Having articulated an aesthetic direction and ideas, I'm ready to seek inspiration from existing bars and commercial environments, and start honing in on specific details that will help us achieve these design goals.
Pinterest is, of course, the app for that, so most of the following images were found through hours of scouring pictures of bars, bathrooms, and booths that feel most compatible with my vision of a dark, moody, elegant-yet-approachable social venue.
Right away, I find that this is my vibe: saturated blues, soft velvet and leather seating, warm light, and showy details. Let's see some more.
Yep. This is the direction I'm most intrigued by. Not overly florally or sparkly, the elegance comes from a confident, simple approach to mood-creation: a balance in soft and rigid details; warm and cool tones; light and dark spaces; fine, thoughtful details and furniture. Our space is blessed with some strong features already—14' copper-painted ceilings, solid oak floors, interesting windows and doorways, brass wall sconces—so I want to make decisions that complement those existing features. I love these bluish-greens and how they pair with warm orange/copper/gold metal tones. I love the bank of organic copper pendants in the middle of this bunch of photos. Lighting is largely accent: wall sconces, art lamps, table candles, bar lamps.
Some ideas for back bars, the decorative bottle storage area behind the bartender and the front bar, where drinks are made. I really like the idea of integrating mirrors and warm lighting into the back bar, both as a means of creating interesting sightlines for guests—especially those at the bar—and to help add a jewel-like shimmer that will create a main focal-point within our large, spacious room. The half-circle rounded arch is a motif that is found elsewhere in our building; perhaps we embrace that? I'm also drawn to the more comfortable-looking barstools, made of colorful leather, with wide seats and tall, supportive backs. Again, accent lighting abounds.
We also have two bathrooms to remodel—a men's and women's—that will serve a variety of visitors in the downstairs of the building. They need to simultaneously pair well with the aesthetic of the bar itself—dim, moody and beautiful—and still be able to serve other visitors to the building during the day. I love the vertically-oriented subway tiles in the first two photos. There are some options to consider for the sinks—vessel, under-mount, or built into the counter surface itself. Wall-mount faucets are popular and keep the counter less cluttered. Extra counter-top space for fresh-flowers and other accoutrements is a nice touch.
Having filtered out thousands of photos of places that don't suit my aesthetic direction, I'm left with a moodboard of inspiring ideas to help me evaluate actual building materials, fixtures, and furniture from the marketplace. How can I achieve these design goals with what's actually available and affordable?
Meanwhile, I must start sketching out some ideas for shaping the space itself: how big should the bar be and where should it be placed?; how many people should we plan on accommodating, in which configurations, and how will they be seated?; what are the ideal sightlines and traffic flows through our space?; how does one even build a bar, or a back bar?; what equipment is necessary and how should it be arranged? And on and on. We'll dig into some of that next time.
What do you think of this design direction? If you have comments or ideas, I'd love to hear them at josh@abolderhumboldt.com. Want to see more? You can see my full pinboard, and follow along, on Pinterest.