When De Resident_den Haag restaurant decided to grow, it nested inside the Foodhall Scheveningen, a covered food market square placed on the renewed Noordboulevard in Hague, Netherlands.

The 18m² take away food kiosk was meant to be eye-catchy in order to attract passing by customers, but also to establish the central restaurant’s trademark in the new location. To achieve this goal, the same colors, materials and motifs were used as in the central restaurant, such as green marble, oak wood and laser-cut steel patterns. The highlighted parts of the façade with the several mottos, designed as a vintage cinema board, are also meant to act as an “instagramic photo spot”.

Renovating an old, famous and established restaurant in the historical center of Hague is a demanding task. The need for modernization and customers increase, usually bumps into the fear of change. The great challenge in this project was to create a warm, refreshed atmosphere by conserving the unique identity that this historic restaurant has created through its many years of service.

By making the right changes in the floor plan along with the new sitting plan, we managed to increase the total customers’ number in the hall. The new space was designed in a classic bistro style with the creation of cozy sitting corners. All built-in furniture and showcases were custom-made in order to expose vintage objects and paintings that decorated the restaurant all the previous years and also reserve space for practical use. Classic colors, motifs and materials were chosen and combined in a way that doesn’t remind of the previous space, but it reflects its spirit and history.

The project’s basic subject was the increase of the kitchen and the hall space, along with the decrease of the disturbing noise in the main hall.

The space was organized in two basic sections: the open kitchen-bar and the main hall with the mezzanine. The kitchen was spatially expanded through its unification with the bar zone. It was also optically expanded through the semi-open metallic façade. The mezzanine’s creation along with the appropriate sitting plan reserved extra space for customers and also a necessary hidden storage. The narrow wooden shutters are placed before sound absorbing panels on the walls and the ceiling is covered with sound absorbing plasterboard and wood. In that way the space’s noise pollution is significantly decreased.

This project is a characteristic example of how practical problems can be solved through the right synthetical choices and materials, so that a cozy and relaxing atmosphere can be achieved, even in a narrow budget.

The project went along with the total makeover of the business’ corporate identity. A total rebranding was needed and along with the menu, services and business plan, the restaurant’s space had to be redesigned accordingly.

The project’s most challenging part, was its’ new size. In order to triple the restaurant’s capacity, the owner acquired the neighboring building, thus a union of two different properties had to be accomplished. The union of two different building types, with different structure was a demanding task. A new structural study was made and the two buildings were accordingly reinforced.

The second demanding task was the vast new floor plan we had to manage. In order to avoid empty massive spaces, we divided the restaurant in three zones: the first was the open plan restaurant with an open kitchen extension, the second was the central bar-cocktail station with a small lounge, and the third was the more private zone of an artificial indoor garden. Those three zones differ in atmosphere, materials and everyday use but altogether create a united space. The extended use of plants divides the zones by creating a loose limit and simultaneously helps in the unified perception of the entire restaurant.

A luxurious touch was given by the use of real marble, golden details, custom made marble pendant lamps, velvet and leather seats and mirrors. Cozy atmosphere was succeeded with earth tone colors and materials, colored cement, beige ropes and oak wood on floor, roof and tables. All built in furniture and equipment were designed by our office and supervised on-site in order to achieve the best structural and aesthetic result. Discreet interior design details, that refer to Greek spirit, history and tradition were used after the owner’s request.