5 minute read
Dueling Identities
By: RANDY REID
The owners of Proper House Group set out to design two distinctive yet interconnected venues in Tampa, each with a unique ambiance. The first, Ash, is a vibrant, light-filled restaurant, while the second, Alter Ego, is a sultry, moody cocktail lounge. Despite their contrasting atmospheres, the two spaces are united by a shared kitchen connecting their operations. Kristin Pickar-Knussmann, Principal of KPK Lighting Design, LLC, was hired to conduct the lighting design. Her team included Natalie Anderson and Juanita Fadul.
Ash: A Space of Curves and Light
Ash operates as a dining haven, serving three meals daily with a menu as expansive as its airy ambiance. Pickar-Knussmann, collaborating with the interior designer, Gin Design Group, and the owner, prioritized soft curves in the lighting design, creating a cohesive visual language throughout the restaurant.
The focal point of the bar area is a curved pendant from TechoLED with 360-degree illumination, providing both decorative appeal and functional lighting for the bartop. The ceiling design features a cloud-like soffit outlined with LED neon, enhancing the spatial curves with a soft glow.
The space integrates various forms of linear lighting. Behind the stainless-steel bar shelves, Pickar-Knussmann placed field bendable metal extrusions with high density tape and milk white lenses in architectural pockets and behind floating metal shelving, producing warm indirect illumination and sparkle for bottles on the back bar. This accentuated the curves of the shelving while creating depth and drama.
Task and accent lighting for tables were thoughtfully implemented using Ecana 3-inch recessed adjustable fixtures from Lumenwerx Pickar-Knussmann specified fixtures with a spot optic and linear spread lens for a narrow ellipse of light on the banquette tables. This allows for table placement flexibility, ensuring even light coverage regardless of how tables are grouped.
The bar itself presented an unconventional lighting challenge. Kristin chose uplights with frosted lenses to avoid interrupting the smooth lines of the terrazzo bar top. These diffused uplights provided a subtle, even illumination that avoided harsh shadows or distracting contrasts when people moved around the bar.
Alter Ego: The Dark, Sultry Cousin
Next door, Alter Ego delivers a completely different vibe—a moody cocktail lounge perfect for late-night revelers. The lighting design here centered on creating drama and intimacy.
Pickar-Knussmann coordinated with the interior designer to create a custom floating cloud fixture, with TechoLED top-bending LED neon to outline the shape and Lumenwerx adjustable accents to spotlight the cocktail tables. To maintain the dark aesthetic, the room’s storefront windows are permanently covered with drapery, eliminating any daylight intrusion.
The bar in Alter Ego is a study in layered lighting. A jagged decorative pendant evokes the pulsating beats of the lounge's music, while recessed accents illuminate the bar top itself. Underneath the drink rail, Prizm by American Lighting tape light ensures functional task illumination without compromising the ambiance. Pickar-Knussmann opted for a field-bendable metal channel with snap-in acrylic lenses for the curved shelving behind the bar, achieving seamless, diode-free lighting that complements the flowing shapes.
The lounge also features backlit panels alternating between plush fabric and reflective metal. This interplay of textures is further enhanced by precise mounting and cabling, ensuring a flawless finish. The reflective metal panels catch and diffuse the light, amplifying the room’s dynamic energy.
Balancing Technical Challenges
Both spaces shared technical challenges that Pickar-Knussmann navigated with care. For Ash, the cloud ceiling required minimizing ceiling penetrations, while the linear light integrations had to preserve the clean, curved aesthetic. Alter Ego’s design required innovative solutions for mounting remote drivers and concealing cables in the acoustic ceiling tiles above the kitchen. The specification of Lutron’s Pico control system enabled flexible dimming for both spaces, ensuring the lighting could adapt to different moods and functions.
Integrating lighting with the kitchen design presented a unique challenge due to the contrasting atmospheres of the two restaurants. In Ash, the semi-open kitchen aligns with the vibrant, open-concept design, allowing the kitchen to be visible. Pickar-Knussmann collaborated with the kitchen equipment manufacturer to incorporate dimmable tape lights into the stainless-steel appliances, providing cohesive task lighting. However, the bright kitchen lighting could disrupt the lounge's moody ambiance in Alter Ego. To address this, she ensured that the corridor to the kitchen featured dimmable lighting, maintaining the sultry atmosphere even when the door opened.
Designing Under Constraints
Despite the creative freedom, value engineering impacted the project. Pickar-Knussmann worked closely with the electrical distributor to maintain the design's integrity while staying within budget. Her persistence paid off, as both spaces deliver visually stunning and functionally effective lighting designs.
A Harmonious Contrast
Ash and Alter Ego may be conceptual cousins, but their lighting tells two completely different stories. From the soft curves and bright ambiance of Ash to the dramatic, dark sophistication of Alter Ego, the KPK team’s thoughtful lighting design and on-site execution elevate each space’s identity while tying them together through subtle threads of design consistency. These spaces showcase the transformative power of lighting and underscore the importance of collaboration, technical expertise, and creative problem-solving in achieving extraordinary results. ■
