front of the bar displays an array of different seating types, with a long wooden bench and wooden window shutters attached to the brick walls to evoke images of old Europe and contribute to the warm and cozy atmosphere.
The windows also encase a niche showcasing antique vases and figurines from Indonesia and a mirror wall background, reflecting the lights and the movements within the restaurant.
The intermediate area of the restaurant demonstrates an existing brick wall, divided by painted wooden walls with attached sconces and the same material as the shed's ceiling, mimicking the vibe of an Italian villa.
The rear of the restaurant also showcases other various seating arrangements, with an L-shaped wine cabinetry reaching out to almost the full height of the wall and an open ceiling with overscaled pendant lighting. The design of the wall also continues to the back end, with a circular center-piece mirror and hand-painted backdrops.
The other side of the rear of the restaurant continues the seating arrangement in the front, with the long wooden bench, custom seats, and wooden window shutters attached to the brick walls, plus an arrangement of cutting boards and pizza boards as a sculptural composition.
The ceiling is designed to be open but with a different color palette in order to give the illusion of a difference in elevation, making the ceiling a little bit closer to the ground, in combination with a set of oversized circular pendant lights, giving a more intimate feeling and atmosphere between the guests.