*브룩클린 빈티지 레스토랑 [ MADesign ] COLONIE – Brooklyn Heights, NY

뉴욕,브록클린에 위치한 콜로니 레스토랑은
자연속에 녹아 있는 시간과 공간에 대하여
진실한 얼굴로 우리에게 이야기 한다.

시골의 고풍스러운 집과 어느 한적한
교회의 벽과 바닥 등의 재료등은 콜로니에서
제 2의 공간으로 탄생되었다.
이렇게 디자인된 공간은
시공간을 뛰어넘어 과거와 현재의
동시다발적인 공간안에
우리를 가져다 놓는다.

일련의 빈티지 공간 연출을 위해
많이 시도되는 디자인 방법으로
고풍스러운 시간의 흔적을 디자인 요소로
사용하여 편안한 분위기를 만들어 낸다.

사람들은 고풍스러운 것 빈티지 라벨이 있는 것을
그것이 갖고 있는 값어치가 좋아하는 것이 아니고
부담감없이 즐길 수 있는 편안함이 아닐까 싶다.
새하얀 순백색공간에서 우리는 무엇을
할 수 있을까?
그래서 사람냄새나는 공간을
찾는게 아닐까 싶다.

Sustainability has become ''the'' buzzword in the design world over the past few years.  It is always impressive when a designer can bring their creativity and vision to materials that once had a life as something else entirely, and work it into something brand new and beautiful to look at.

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COLONIE Restaurant is a remarkable example of this type of creativity and thoughtfulness at work.  Recently opened in the historical Brooklyn Heights neighborhood of New York City, COLONIEis a fresh destination on a once run-down block that seems to beundergoing a renaissance - as so many neighborhoods in Brooklyn arethese days.

Architect Alex Meyers of MADesign hada goal to build the restaurant using recycled materials when possibleand marry them with new products to bring a rustic ''barnhouse'' to theotherwise urban Atlantic Avenue.  A recycled church pew was reworkedand installed as two banquettes in the front windows as well as thebanquette that runs along the entire left side of the dining room. Reclaimed wood was used for the floors, ceilings, and tabletops.  Thetremendous bar mirror is antiqued glass encased in a frame salvagedfrom the famous (and now closed) Toy Building in nearby Manhattan.

A repurposed steel beam that the owners found on the roof of thebuilding now serves as a chandelier above the dining area.  ExposedEdison bulbs bring warmth to the heavy steel and it is at once bothindustrial and charming.  The open kitchen just might be the best partof COLONIE. White subway tiles, shelves stocked with dishware, and piles of potsand pans above the stove make the bar seating quite desirable.  Theatmosphere is made further approachable and cozy by the communal diningtable anchored by a steel beam that can be easily adjusted for largeror smaller parties.  The overall design of COLONIE is meant to evoke the experience of one large shared family meal, an urban barn-house if you will.

What could be the most charming fact about this lovable restaurant arethe passions that the three owners had for building their ''baby''.  Elise Rosenberg, Emelie Kihlstrom, and Tamer Hamawi created a Kickstartercampaign back in the beginning stages of gutting the space. Theintent?  To raise funds amongst friends, family, and their soon-to-beneighbors in Brooklyn Heights.  The funds would go toward the design ofthe space; purchasing the reworked pieces, vintage fixtures, andone-of-a-kind details they found at flea markets or auctions throughoutNYC.

Amidst the exposed brick, reclaimed wood, steel casement windows, and industrial lighting, a burst of green serves as the dynamic centerpiece of Colonie.  The ''living wall'' (as the owners refer to it) is a vertical garden, lush and wild, complete with edible herbs.  It truly brings an extra ''something'' to the space and this green burst of life has the passersby retracing their steps to have another peek inside.

from  yatzer