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Delk Design's new restaurant in Colorado exudes rustic charm
Completed May 2008, Beatrice & Woodsley is a social restaurant in downtown Denver that transforms the utility of eating into a romanticised journey where dining becomes an experience of consciousness.
As a restauranteur, Kevin Delk is inspired by the history of restaurants providing restoration, replenishment and relaxation. As a designer, he’s transported the Colorado wilderness into the city’s heart where the essence of exploring, discovering, and participating is embraced in
an environment that couples the rustic nature of a cabin in the woods with the cosmopolitan progression of the city. Assisted by local craftsmen, Kevin transformed an anonymous space within an eclectic and changing neighbourhood into a magnetic social bastion.
Self-imposed limitations enhance the remote-rustic design that brings the outside inside with hand-hewn materials and an aspen grove set aglow by lantern light.
Programmed for a variety of social experiences; diverse seating engages romantic diners,
friendly gatherings and afternoon tea patrons. Communal tables, tasting events, ceremonies
and celebrations activate sense of community. Beyond simply food, environment itself is a
catalyst for conversation, evokes a sense of belonging and provides opportunity to meet,
relax and become intimate neighbours.
Inside, behind amber windows, are the remnants of a forgotten cabin. Hand-hewn beetle-kill
log booths and wall planking surround antique chainsaws supporting split-log liquor shelves
and fireplaces bearing the bar counter. Cedar shakes camouflage the water closet as the night
woods hides an outhouse. A suspended water trough punctures a glass curtain-wall allowing
pulley-activated water to descend rain-chains into galvanised vanities. Flanking the
restaurant, one-hundred-year-old faceless up-lit lathe and plaster stands exposed displaying
meticulous workmanship.
Somewhere between the wilderness of the city and the solitude of the forest, Beatrice &
Woodsley exists as a place where one can grow roots and still be wild.
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