“Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity.”
―
Architecture, Interior Design, and Lighting Design
Eldred, New York
2021
This unique restaurant in the Catskills was designed as part of a larger resort complex built on the site of a beloved Catskills restaurant that closed due to a fire many years prior. Our challenge was to provide a new social gathering spot for the area, that evoked the same charm and nostalgia that locals remembered from the original restaurant.
The restaurant was designed to keep one step in the past, while bringing a fresh current design to entice new patrons to the area. The design seamlessly brings the beautiful outside natural setting inside, and the indoors out creating an open-air feel year-round. The architecture of the building uses natural stone and wood from the area. Those materials are continuous on the inside, and we highlighted those natural elements on the interior. To enforce the ‘outside coming in’ concept, we designed in a few large planters with oversized trees and botanicals to fill the volume of space. Everything about the interior design enhances the feeling that guests are dining outdoors. The large chandeliers in the 2-story restaurant space evoke the feel of a tree canopy.
The 2-story art piece, commissioned by artist David Ward, is created out of tree branches and mirror intended to reflect the light and beauty of the outdoors. There is a large exterior terrace for lakeside dining, offering a variety of seating from a romantic deuce to a large garden party. The magic ingredient to this indoor/ outdoor design is the lighting. Here we used warm LED lighting to graze the hard materials and light up the whole resort. There are festoon lights, and floor lamps on the exterior, to give a warm, inviting glow to the dining experience.
Accolades:
ASID Design Excellence Awards, Hospitality Restaurants, Gold
IIDA Georgia Best of the Best Award, Finalist in Restaurants
