We love our gastronomy projects. In the studio, we always take pleasure in fine dining with family and friends. For this reason, we were very happy to accept the invitation to design restaurant Santo located in a classic neighborhood in Madrid, near the Real Theater.
The chef-owner had a clear vision of the kind of food and style of dishes she wanted to serve in her restaurant; market food, fresh, delicious ingredients that her clientele would take pleasure in.
She mentioned her desire to unite the kitchen with the dining room, incorporating her kitchen tools as part of the decor so the diners would feel the mood of the preparation of the dishes in the ambience.
The space, measuring 180m2, was a former art gallery that had closed some years before. Nevertheless, its long, diaphanous structure was perfect to begin drawing the plans. We defined the entrance halls, the number of tables and that of diners in the main dining room, the access to the restrooms and the zones of circulation.
We defined the kitchen space with the chef and we gave her advice on the lining giving the experienced chef-owner room to design her kitchen to fulfill her needs and taste.
We kept a portion of the polished, light grey cement floors. We installed light green hydraulic tiles with geometric motifs which added a graphic design and movement to the entrance hall of the restaurant. We converted the air conditioning tubes that were attached to the floors into a beautiful sofa that concealed the tubing.
A treatment to minimize the acoustics was made on the ceiling and one wall as well as the renovation of the electrical system and we soundproofed the entire space.
We chose an industrial aesthetic due to the existing objects that were filled with history; machine and production components that attracted us for its traditional and aesthetic value. We went to Brussels and the north of France seeking furniture and utensils of that period. The antique shops in Brussels have a great variety of objects and furniture in great ships around the center. It was a very gratifying trip where we found many perfect pieces for the restaurant and where we dined, really, really well.
This project involved a great deal of carpentry since the tables and shelves were custom made. It was important that the diners had a well thought out dining room, down to the millimeter, in order to enjoy the entire experience. The supporting furniture, the hallway bureau, and the table for the coffee machine were brought from this trip.
In Paris, I bought painted paper for the restrooms that referenced small porcelain dishes adding color, movement and happiness to the space. That is also where the triptych of cutlery derives from that decorated one of the walls.
We had a lot of fun dispensing a pout pourrit of weaved fabric and various objects as decoration. Varied 1950’s English mirrors composed the entry hall. The weaved textiles with stamped pineapples and birds combined with the raffia really well on the sofa. A great variety of pictures with mediterranean motifs decorated a corner of the restaurant mixed in with rusted bread molds from an industrial bakery.
The best part of participating in restaurant projects is to see how people enjoy the space and the food bringing life to our creation. We loved designing Restaurant Santo and mostly all of the compliments that we have received.