Wildflowers Restaurant

Wildflowers, a restaurant, wine bar and deli recently opened by chef Aaron Potter and interior stylist Laura Hart was designed collaboratively with Studio Found, an award-winning London-based hospitality interiors specialist.

Located in Newson’s Yard, a new premier design destination in Belgravia, Wildflowers takes its design cues from the location, as well as the vision of Aaron and Laura to create a relaxed yet elegant neighbourhood restaurant inspired by the Mediterranean cuisine and cultures that they both so love.

After working across the world in Michelin-starred restaurants, Aaron’s desire to showcase his passion for Mediterranean cuisine and hospitality (particularly from France, Italy and Spain) combined with Laura’s high-end interior stylist and florist background at places such as Petersham Nurseries, inevitably meant that Wildflowers would be designed to a very high standard, with a close attention to the stylistic details.

Studio Found’s brief was to create an interior that instilled a welcoming and homely feel that invited guests to relax and enjoy the vibrant Mediterranean inspired food and drinks on offer from Aaron and his team. The venue also had to sit comfortably within its locality; a design destination full of upmarket interior stores in the heart of Belgravia in Central London, that in its former life had been one of London’s oldest timber yards.

The design process from the outset was a wholly collaborative experience with Ed Plumb, design director and founder of Studio Found and his team working alongside Aaron and Laura to bring their vision to life. This being Aaron and Laura’s first restaurant together, and with Laura’s expertise in interior styling, it was only natural that they wanted to be fully immersed in the design process.

This was achieved by taking the colours, textures and forms found naturally in this region and using these to build the design upon. With this natural palette as a starting point, simple materials such as rough plaster, aged oak wood, terracotta, glass and linen were enhanced and elevated with the choice of richer materials such as marble and velvets. Some of the original features of the space such as the Victorian brickwork were also retained to add character and depth.

The space itself, split over two floors, also called for a design that could seamlessly flow between the entrance, main restaurant and small deli on the ground floor, and the wine bar on the upper floor.

Downstairs in the dining area, a stunning open kitchen was designed to bring an intimate connection between Aaron and his team of chefs and the diners. Aaron wanted his guests to have a full sensory dining experience in which they could see the passion and attention to detail that went into each dish they were about to indulge in.

To enable this, Studio Found not only designed an open planned kitchen so the aromas of the cooking would reach the guests, but also a kitchen island style pass made from high quality timber joinery with a marble effect countertop, where the chefs could add finishing touches to the dishes before they were brought to the table.

Upstairs, there’s an intimate wine bar inspired by the cicchetti and pintxos bars of Italy and Spain with a large dark-wood feature bar that dominates the space, set off with a beautifully oversized traditional edge, and with a bronze back bar display behind it.

Being located in the heart of Newson’s Yard within a covered courtyard, the venue also extends into this outside space so this area had to be considered too. The choice of elegant and restrained furniture and materials here reflecting the design within, whilst more playful and welcoming touches such a the striped chair upholstery were used to draw customers in either to enjoy a meal, a drink or a bite to eat from the deli.

Interior stylist and florist Laura brought her expertise to the fore by sourcing some of the furniture and fixtures such as the lights, chairs and freestanding furniture. She also curated some of the finer details such as the artwork to complement the space, including a bespoke piece by a friend Gabriella Persia through arranging simple yet stunning flower displays for the tables and other areas in the space.

Design: Studio Found
Photography: Billy Bolton, Studio Found