CHELSEA MARKET 1146 Argyle St, Glasgow G3 8TF
DESIGN FOCUS
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helsea Market has brought a distinctive touch of elegance and warmth to the bustling Finnieston strip on Argyle Street in Glasgow. The new bar and restaurant from Glasgow entrepreneurs Lawrence McManus and Simon Green, the duo behind Epicures, Nick’s in the West End and Old Salty’s, opened last month in the former Boardwise sports gear shop. Mark Brunjes of CM Design, who previously worked with Lawrence and Simon on Epicures, led the project as the main designer, and collaborated with Ranald MacColl. The resulting three-month refurbishment has created a stylish, open space that exudes warmth, comfort and class. Chelsea Market takes its name from the iconic New York city tourist attraction of the same name; an enclosed urban food court/office space located in a former biscuit factory in the Chelsea area of Manhattan. For Lawrence and Simon, it was important to bring something a little bit different to Finnieston. Mark Brunjes said the larger size of the building, compared to many other premises nearby, greatly influenced the design. Mark said, “We wanted to do something completely different from other places in Finnieston, as premises here are all starting to look the same. We have a big, square space, very open plan with a high ceiling which perfectly suited the style of a traditional salon. In the 17th century, a salon was a large room used for gatherings and parties, and we used that as a starting point. We could have put in a mezzanine but keeping that sense of space was important.” The high ceiling meant CM Design could introduce plenty of high windows. Combined with Chelsea Market’s corner location, these offer a magnificent view of the Sandyford Henderson Memorial Church opposite and also bring in plenty of light, which bounces off white walls and a multitude of glass antique mirrored panels used within. Stepping inside the open-plan venue, the first noticeable feature
BY L AURA SMITH
is a large oak-topped bar that takes pride of place, back and centre. It boasts a magnificent, stand alone gantry made of wood and glass, with all the specialist hardwood and mouldings used for the bar and gantry supplied by Prestige Timber. Mark said, “We wanted the bar and gantry to have a real wow factor so there’s a lot of detail on the bar front. We had glazed black and yellow bricks handmade and have them curved at the corners which is quite a feature, as are the bricks encased in timber panelling at the front.” In the middle of the room there’s a row of four oak-topped tables with slatted bench seating and a dividing wood partition on the side closest to the bar. The reclaimed benches have their original cast iron feet and were sourced from another refit Mark was working on at the time. They are topped with quilted red leather wraps for added comfort. The floor section of this dining area is made of 1,200 black, white and grey square tiles displayed in a grid pattern. Along the left-hand wall runs four comfortable, slightly raised booths encased in aged crackled white wood. Four more tables, with banquette seating on one side and chunky wooden chairs on the other, line the street-facing wall. The right-hand wall is home to seven tables of two that can be pushed together to accommodate large parties. Chelsea Market’s decorative ceiling is also a magnificent design feature. It is created entirely from reclaimed pitched pine split into five different sections, each with its own design. The pine has been painstakingly treated with a combination of stains and beeswax in varying tones for an antique feel. For the floors, engineered wood flooring in real wood timber veneer on plywood has been stained in a grey tone and is supplied by Murray Timber Products. Mark added, “We wanted to create a sort of faded grandeur. We weren’t trying to make it too elegant or opulent, rather comfortable and lived in. We invited Ranald MacColl to DRAM JANUARY 2017 27