b-ing Interiors
Palo Verde, restaurant interior
Green for calm and goodness
The psychology of colour attributes a sense of calm and well being to the green zone of the colour spectrum. The interior design of the recently opened Palo Verde restaurant in the L’Antiga Esquerra de l’Eixample area of Barcelona achieves this end, creating a warm and comfortable place to eat. The term Palo Verde (literally green stick or espinillo, a Native American tree) also makes reference to the cuisine, fresh and healthy Mediterranean cooking. The owner Andrés Bluth who is an industrial designer worked with interior designer Sandra Vidal to create the restaurant’s interior; a moody but tranquil setting defined by exposed stone walls, green ceramic tiles with a shiny glaze and dark metal planes.
The typical ground floor unit which reaches deep into the block is divided up into zones, starting from the street terrace with a few outside tables and a set-back porch enclosed by dark metal sheets. The entrance has a bar and high stools with a few high tables for less formal dining against the opposite wall. The middle section where most of the restaurant seating is accommodated is raised about a meter above the entrance level (which is accessed straight from the street outside) and the rear which is more lounge like with sofas and low tables. The most important intervention carried out by the designers was opening up a blocked up window at the very back. This allows for a patio area and natural daylight to act as a light-well at the very end of the space that seems to beckon on arrival.
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Palo Verde is a gastronomic restaurant the kitchen is therefore placed on full view from the upper part of the dining area. The cooking area is framed by a metal wall with counter seating looking directly over the chefs preparing the fresh food behind. Seating is either banquette, timber or metal stools depending on which part of the restaurant diners prefer. These materials lends warmth to the design and the pproach is underlined by timber kindling used as decoration and the bespoke lamps as well as the Vibia pendant lights by Lievore Altherr.
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“The main work that became clear during the project was to capture the light from the rear area creating a small garden and clean it up by removing the partitions, false ceilings and numerous other finishes within the premises. During the work we removed the plaster from the right hand wall thinking we would find a beautiful brick and this truly wonderful material was uncovered: a precious stone wall that we wanted to light and draw attention to as a feature. Another clear idea was to leave the kitchen open and place a bar counter at the forefront overlooking the dishes being cook that later tasting them,” Sandra Vidal
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- Palo Verde
- c/ Córsega 232
- 08036 Barcelona
- T 93 2376 998
- www.paloverde.eu
- www.sandravidal.es