Nature is a boundless source of inspiration for many creative pursuits. And just as no two scenes or experiences in the natural environment are identical, the ways in which designers reinterpret the earth’s beauty are vast and varied. One fine example is on display in Quebec, Canada, where the team at Ivy Studio Inc borrowed from the magnificence of the sun setting over the Syrian Desert to compose a striking restaurant setting. Named Shay, the chic eatery’s fit-out echoes a brief moment in time, just before nightfall, when a palette of watery pinks illuminated the sky, the searing sand and everything in between.
Sited in the heart of Montreal’s culinary scene, on Notre Dame Street in Griffintown, Shay offers diners an escape from the monotone brick-and-stone building facades of the main strip. Once inside, guests are invited to sip a selection of Middle Eastern teas – or perhaps imbibe something a little harder – immersed in a world of colour and texture. It’s a place with a relaxing mood, punctuated by burgundy surfaces and rhythmic lighting pieces set against concrete floors and warm-white walls. Described by the designers as appearing like “carved windswept canyons”, the sinuous forms of the many banquettes curve their way through the space, guiding guests into various zones or cocooning them as they dine.
Shay restaurant in Quebec by Ivy Studio Inc
Working with a local Canadian artist, Ivy Studio Inc created a hand-painted mural, depicting a faded sun-kissed mountainscape, to adorn the entryway. The same painterly style is mirrored on the facade of the waiter’s station where its central position captures the eye from all directions. The station is accompanied by a “monumental” bar capped in violet and robin’s egg blue marble. Tasked with commanding attention on the eastern side of the space, the bar is crowned by an overhead light fixture that stretches nearly six metres in length.
During the day, the embroidered navy banquettes offer a casual spot for sharing tea around the bar area. But the designers insist these sought-after seats quickly transform into “a comfortable happy-hour spot for informal gatherings” in the evening. Furthermore, the main dining room is elevated on a mahogany platform creating a more intimate dining experience. Generous rose-coloured banquettes sweep the periphery of the space, spotted by secluded enclaves for small groups. Custom built-in table lamps dot the room “like stars in the night”, matched by oversized globes that “fall” over the large tables intended for group dining.
Sheer ripple-fold curtains in a sandy beige tone line the western wall of the dining room, adding to the softness of the airy atmosphere. Throughout the room, the exposed steel-beamed ceiling is layered with more than a thousand feet (about three hundred metres) of “fabric bannisters” that hang in linear strands over the tables. “[The bannisters] make the entire restaurant feel as if it’s under a flapping Bedouin tent or crowded evening market,” the designers explain, adding that the ceiling surface beyond the sheer fabric strips is painted a deep burgundy “just like the setting sky”.
The team at Ivy Studio Inc borrowed from the magnificence of the sun setting over the Syrian Desert to compose a striking restaurant setting.
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