Bar and Restaurant: Inside Out Contracts
Design Insider is thrilled to kickstart our three-month campaign Bar and Restaurant Campaign with Inside Out Contracts.
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In 2020, Taka has opened its second London site. In addition to its original Mayfair location, it is now “bringing a bit of Japan to Marylebone”. The high-end destination likes to keep things “simple” with its Japanese cuisine, and this is reflected in its decor that harnesses that same minimalistic approach.
Inside Out Contracts have collaborated with B3 Designers to create the elegant restaurant interiors. Japanese design encompasses features such as lightness, multi-function, minimalism, neutrality and natural materials. All of these have been carefully captured in the interior of Taka Marylebone from the colour scheme, to the materials, to the features of the furniture, and the chosen layout of the pieces.
The restaurant has a lot of space to fill. Stretching across two floors the simple wood-panelled walls are lined with typical Japanese parasols and a mixture of oak furniture decorates the rooms. One way of creating the simplistic aesthetic is the use of wood throughout. Wood is everywhere you look; from the walls, doors, and showstopper staircase that make up the structure of the building, to the furniture that decorates it.
The interior’s structural elements were considered and drawn upon in the choice of furniture provided. The restaurant is a celebration of the versatile material that is proving to be particularly popular this year; it is especially popular when it features unusual or clever craftsmanship such as bending, which involves a heating process, or carving which requires precise handiwork.
The furniture picked for this restaurant consists of a range from Inside Out’s collection with pieces such as the Yam bar stools that sit up against the bar, finished in a dark lacquer. They have a curved ash-wood backrest that softens the thin and straight lines of the rest of the stool’s structure. The darker colouring of these makes them stand out amongst the rest of the well-lit, light and neutral wood colours that are filtered through the interior. Yellow, fluted leather seats add a touch of softness and muted colour to what would otherwise be a very solid design.
Nude armchairs also beautifully showcase the abilities of a wooden structure with rounded legs and cleverly thought-out angles that are varnished to a high sheen. The chairs are arranged in rows around Solid Oak and Iroko tabletops; Iroko wood harnesses a lovely warm colour reminiscent of teak and oak continues the neutral appearance that spreads throughout. They sit upon a mixture of bespoke table bases and Axis table bases. The bespoke products are designed in-house at Inside Out’s office and manufactured here in the UK, whilst the Axis table bases feature a clever design; they appear simplistic but feature a foot design that enables the tables to be slotted together if they need to be stored away. This creates a highly multi-functioning space that is strongly versatile which fits in with the former stated Japanese design tropes.
The space at Taka is a real celebration of wooden craftsmanship and Japanese minimalistic influence, proving that sticking to one material can result in a brilliant and fresh design scheme.
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