Client Project | A Vibrant & Colorful Restaurant with Southwest Vibes
Recently I completed a design concept of a colorful restaurant in Tempe Arizona that specializes in Indian food. The clients are a couple who’ll be taking on a remodel of a typical fast casual restaurant in the area and wanted something that would make more of an impact. Something a little more vibrant, modern and fun that would appeal to the college kids in the area, as it’s currently situated close to a university nearby. Keep reading to see the inspiration as well as before photos, then scroll to the very end to see the rest of the reveal.
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This post was all about colorful restaurant design with Southwest vibes.
Client Inspiration
Below was the initial inspiration they sent me, as well as a list of their requests. They wanted a colorful, bright, modern and fun space with a similar vibe as Bindaas Begum Rockin’ Raja at Mulund in Mumbai:
Client Requests
- Bright airy space with lots of color
- Kitchen closed up and bar added with a pass-through window to the kitchen
- A bar with space for both food and drink ordering
- A long table in the middle to host groups
- Lighting above the long table
- Bench seating along the wall
- 2 TVs on either wall as well as behind the bar
- Hallway spruced up a bit
Brainstorming Design Concepts: Colorful Restaurant Ideas with a Southwestern Twist
Whenever I tackle a design project, I work with AI to create some additional ideas. Not only is it fun to see what it will create based on my current ideas, but it allows me to think outside the box and include things I may not have originally thought of. Below are some of my favorites:
Colorful Restaurant Ideas: Modern & Luxe
This one is one of my favorites. The pendant lights, sconces between the large, colorful gold framed cactus prints, and arched doorway are my favorite parts of this design.
Digging the salmon velvet booth against the teal herringbone wall as well as the pendant lights, wall mural and gold accents.
Another favorite, with the extra tall ceilings and large, lit desert landscape mural. The cactus art behind the bar is a nice touch as well.
Colorful Restaurant Ideas: Pink & Turquoise
Colorful Restaurant Ideas: Yellow, Pink, Teal & Green
Love the idea of having a terracotta wall planter with a painted cactus above. The dark mustard velvet booth, wall mural and pink LED lit bar is trendy and modern.
The wallpaper in this one is another fave. The way the rest of the colors pull from it creates such a perfect color scheme.
The Before
Not terrible, but not terribly stylish either. The space needed some brightness, color and vibrancy that would become a regular hangout and place to watch football or have a drink on the weekends.
And After: A Modern, Colorful Restaurant with Southwest Vibes
Design Details
The restaurant currently has a concrete ceiling and long wood soffit spanning the middle of the room, so one of the biggest challenges was to work around it. I proposed to keep the wood finish, and we decided to paint the black ceiling and track lighting white for a fresh, bright look that would allow the colors to pop.
The client liked the idea of a neon sign, so we added this “In Masala We Trust” sign behind the bar permtheir request to continue the “fun and colorful restaurant” theme. Copper and glass bar shelving and a white marble built in adds a bit of luxe vibes to this modern and vibrant space.
They originally wanted digital menus behind the bar, but with the open wall space off to the left, we utilized this for one large, framed menu instead which freed up space for two TV’s and plenty of additional space for glassware and drinks.
Hot pink woven pendant lights add a fun element to the space and carry the color palette throughout. I found that woven pink pendant lights are hard to come by, so to get this look, get some pendant lights in a similar style and spray paint them pink. You could also get these two-toned woven lights for a similar vibe.
The color palette we ultimately decided on consists of orange, hot pink, mustard yellow and various shades of green. We again chose a neutral base of pure white walls as well as wood and woven accents like the fans and bathroom signs to inject a bit of natural tones which worked to offset the mostly modern decor.
Tinted acrylic chairs keep the space bright and open, and potted cactuses adorn the entrance as well as the menu beside the bar area. Gold accents continue the modern/luxe theme in the way of cactus pots and chair legs. I chose to keep the table bases black to pull from the pops of black in the TVs, doors and windows, creating a harmonious color theme.
Hot pink and gold bar stools contrast the turquoise tile bar beautifully and the white geometric tile keeps it modern. The green hallway and orange neon sign pull from the cactus wall mural for a harmonized color palette. The bar stools were a difficult find, so to get this look we have two solutions: Get this exact stool design and cover them in hot pink velvet fabric, or get these stools which are a slightly different design but comes in a pink and gold.
I hope you enjoyed following along in this design process! I thoroughly enjoyed working on this project, as it took me out of my usual neutral comfort zone. Neutrals are something I prefer to live with as I love the serene, calming nature of the aesthetic, but I also love working with color, and designing this colorful restaurant really allowed me to do so.
If you’re ever in Tempe Arizona, stop by Indian Masala to see how the project turned out. Stick around if you’d like to see more of my design projects in the future, and as always, thanks so much for stopping by!
Until next time, happy styling ⋒
This post was all about colorful restaurant design with Southwest vibes.
