Studio Plenty and Sarah Ellison Crack the Code on Urban Dining with Light Years Perth.

Studio Plenty and Sarah Ellison have done it again. After their Byron Bay success, the design duo tackled Perth’s CBD with Light Years Asian Diner, nailing the tricky transition from coastal cool to city sophistication.

The brief was clear but challenging: create something that works for tourists, locals, and the corporate crowd. Not easy when you’re dealing with a heritage building that feels more like a cavern than a cosy dining spot.

Here’s what they were working with: massive ceiling heights, almost zero natural light, and the ghost of a failed Jamie’s Kitchen that closed during COVID. The previous layout was all wrong—two bars shoved to the sides and rows of tables marching through the middle like a cafeteria.

A Playful Touch: Light Years Asian Diner in Byron Bay.

Byron Bay’s beloved Asian diner has received an update by Studio Plenty. Working in tandem with Sarah Ellison, the studio explored tonality and texture to capture the playful personality of the hospitality hotspot.

The fix was brilliant in its simplicity. Move the bar to the centre. Suddenly, you’ve got a focal point that makes sense of the space and creates intimate pockets around the edges instead of that awkward open-plan wasteland.

“We felt that Perth was stepping into a new world, servicing a broader demographic,” the team explains. They needed to hit that sweet spot of “sophisticated, sexy and playful”—which could’ve gone very wrong, but they pulled it off.

The material choices show real restraint. Those tiny terracotta tiles wrapping the walls and columns are pure genius. It’s like dressing a giant in delicate jewellery—the contrast shouldn’t work, but it absolutely does. The tiles are Kreuz Dark Terracotta Matt Finger Mosaic, if you’re taking notes.

The design duo brought something special to the table with exclusive first-use rights on two new Fibonacci terrazzo finishes – Llama and Not Terracotta. They’re laid in patches between the original hardwood floors, adding texture without screaming for attention.

The lighting strategy tackles that natural light problem head-on. Instead of fighting the darkness, they’ve embraced it, creating what they call “a harmonious gradient of light to dark, from open to intimate.” Smart move.

What really impresses is how they’ve solved the acoustic challenge. Big spaces usually mean loud spaces, but somehow they’ve achieved “gentle conversation levels” throughout. That’s the mark of designers who actually understand how people use restaurants.

Studio Plenty’s philosophy – “that’ll be plenty, cheers” – runs through every decision here. No excess, no showing off, just thoughtful design that works. The result is a venue that feels right whether you’re grabbing lunch with colleagues or settling in for a long dinner.

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[Images courtesy of Studio Plenty and Sarah Ellison Creative. Photography by Dion Robeson.]