Commercially Inspired
Tap into the elevated aesthetics at design-minded restaurants to re-create their stunning interiors and exteriors at home.
To some, Bosscat Kitchen & Libations may look like an elegant mash-up of speakeasy- meets-steampunk. But for the restaurant’s designer, Hootan Hamedani of Hootan & Associates, the source of inspiration came from a much earlier time. “Imagine you are a knight on your horse, passing through farmlands, coming back to the castle from the war,” he describes. “When you come to Bosscat, we want you to feel that you have entered a time machine and traveled to a different time.”
Bosscat is part of the recent wave of businesses using interior decor to win over our eyes before winning over our wallets. From small-scale sliding barn doors adorning the exposed brick walls to caged metal accents living alongside posh leather seats, there’s much to admire in the industrial-chic space.
Restaurants such as Bosscat and Fig & Olive—and many others—can serve as reallife Pinterest boards for patrons with an eye for design. By understanding the intention behind these seemingly lofty concepts and tapping into the right combination of key colors, textures and finishes, you can replicate the look and feel of your favorite culinary environments into your favorite place of all: home.
Industrial Living
Bosscat makes its mark as a bastion of all that is industrial-chic, and it does it well. In fact, Hootan & Associates was recently recognized for the restaurant’s cutting-edge design with the prestigious A’Design Bronze Award in 2014. Characterized by strong, functional elements with an urban edge— every freestanding piece of furniture is constructed from some combination of reclaimed wood, metal and vintage gears or wheels—Bosscat’s style of decor translates well to residential living rooms.
Recreate the restaurant’s look and feel by taking a page from Hamedani’s design strategy for Bosscat: Invest in refurbished industrial materials—wheels, gears, chains and other vintage metals—to provide accent pieces for the walls or furniture. Even if you’re not ready to pursue a complete renovation to adopt Bosscat’s brick-lined walls, mixing the sleek appeal of leather sofas or chairs with the rich texture of old wood on farmhouse side tables or wall hangings can introduce a similar appeal into a living room. And for a dramatic finishing touch, a worthwhile investment is the addition of a sliding barn door; it’s a functional execution of the industrial trend that transitions easily from a commercial space to the home.
Take it Outside
To step into the outdoor dining space at Fashion Island’s Fig & Olive is to be transported to the French Riviera at the California coast—and intentionally so. “Every detail was meant to authentically replicate a Riviera oasis in Newport Beach,” says Fig & Olive founder Laurent Halasz. “It felt more like designing a home than a restaurant.”
Halasz—who grew up in the south of France in the hilltop village of Mougins—was inspired by the villas found throughout the olive-producing region, where the outdoors are widely embraced. With this in mind, he designed Fig & Olive with the desire to draw the focus out.
An immense white stone fireplace anchors the expansive patio, which features retractable canopies overhead. Woven wicker chairs and white wooden benches are topped with pleasing green cushions, a color palette Halasz chose because of the inviting atmosphere it creates. The structure of the patio itself is composed of staunch wooden beams evocative of a mountain cabin, lending a sense of a residential coziness to the space.
Bringing the feeling of this regal place home can be accomplished through a variety of mediums. The use of tranquil colors and cozy fabrics against crisp, clean lines is an aesthetic that hearkens back to the French sense of design that so inspired Halasz. A wooden pergola can anchor an outdoor dining area, giving structure and definition to the space while adding the warmth and richness of wood that mimics Fig & Olive’s patio. Bring flames into the equation with a centralized outdoor fire pit that can serve as a gathering area for drinks and conversation.
“The nice thing is this type of design ages well,” Halasz says. “It is not a fad. It is a design that respects both tradition and modernity. It is timeless.”
Whiskey Row
Although visual appeal may not be its primary purpose, the quirky or elegant presentation of a liquor bottle can lend a design element of its own to a bar space. Bosscat, known for its whiskey selection as much as its Southern artisanal fare, celebrates the bottle with gusto in the design of a whiskey room constructed around reverence for the complex drink. The room, encased in glass windows and set quietly behind the bar, catches the eye with its wall of more than 100 bottles displayed in neat rows and lit strategically with a warm glow that mirrors the warmth of the liquor inside them.
Creating a whiskey-dedicated area of the home is simple: It doesn’t have to encompass an entire room, but can simply be a cabinet. An aged wooden cabinet, for example, can mimic the production process that makes whiskey itself so fine. Hamedani recommends using orange LED lights inside of the cabinet to add visual warmth reflecting the color of the liquor, and to close it up with a decorative lock—a rusted version with a chain would further emphasize the rustic nature of the drink.
If you prefer to go grand with a full-scale at-home bar, Hamedani recommends keeping the seating height low and the fabric textures comfortable for a more intimate experience.
“Whiskey is meant to be enjoyed,” Hamedani says. “You sip it, taste it, smell it, touch it and play around with it. This process of drinking dictates a cozier space.” NBM
BEAUTY AND THE BATHROOM
WHILE RESTAURANTS OFFER GREAT IDEAS FOR AT-HOME GATHERING SPACES, BORROW INSPIRATION FROM ONE SALON IN NEWPORT TO DESIGN YOUR DREAM BATHROOM.
Set one foot inside the white-and-yellow palace that is Fashion Island’s Drybar, and you’ll know you’re not inside an ordinary hair salon. “It’s girl heaven,” says founder Alli Webb. “Signature elements include our custom styling chairs, tufted fabric walls, marble bars, built-in iPhone charging stations and flat-screens playing your favorite rom-com chick flick—with subtitles of course.
“I’d describe the decor of Drybar as bright, feminine, sophisticated, and clean with a splash of whimsy,” she continues.
Webb, who recently redecorated her own bathroom to mimic elements from Drybar, has some simple advice for embodying the salon’s characteristics at home:
To some, Bosscat Kitchen & Libations may look like an elegant mash-up of speakeasy- meets-steampunk. But for the restaurant’s designer, Hootan Hamedani of Hootan & Associates, the source of inspiration came from a much earlier time. “Imagine you are a knight on your horse, passing through farmlands, coming back to the castle from the war,” he describes. “When you come to Bosscat, we want you to feel that you have entered a time machine and traveled to a different time.”
Bosscat is part of the recent wave of businesses using interior decor to win over our eyes before winning over our wallets. From small-scale sliding barn doors adorning the exposed brick walls to caged metal accents living alongside posh leather seats, there’s much to admire in the industrial-chic space.
Restaurants such as Bosscat and Fig & Olive—and many others—can serve as reallife Pinterest boards for patrons with an eye for design. By understanding the intention behind these seemingly lofty concepts and tapping into the right combination of key colors, textures and finishes, you can replicate the look and feel of your favorite culinary environments into your favorite place of all: home.
Industrial Living
Bosscat makes its mark as a bastion of all that is industrial-chic, and it does it well. In fact, Hootan & Associates was recently recognized for the restaurant’s cutting-edge design with the prestigious A’Design Bronze Award in 2014. Characterized by strong, functional elements with an urban edge— every freestanding piece of furniture is constructed from some combination of reclaimed wood, metal and vintage gears or wheels—Bosscat’s style of decor translates well to residential living rooms.
Recreate the restaurant’s look and feel by taking a page from Hamedani’s design strategy for Bosscat: Invest in refurbished industrial materials—wheels, gears, chains and other vintage metals—to provide accent pieces for the walls or furniture. Even if you’re not ready to pursue a complete renovation to adopt Bosscat’s brick-lined walls, mixing the sleek appeal of leather sofas or chairs with the rich texture of old wood on farmhouse side tables or wall hangings can introduce a similar appeal into a living room. And for a dramatic finishing touch, a worthwhile investment is the addition of a sliding barn door; it’s a functional execution of the industrial trend that transitions easily from a commercial space to the home.
Take it Outside
To step into the outdoor dining space at Fashion Island’s Fig & Olive is to be transported to the French Riviera at the California coast—and intentionally so. “Every detail was meant to authentically replicate a Riviera oasis in Newport Beach,” says Fig & Olive founder Laurent Halasz. “It felt more like designing a home than a restaurant.”
Halasz—who grew up in the south of France in the hilltop village of Mougins—was inspired by the villas found throughout the olive-producing region, where the outdoors are widely embraced. With this in mind, he designed Fig & Olive with the desire to draw the focus out.
An immense white stone fireplace anchors the expansive patio, which features retractable canopies overhead. Woven wicker chairs and white wooden benches are topped with pleasing green cushions, a color palette Halasz chose because of the inviting atmosphere it creates. The structure of the patio itself is composed of staunch wooden beams evocative of a mountain cabin, lending a sense of a residential coziness to the space.
Bringing the feeling of this regal place home can be accomplished through a variety of mediums. The use of tranquil colors and cozy fabrics against crisp, clean lines is an aesthetic that hearkens back to the French sense of design that so inspired Halasz. A wooden pergola can anchor an outdoor dining area, giving structure and definition to the space while adding the warmth and richness of wood that mimics Fig & Olive’s patio. Bring flames into the equation with a centralized outdoor fire pit that can serve as a gathering area for drinks and conversation.
“The nice thing is this type of design ages well,” Halasz says. “It is not a fad. It is a design that respects both tradition and modernity. It is timeless.”
Whiskey Row
Although visual appeal may not be its primary purpose, the quirky or elegant presentation of a liquor bottle can lend a design element of its own to a bar space. Bosscat, known for its whiskey selection as much as its Southern artisanal fare, celebrates the bottle with gusto in the design of a whiskey room constructed around reverence for the complex drink. The room, encased in glass windows and set quietly behind the bar, catches the eye with its wall of more than 100 bottles displayed in neat rows and lit strategically with a warm glow that mirrors the warmth of the liquor inside them.
Creating a whiskey-dedicated area of the home is simple: It doesn’t have to encompass an entire room, but can simply be a cabinet. An aged wooden cabinet, for example, can mimic the production process that makes whiskey itself so fine. Hamedani recommends using orange LED lights inside of the cabinet to add visual warmth reflecting the color of the liquor, and to close it up with a decorative lock—a rusted version with a chain would further emphasize the rustic nature of the drink.
If you prefer to go grand with a full-scale at-home bar, Hamedani recommends keeping the seating height low and the fabric textures comfortable for a more intimate experience.
“Whiskey is meant to be enjoyed,” Hamedani says. “You sip it, taste it, smell it, touch it and play around with it. This process of drinking dictates a cozier space.” NBM
BEAUTY AND THE BATHROOM
WHILE RESTAURANTS OFFER GREAT IDEAS FOR AT-HOME GATHERING SPACES, BORROW INSPIRATION FROM ONE SALON IN NEWPORT TO DESIGN YOUR DREAM BATHROOM.
Set one foot inside the white-and-yellow palace that is Fashion Island’s Drybar, and you’ll know you’re not inside an ordinary hair salon. “It’s girl heaven,” says founder Alli Webb. “Signature elements include our custom styling chairs, tufted fabric walls, marble bars, built-in iPhone charging stations and flat-screens playing your favorite rom-com chick flick—with subtitles of course.
“I’d describe the decor of Drybar as bright, feminine, sophisticated, and clean with a splash of whimsy,” she continues.
Webb, who recently redecorated her own bathroom to mimic elements from Drybar, has some simple advice for embodying the salon’s characteristics at home:
- Build a clean yet colorful foundation. “While wanting to keep a clean, white, uncluttered space, we also loved the idea of happy pops of yellow,” Webb says. Take cues from Drybar’s shampoo lounge and find wallpaper with an interlocking floral motif to introduce your favorite shade without overpowering a bathroom or dressing room.
- Add functional elements. To keep a small bathroom feeling large, stick with a crisp white for your furnishings and countertops. Webb suggests a marble finish for the vanity as well as a white tufted vanity chair, which mirrors the wall hanging in Drybar’s reception area.
- Finish with decorative touches. Webb’s favorite decorative element at Drybar is the yellow “buttercup” chandelier, a delightful bouquet of blow dryers that doubles as an overhead light fixture. You can also borrow decorative inspiration from the salon’s entryway with a white-framed vanity mirror surrounded by a swatch of color in the same hue as your wallpaper accent.
