French designer Rudy Guénaire created the interiors of the Matsuri Japanese restaurant in Paris, combining varnished picket furnishings with pastel-colored domes knowledgeable by Frank Lloyd Wright.
Situated within the 16th arrondissement of Paris, the 200 sq. meter restaurant has been fully redesigned by Guénaire.
Because the menu focuses on “Japanese sushi from a Californian angle,” Guénaire turned to Japonisme—the Western fascination with Japanese design—for its inside.
“I used to be impressed by every thing that marked me from these two international locations that I am keen on,” Guénaire, who runs Nightflight Studio, advised Dezeen.
“From Japan, I took this concept that fascinates me, which is that the Japanese body every thing,” he added.
“As if every thing ought to be an island, firmly bounded by one thing that protects it and makes it distinctive.”
The American affect is clear within the types used to brighten the inside, which function colourful domes on the ceiling which might be lit from inside.
“From California, I received these unimaginable slants that make me soften,” Guénaire mentioned. — The type you discover within the work of Frank Lloyd Wright or John Lautner.
“A tilt paying homage to the Native American tent, the primordial shelter,” he added.
“American modernists beloved Japan and typically had by no means been there. It's this Japaneseness that I wished to increase.”
On the heart of the Matsuri is the kaiten – conveyor belt – on which the sushi comes out. The designer used wooden all through the restaurant and varnished it for this centerpiece.
“The kaiten is roofed with a shiny lacquer, paying homage to the attractive lacquer adored by the Chinese language after which the Japanese,” he mentioned.
“I've used wooden all my life as a result of in Japan every thing is made from wooden, that's how it’s and that's the way it ought to be!”
Pastel-hued domes adorn the ceiling above the kaiten, creating comfortable gentle and including a splash of shade to the predominantly white and picket inside.
“For the ceiling, I believe I took the thought from the wonderful ceiling of Frank Lloyd Wright's Penfield Home,” mentioned Guénaire.
“We used industrial skydomes that we turned the other way up and lit from the within.”
The colour has been toned all the way down to create the correct ambiance for the restaurant.
“We created a classy lighting system with very refined shade management,” added Guénaire.
“We selected cheerful, very American shade bases, then subtly desaturated them to handle the Japanese aesthetic the place nothing is ever garish.”
Guénaire additionally designed chairs for Matsuri, that are based mostly on these present in conventional Izakayas – Japanese pubs – though he says the originals don’t match his recollections of them.
“Whereas looking for photographs of Izakaya, I by no means discovered this chair form,” mentioned the designer.
“Nonetheless, so far as I can keep in mind, it's this precise chair that I've seen in all places. Nonetheless small and cute,” he added.
“Perhaps that's what Japonism is all about. You make issues up if you suppose you're reminiscing.”
The inside of Matsuri, which is a part of a restaurant chain based in 1986 by a French-Japanese couple, can be adorned with previous posters introduced from Japan.
“We all the time have buddies getting back from Japan. We requested them for a little bit assist!” mentioned Guénaire.
Different Japanese eating places on Dezeen embrace a sushi restaurant and sake bar with ox blood plates and Aragawa steakhouse which sells “the most costly steak in Britain”.
The picture is by Ludovic Balay.