Strand and deliver
Simpson's opened as a coffee house in 1828, where gentlemen came to play chess, so inspiration for its new Chequers restaurant came from the Adams-style architecture of that period, says Lesley Knight, design manager for the project.
She decided to make the design impact with colour - pinks, creams and greens. And everything was made much brighter by new halogen uplighting across the vaulted ceiling, part of an integrated system installed by Lighting Design Partnership.
Original dining room furniture was restored by Brunel Furnishings and original light fittings were refurbished by KAS Lighting. In the Knight's bar almost everything is new, with a strong Art Deco feel to it.
Creative direction
Knight started the design process by having a 200sq m carpet specially woven in a large pattern of sage, laurel, pink and dark terracotta. "It pulls everything together," she says, adding that its colours were adjusted to match the fabrics and paints.
