Anti-Instagram interiors
The newest restaurants are turning away from the monotonously predictable design vernacular fetishized by social media. Lucky Cat restaurant in London, opened in June 2019, consciously avoids the colour-saturated, eye-catching aesthetic popularized on Instagram. In contrast to the vivid palettes, bold wallpapers and punchy light fixtures found in the countless trendy eateries just begging to be photographed, Lucky Cat’s deep colours and dim lighting create a shadowy atmosphere that isn’t meant to translate well on screen.
Design studio AfroditiKrassa “deliberately went dark” to discourage people from sharing images on Instagram. “We tried to work with materials and colours that are subtle and classic, not too shouty,” the studio’s founder, Afroditi Krassa, told Dezeen. “How many times do you visit a place because it looks great in a picture but disappoints in real life?”
Lucky Cat’s distinctive environment prioritizes the tactile over the visual, creating depth through texture rather than relying on attention-grabbing graphics. “There is relatively little contrast between colours, pattern and finish, yet a lot of richness in texture and tactility—Lucky Cat is a layered design that reveals more every time you visit,” Krassa explained.
The dark and sensual design at Marcus, the restaurant and bar at Montreal’s new Four Seasons hotel that opened in May 2019, similarly encourages in-situ enjoyment. The design is “deeply rooted in intimate interactions, singular moments, and glamor,” Atelier Zébulon Perron, the design studio behind the space, told Dezeen.
In spring 2019, architect Bernard Khoury redesigned Beirut’s B018, a nightclub in an underground bunker that has become an institution since it opened in 1998. Khoury has doused the interior in a monochromatic deep gray, with macabre design elements adding to the somber aesthetic.
Why it’s interesting: These designs signal the end of a ashy “look at me” era that canonized experiences and spaces crafted expressly for sharing on social media. Going forward, consumers will respond to spaces that encourage them to live in the moment, rather than experiencing the world through the lens of their phone.
