A new restaurant designed by interior designer Laura Seppänen was recently opened in the heart of the Helsinki design district.
The restaurant is called Maannos and is housed in a former industrial building of the late ‘800. The designer’s work focused on recovering the original features of the space but also trying to convey the philosophy of the restaurant’s sustainable cuisine.
The industrial character of the space emerges from some original elements that have been recovered during renovation, such as the wall with exposed bricks and the concrete floor, but also from new elements such as the exposed ventilation pipes.
The philosophy of sustainable cooking (the restaurant offers a seasonal menu created with locally sourced ingredients) is reflected in the restaurant’s aesthetic and color selection. Large is the use of natural materials, like wood and jute, and the palette chosen contains the natural colors of the earth, clay and sand. The shades also refer to the name Maannos which indicates the most fertile layer of the earth. Even the colors chosen for the furniture, with tones ranging from blue to green to ocher, refer to the colors of the forests and the Finnish lakes, then of nature.
Nordic brand Gubi signs almost all the furnishings with the velvet Beetle chairs and Suspension lamps. To complete we also find lamps by the London studio Atelier Areti, round mirrors, golden details and an unexpected ocher yellow sofa.
The restaurant also summarize some of the current trends in interiors and decoration, such as the use of earth and nature colors, velvet upholstery, the introduction of golden details to give light and the use of wavy surfaces in the bar counter (which we had also seen in the restaurant Omar’s place in London, signed by the Sella Concept studio).
A welcoming place that, thanks to the designer’s beautiful design, manages to perfectly mix the industrial heritage of the space, the Nordic style and the strong connection that the Finns have with nature.
I can’t wait to visit it, and you?
Designed by Laura Seppanen– Photography by Paullina Salonen
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