Francesca Albertazzi’s dream-restaurant-inspired mix of botanical wallpaper, white marble and checked window fabric
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What I Love | Apr 22, 2024
In the BOH series What I Love, we’re asking designers to build us a mood board of what’s inspiring them right now.
Francesca Albertazzi grew up dreaming of running a restaurant. To this day, the Vancouver-based designer can envision everything from the menu and the foyer to the dining chair upholstery and tabletop finishes. “It would be a restaurant that felt like home,” she tells BOH. “Born of a rich Italian heritage, but placed in the local vernacular of coastal British Columbia.”
No surprise, then, that while crafting a mood board of her favorite designs, her fantasy eatery immediately came to mind. “I built the palette around an ocher-hued wallpaper, offsetting it with deep claret-colored paint and grounding the room with dark hickory flooring and white oak cabinetry,” she says. “The fun and punctuation come in the form of multicolored hand-painted tiles and playful patterns such as stripes and florals.”
Having recently earned a Sustainable Building Materials certificate from The New School’s Parsons School of Design, Albertazzi also took care to employ a bevy of eco-conscious offerings from B Corp–certified brands, including Fireclay Tile and House of Hackney, throughout the scheme. “I have a deeper knowledge of the impact materials have on our health and the planet, so I focused on selections that support beauty, performance and health in equal measure,” she says.
Here, the designer breaks down the details, from a tartan wool fabric to a sand-cast bronze cabinet knob.
1. CUSTOM WHITE OAK CABINETRY SAMPLE IN NATURA BY OLD WORLD KITCHENS & CUSTOM CABINETS
“With the intention of creating a space that will age gracefully, I selected solid wood cabinetry with a visible grain to create warmth and interest. Solid wood will take a beating and still look wonderful for decades.”
2. ROUND SAND-CAST CABINET KNOB IN TUMBLED WHITE BRONZE BY EMTEK
“This beautiful hardware feels good to hold; it’s sturdy and tactile with its subtle pitting. I like the old-world look and feel of it, though it is quite clean and simple in shape.”
3. ISLAND WHITE MARBLE SLAB BY VANCOUVER ISLAND MARBLE QUARRIES
“Marble glows beautifully, and I imagine the restaurant’s bar and tabletops in this local marble. I picture guests enjoying their conversations, reading a book, or simply sipping their coffee while basking in the natural light that this material reflects so well.”
4. QUERCUS WALLPAPER IN AURIC BY HOUSE OF HACKNEY
“Inspired by the Tuscan chestnut woods—that’s where the porcini are, after all!—I chose this wallpaper as a contemporary take on this classic leafy pattern.”
5. CHRISTOPHER CHECK WINDOWCOVERING IN SLATE BY HARTMANN&FORBES
“This large check reminds me of an Italian tablecloth, but re-imagined for contemporary spaces.”
6. HAIR OF THE DOG MINERAL PAINT BY ALKEMIS
“I recently came across Alkemis paint via a BOH article, and fell for their environmental approach as well as their color palette. A Cradle to Cradle Certified company, their product contributes to healthy indoor air quality. I love the richness of this color and would paint wainscoting and perhaps ceilings in this lovely deep claret hue.”
7. FOUND ENAMELED METAL COAT HOOK
“On my last trip to Rome, I walked into a hardware store and knew I’d find something great. This enameled metal hook has a vintage feel that would work well for the entryway and beside the tables for hats and coats.”
8. FLORALIA COTTON LINEN FABRIC IN ECRU BY HOUSE OF HACKNEY
“You can almost smell the lilacs and lilies in this pattern. I picture this fabric used on toss cushions and chair seats. Plus, each [yard] sold enables House of Hackney to purchase and protect 35 square meters [about 375 sq. ft.] of forest.”
9. TULSI 09 FABRIC BY MALABAR
“Every room needs a stripe! I would use this fun fabric for the backs of the restaurant’s bench seating.”
10. MISCELLANEOUS VINTAGE ITEMS
“I collect vintage pieces for inspiration, such as this sculpted wood chair arm with a rich chocolate brown stain and the antique picture frames.”
11. CANTABRIA WIDE PLANK HICKORY FLOORING BY CRAFT
“The richness of this chestnut-colored flooring echoes the woodland inspiration, and provides a hard-wearing surface that will age well with use.”
12. GLEEZE TILE IN GIADA BY CENTURA
“The Gleeze collection champions the beauty of imperfection. I picture this tile as a border around the patterned tile in the restaurant’s entry.”
13. PERSIAN STAR TILE IN CUSTOM COLORWAY BY FIRECLAY TILE
“A contemporary take on hand-painted tiles, I picture this in the entry as an eye-catching field tile surrounded by a complementary green border.”
14. LOMOND FABRIC BY JAB ANSTOETZ GROUP
“Lomond is a fantastic wool blend that pays homage to my love of Scotland (and my Scottish husband). I would use it for bolster cushions on the bench seating.”
15. PLAIN VELVET IN EUCALYPTUS BY HOUSE OF HACKNEY
“This cotton velvet [currently available in soft gold Lichen] is as strong as it is handsome, and I would apply it to the seats of the [benches]. Reminiscent of drying chestnut leaves, its hue gives a wonderful woodsy feel.”
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