NORMANBY HOTEL

BAR + GAMING ROOM REFURBISHMENT

The brief was refreshingly direct. Take a daggy gaming room and make it sophisticated, monochrome and sexy.

The Normanby is an iconic Brisbane venue. It deserved better than it had.

The challenge was working with what existed. The bar couldn't move, so we refaced it. The bones stayed, everything else changed. That kind of constraint forces creativity in the best possible way.

Gold mesh screens that filter light and create drama without closing the space down. Quilted wall panels that add texture and warmth. An abstract carpet that grounds the whole room and pulls the eye. Rich leather banquette seating, marble tables, warm cream and charcoal held together with hits of gold throughout.

The result is a room that feels like it always meant to be this way.

"Turnover year on year is up approximately 40-50% up since we reopened.."

Photography: Tom Blessing