The starting point of this project was a historic villa located at the seaside of Croatia. The aim was to revive the existing broken-down, ruined building with comprehensive architectural and interior design solutions.

 

A mezze/tapas restaurant is located on the ground floor and boutique apartments on the first floor and the attic of the building. The atmosphere of the restaurant is raw and simple, integrating the original stone walls of the villa. The extra surfaces that have been layered on these walls were removed and complemented with minimal, homogenous surfaces (plasterboard, micro cement) that create contrast with the original architecture. A simple bench system stretching through the L-shaped space conforms to this design. The niches in the wall of the bar back serve as a function for the storage while also as aesthetic elements. This notion appears in the customer space as well, where it breaks the monotony of the wall surface and sophisticatedly connects it with the design of the bar. The micro cement surface, block-like elements occur in the bar as well, and it is mixed with small, tectonic tiles and brass insets to counterweight it.

 

The design of boutique apartments follows the same idea with simple, puritan, but generous spaces. The design details of the bar reappear in these spaces with minimal, elegant systems of micro cement and wood. The niches in the wall of the staircase’s railing are the most direct link between the two designs, but more wood and lamellas were used due to the prioritization of a homey atmosphere in the apartments.