Bling it on

‘It won’t be overbearing,’ explains Taylor, ‘we are going to elevate it through materials, such as rosewood timber, parquet floor, black marble bar counters and leather furniture.’ Like the aforementioned projects, JTDA retained as much of the existing fabric of the building as possible, removing Po Na Na’s plasterboard to expose raw brickwork.

The finished product will differ from the visuals, the lighting in particular. ‘It’s going to be less homogenous – we’re going to go shopping for something more kitsch.’ Perhaps they’ll bump into Igloo’s Wilkinson on one of their retail trips. ‘I’ve been going to antique fairs, buying candelabras from the 18th century,’ she says. ‘We should be embracing products that go back years, because that gives you a better sense of design.’ It seems designers today realise that hindsight really can be illuminating.

Bethan Ryder is author of Bar and Club Design and the forthcoming Restaurant Design, both published by Laurence King