A Soul Nourishing Space
When designing for any commercial space, my goal is to create a pleasurable experience for all who enter; a place that leaves a lasting impression and is memorable for all who visit, and an environment for staff that is beautiful and a privilege to work in. When designed well, a space can nourish the soul.
The Great Ocean Road Chocolaterie and Ice Creamery in Bellbrae Victoria was a very enjoyable project to work on with some room for playful design. The owners’ objective was to create a memorable and fun experience for all their visitors and staff with functionality, quality and durability in mind.
I chose the cacoa pod as a theme throughout all the cafe furniture. After researching about cacoa pods I was surprised to find what they looked like on the inside and wanted to display this so I designed a cut view for the smaller ’round’ tables. (See photo above on the right)
The small table to the right shows a hand carved cacoa pod suspended on a stainless steel rod with the top inlayed with a feature line and pod.
The medium, large and extra large coloured tables in the shape of whole pods, each unique and carved by hand, display the various colour changes a cacoa pod goes through; as it grows and matures it changes through green, orange and brown tones. (See photos below)
These table designs not only give the rooms a playful and colourful look, they have also sparked many conversations between parents and their children, interested to learn more about where chocolate comes from.
For Stylemaster, a meticulous panel shop in Richmond, Victoria, there needed to be a certain subtleness to my normally creative outbursts. The gloss white 2Pac wall with aluminium shadow lines gives the clean, crisp basis for a more interesting counter, the centre piece of the room that draws you to your destination. At first glance it is a simple and practical piece and yet when you take a second look, you will find a difficult, many angled and interesting study of lines, various stainless steel thicknesses and a play with light.
