Case study: Restaurant Remodeling (Domek)
Before & After
Before:
The old dining room was dark, moody, and overly funky in its design choices. The walls were black, the floor was old concrete, much of the furniture was plywood, the lighting were mismatched plastic chandeliers, and stickers were slapped on exposed plumbing pipes.
After:
By dialing in the layout, unifying elements, and refreshing all surfaces with lighter, more natural materials, we created a bright, airy, cosmopolitan-feeling dining experience. The new design balances classic elegance with approachable comfort, perfect for welcoming newcomers and regulars alike.
Project Goals
Sarah Oliver-Johnson and Andrew Hroza’s ambition with Domek was to not only create a food and beverage offering that would hold its own in Portland or Seattle, but also create a cosmopolitan dining experience. Something that is true to its Eugene roots yet simultaneously transports you elsewhere.
They had moved to Eugene from Copenhagen and spent a good chunk of their adult lives in other major cities around the world. In particular, they were enthusiastic about Scandinavian and western-European bistro culture, with many bright, airy, and sophisticated spaces adorning their inspiration Pinterest board.
Key Design Elements
Nailed the seating arrangement. We fit in as many seating spots as possible, while ensuring that (1) servers could place dishes directly in front of every diner and (2) we had adequate clearance for diners and staff to move around. Additionally, we paid special attention to flexibility to seat parties of varying sizes.
Better defined zones within the room. We added pony walls to separate the entry from the dining area, which gives diners a subconscious feeling of enhanced psychological safety. Similarly in the bar, we added a wall to define the seating area from the service area.
Visually downplayed necessary water pipes and electrical conduit. We added crown molding to create a clear visual distinction at the top of the walls between the bright, intentional space and the dark, don’t-pay-attention-to-this ceiling. Elsewhere, we covered up pipes or painted them the wall color.
Simplified and unified visual elements. Between the ramp and the bar, there used to be 3 open pass-throughs in the interior wall; we closed up 2 of them. The top of the main pony wall had 3 different heights, which we adjusted to all be a uniform height for a more pleasing effect.
Layered the lighting. Lighting is so important to the feel of a space, and adding multiple sources of light was critical to making the design feel crisp yet inviting. We also added dimmers to all lighting circuits, so that Sarah has flexibility to adjust brightness day by day and hour by hour.
Client Experience
Sarah Oliver-Johnson, co-owner of Domek:
“When we signed the restaurant lease, we already knew we wanted to work with Rory. He blended seamlessly into the team, balancing our strong opinions and pushing our thinking in new directions. From the start I wanted to add wall mirrors, but Rory opened our eyes to where to place them for greatest effect and sketched out all the details needed for our contractors to make it reality. We couldn’t have done it without Rory. To boot, he was super flexible in his working style, filling in gaps while letting us run with the things we wanted to own ourselves.”
The Result
The final space is light, airy, and refined yet approachable. It feels at once distinctly not from Eugene while at the same time as if it’s been around for a long time. Restaurant customers often remark on how welcoming and elegant the dining room feels, and those who remember the past incarnations of the space are blown away by the degree of change (for the better).
Sarah Oliver-Johnson at her hostess stand in the entry of Domek
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