Run For The Hills designs ‘deco-fabulous’ dining at Bondi Green

Following their successful Scarlett Green restaurant scheme in Soho, Run For The Hills opted for a paired-back, semi-industrial theme for this new venue, building upon the high ceilings and raw concrete backdrop of the site, and adding touches of luxury throughout.

The Bondi Green restaurant’s large main bar includes two cocktail stations and a dedicated tank beer and wine tasting zone. ‘For our core decorative scheme, we decided with our clients to leave some of the walls beautifully raw and untouched, simply highlighted with soft washes of light. Other walls we knocked back further and embellished with decorative effects,’ says Anna Burles, Run For The Hills’ Creative Director.

The walls behind the beer tanks have been distressed with a special decorative effect, shot through with metallic gold touches and hand-finished by artist Tabby Riley, who was commissioned to add some of the special touches to sister venue, Scarlett Green. ‘We had great fun designing this centrepiece, injecting a luxe feel by playing with dramatic curved forms and arches,’ adds Anna. ‘The bar was concepted around the beating heart of the mixologists, but it also has a perfectly positioned ‘opening’ in the centre of the back bar, offering a direct view down the barrel of the pizza oven set behind the bar.’

The team has kept the rest of the bar finishes fresh and light in pale refined concrete, in keeping with the industrial theme. The back bar is dominated by a range of curved arches set at different heights, in dusky coloured pigmented plaster from Clayworks, picked out with soft lighting, highlighting the curves and casting a glow onto the antique mirrored shelves, glassware and bottles. The fluted bar front is also raw, contrasting with a lush, seaweed-toned marble countertop with double bullnose edge. Rising above the kitchen pass is a series of glazed metal framed panels featuring atmospheric botanical motifs by artist Justin J Hibbs.

The design scheme centres on a modern Deco-beach palette of clashing pinks, corals, pale mints, teal greens, and dusky blues. Oversized ‘Deco-fabulous’ booth-banquettes in clashing coral and pink offer an Instagram-worthy dining spot beneath oversized pop-art pieces by Oli Epp – specially commissioned for Bondi Green by the clients, founders Prue Freeman and Tom Onions (all of the Daisy Collection venues include bold and colourful art, often specially commissioned by the clients or on loan from their private collection).

The long cocktail bar is flanked by enormous custom PVC daisies by Ant Hamlyn; each daisy head on the installation is rigged to bloom and wilt during the duration of a typical restaurant visit.

For the furnishings, Run For The Hills chose swivel seats for a golden-age style, pared down with 70s style cantilever dining chairs in a mix of raw cane and upholstered in tactile fabrics. Fabrics were an important choice, a mix of patterned and plain velvets, textured wool, and leather. ‘For the bar we opted for blackened steel swivel stools, upholstered in clashing fabrics from one of our favourite textile designers, Charlotte Jade, using her gorgeous hand-illustrated botanical palm and animal print styles,’ Anna points out.

Dining tables were sourced in a mix of rounds and squares, topped with a range of finishes for an eclectic feel, including cool smoke-tinted glass, deep emerald-green, and Carrara white marble edge-banded with antique brass.

The botanic theme is underlined with acres of lush planting within the space, suspended from ceilings and with clusters of greenery used to zone the space during these times of COVID, creating private, sheltered corners for people to eat and drink in a relaxed way.

Outside, fully retractable glazed doors lead to a large outdoor terrace next to the Grand Union Canal in Paddington Basin – when combined, creating a perfect destination for al fresco dining and socially-distanced gatherings both outside and (by the time this magazine hits our desks) inside too!