0910 The Quarter on Hay

...A warm colour palette combines with soft textures and intricate lighting effects to create an 'executive chic' ambience in this elegant and inviting space

Situated within the prestigious Wesley Quarter precinct in Hay Street, Perth, the Quarter on Hay represents a high quality licensed restaurant and small bar venue which has been designed to create an 'executive chic' ambience befitting both its location and clientele. Surrounded on all sides by high-end specialty stores, the fit-out is high quality and elegant and to appeal to a wide range of patrons including casual shoppers, business types and Sunday churchgoers attending the adjacent Wesley Church.

A strong focus was placed on the presentation of the restaurant to both the foyer and the mall, to attract patrons and to enhance the sense of spaciousness by blurring the boundaries of the tenancy. The existing materials, style and detailing of these adjoining spaces influenced the palette of the fitout to create a sense of visual connection. The dark tones of the feature stone wall in the foyer are reflected inside the restaurant with its dark coloured walls and ceiling coffers, dark-stained timber bulkheads and cabinetry, and charcoal-coloured carpet, whilst the lighter tones of the foyer ceiling and floor are reflected in the restaurant ceiling, which extends through at matching height and the tiled bands in the flooring. Integrating the distinct blue of the new corporate logo into the colour scheme of the interior was also important, and this is best highlighted with the backlit laser-cut screens (the quadrefoil pattern for which makes artistic reference to the stained glass window design of the adjoining Wesley Church) and the illuminated shopfront signage.

This theme is continued with the design and selection of furniture, fabrics and custom-made cabinetwork, expressing rich colour tones and inviting textures and creating a sense of intimacy, particularly the booth seats which are favoured for private business lunches. After hours the sense of intimacy is maintained, when electronic fabric blinds physically and visually separate the restaurant from the foyer, and the lights are dimmed. The Quarter on Hay was nominated for an award in the Australian Institute of Architects Interiors Category in 2010.