Boutique Design - November 2014 - 118

8

vespoliNa | seattle

118 boutiquedesign.com

November 2014

integrate the herringbone motif and hexagonal
shape that would be reimagined on various
surfaces throughout the space. She delivered a
centerpiece for the dining room in the form of
an art column that deconstructs the inspiration
of the original tile and draws the attention
upward. The fiery bright shades at the top of
one face of the column reference the vividness
of Ginder's hexagonal, metallic and orange
lights while the monochrome tones on another
face pay tribute to the original tile.
A critical step in realizing their vision was
making sure the architecture worked with, not
against, the restaurant's focal point. First, the
flow of the space needed to be redefined to
create a more direct traffic pattern. To accomplish that, the team relocated the entrance and
raised portions of the floor. Then, Ginder's
lighting design had to be based around existing
wiring-quite an assignment considering the
venue had originally housed ornate chandeliers.
"We often come at a problem in a way that
tries to solve things first in an obvious way, and
then try to look to see where we can insert the
unexpected, offering a new twist on the idea,"
says Chun. 

PROJECT
PARTICIPANTS
CLIENTS

Michael Galloway, manager
Jason Stratton, chef
DESIGN AND ARCHITECT

zeroplus

SPECIALTY DESIGN
CONSULTANT

Kate Jessup (tile mural)
GENERAL CONTRACTOR

Dolan Built
lisa chun

FURNITURE

Dolan Built (tables)
Erich Ginder (chairs, stools)

8 Pulling together a cohesive
design from a single piece
of tile meant carrying the
theme down to the smallest details, like the chair
upholstery and mullions on
the cabinets.

LIGHTING

Erich Ginder Studio
SIGNAGE/GRAPHICS

Montenegro Design

WALLCOVERINGS AND
MATERIALS

Dolan Built (wood paneling)
Erich Ginder Studio
(wallcovering)
HAnSOn PHOTO GrOuP

THIS WEST COAST restaurant shows that
wow factors don't always come in big-or
expensive-packages. The explosion of shape
and pattern that makes this Italian eatery a
stand-out in the city's crowded dining scene
started with a tiny catalyst: a single white,
herringbone tile pattern that caught the attention of chef Jason Stratton and Lisa Chun,
cofounder and principal of design firm, zeroplus, when they first walked the raw space.
"We knew we wanted to make that the statement piece, but we also knew we wanted to
riff on the theme, not just repeat the refrain,"
says Chun.
Stratton was interested in the work of local
furniture and lighting designer Erich Ginder,
head of Erich Ginder Studio, so Chun added him
to the mix. "This project required a client and
team who were willing to explore ideas collectively," says Chun, who launched her firm in 1999
with Joshua Brevoort. "The result is nothing that
any one part of the team would have arrived at,
but it enabled us to find a way to unify the look
without just harping on one point."
So, the team challenged artist Kate Jessup to
create a floor-to-ceiling signpost that could
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Boutique Design - November 2014

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