Kai Design created a whimsical interior for a Birmingham pub that's based on the imaginedworld of a Victorian botanist.
Branding agency Arm & Eye created thecharacter Professor Hettie G. Watson, who lived and worked in a building onBennetts Hill.
That 1869 building, now Grade II listed, iswhere The Lost & Found is located.
Kai Design created a fantasy interior for thepub, based on Professor Watson's imagined life and work there. Canopiesof plants, lit birdcages and captured butterflies decorate the pub, allreferences to the plants, flowers and creatures that Professor Watson haddiscovered and kept hidden in secret rooms in the building.
The space is divided into several differentareas: a botanical library, a boardroom, a dining room, bar, a 'secretemporium', and an 'Institute of Botanics' Thefloor-to-ceiling botanical library is dimly lit with library lamps on longtables.
Adjoining the library is a boardroom whereHettie would gather her fellow professors and guests to discuss her findings. Aworld map fills the boardroom, which is scattered with postcards of Hettie'sdelights, which pinpoint each plant to its point of origin. Some postcards areso small that it's necessary to use Hettie's vintage magnifying glasses to readthem. The Dining Room consists of an apothecary-style wall of up litjars, each containing an individual flower. Cut glass decanter lightscompliment the glass jars and create a warm glow in this space.
The main wall of Hettie's 'Institute of Botanics'is adorned with a giant vertical wall garden, home to a projection of animatedbutterflies. The route to the bar passes the lavatories, where birds fly insidean overhead aviary.
"Throughout the interior you can find hintsto the location of the secret room and also imagery of Hettie herself throughbespoke wall coverings and fabrics," said Kai Design's MichaelaReysenn.
A secret doorway through a bookcase leads toHettie's 'secret emporium'.
Bespoke wallpaper flecked with gold leafenvelopes the room and gives it a dark and cosy feeling. Bell jars of potionsand botanical oils surround the bar where elixirs are served to all of Hettie'sguests.
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