The Berkeley Bar & Terrace in London by Bryan O’Sullivan Studio.

Bryan O’Sullivan Studio-designed Berkeley Bar & Terrace is a new addition to the landmark five-star London hotel and its legendary Blue Bar. The design story by the Irish designer is intimate and refined, layered with a sense of old-world glamour.

Key features of the interior include a half-moon marble bar, a central fireplace and a hideaway Snug. Repeat Brutalist-inspired arch forms that run through the space reference the home of the Grenadiers, an infantry regiment of the British Army whose stables were originally located on the Wilton Place grounds where the hotel was built.

The central material in the design story is exquisite walnut wood. Taken from a 300-year-old tree felled from the Fulbeck Estate, Lincolnshire in the great storm of 2007, its grain is extraordinarily complex and beautiful. The wooden panels are used throughout the bar to cocoon the entire space, while a colour palette of soft corals, creams and pinks offset its richness. The story of the tree and the Fulbeck Estate has also been romantically depicted by the most expert craftsman in a plasterwork frieze which runs above the wood panels – just one of the examples of the artisanal touches in the bar.

The Snug has been designed for more secluded occasions, set away from the main bar and seating up to nine guests. It features a spectacular mural, painted by New York-based artist TM Davy, in a concept developed together with O’Sullivan. Davy was inspired by original snug spaces in public houses, usually reserved for women and their secret discussions, back in the day when men and women did not mix socially. The mural depicts gazing female faces with mysterious and knowing expressions, all connected with rhythmic lines to portray the connection and trusted relationships between them.

The bar opens out onto an intimate terrace of only four tables, overlooking the neighbouring St Paul’s Church.

Related: Poodle Bar and Bistro in Melbourne by Bergman & Co.

[Images courtesy of Bryan O’Sullivan Studio. Photography by James McDonald.]