The atmosphere of the 1970s in the Founders’ project Frieze and British designer Stafford Shmul.
Founders of Frieze magazine and Art Fair Amanda Sharp and Matthew Slotover have launched a new project – a restaurant with a curated selection of contemporary art. The establishment called Toklas is located on the ground floor of a brutalist building in central London and houses a restaurant, a bar, a bakery and a small grocery. At the request of the owners, designer Stafford Shmul designed a bright and dynamic interior.
Photo: Matthieu Lavanchy
Shmul left the brutalist ceiling and columns, reminiscent of the history of the building, in plain sight, and contrasted the cold rigor of concrete with a cozy vintage atmosphere. So, in the restaurant hall, he used parquet, which once decorated the floors of the Birmingham library, and surrounded wooden tables made of iroko wood with vintage chairs designed by Berge Mogensen. For the upholstery of rounded leather sofas with fluted backs, Shmul chose a complex retro shade called “British racing” – a characteristic dusty green, in which cars representing Great Britain at the first international races were painted.
Photo: Ola Smit
Photo: Ola Smit
The restrained palette is “blown up” by bright canvases on the walls: for example, Wolfgang Tillmans’ Pomodoro photograph with scarlet tomatoes dominates in the main hall, some chairs are painted in the same tone. The designer completely covered the wall at the bar with vintage posters with announcements of various art exhibitions of the last fifty years. Together with simple tables in the style of European bistros and modernist chairs made of bent wood, multicolored posters convey the author’s nostalgia for the eclectic 1970s.
Photo: Ola Smit
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