We are all over the moon at Kingston Lafferty Design this week. Our Vaults Parlour project has won a prestigious award at Restaurant & Bar Design Awards in London.

Our design won in the international and highly competitive category called In Another Space. The award celebrates restaurants, bars or cafés that are In Another Space, in this case The Vaults Live in Dublin.

The Vaults Parlour was the only nominated Irish project in this year’s awards and we found ourselves in a David and Goliath scenario, competing alongside more high-profile design projects with larger budgets. However, the omens were good with creative director Róisín Lafferty and associate director Becky Russell collecting the coveted prize.

It is the second year in a row that KLD have won at the Restaurant and Bar Design Awards, having won last year for our Pot Bellied Pig Design.

The Vaults Live is an innovative and theatrical large-scale tourist attraction located in the heart of Dublin City, offering a unique and exhilarating tour and experience by taking the visitor on a journey throughout the most scandalous and exciting tales of Irish history in a stunningly renovated original 4 storey Victorian building. The experience includes stunning 360° sets, state of the art lighting, lavish costumes and special effects. We were contacted by the client midway through the overall development of the Vaults Live to design a café parlour and retail space that visitors are brought into at the end of the one-hour experience.

Space was a combination of the original building and a new irregularly curved contemporary extension, providing a mixed style foundation to work with. We needed to marry old Victorian vaults with new extension while maintaining character and cohesion.

KLD embraced whimsy, playfulness and timelessness by juxtaposing old and new. The redbrick walls of the original arches frame the space beautifully while the white cabinetry exudes luxury. The chequered floor of the café contrasts beautifully with poured concrete flooring of retail display area while the bespoke banquette seating provides luxurious comfort while the wallpaper adds a homely and rustic feel.
The Vaults Parlour had previously been named Best Fit Out – Retail at Fit Out Awards 2018.
Further information and photographs are available at our Vaults Parlour project page