Design Detail: 51fifteen Cuisine and Cocktails, Houston

Concept: Aiming to serve Saks Fifth Avenue’s discerning clientele, this bar and restaurant offers a posh shopping oasis among luxurious materials and textures.

1.) IN BLOOM
Comprising 180 handmade blossom-shaped LED pendants, this feature creates a dramatic entryway to the restaurant, bar and lounge area, attached to New York-based Saks Fifth Avenue’s downtown Houston locale. The installation also serves as wayfinding, guiding shoppers from the store floor into the dining space.

2.) PATHWAY TO PURCHASE
Faux-marble flooring doubles as a navigational path and guides guests straight into the restaurant and toward the bar area. Its luxe look accompanies the various lush materials and colors throughout.

3.) DRINKS ON ME
Featuring a stacked bar display laden in brass, the main bar, much like the restaurant in which it’s housed, helps increase dwell time and provides a meeting point for shoppers grabbing a quick bite. The brand’s satellite bar – Bar 12 (not shown) – is centrally located on the first floor.

4.) LET IT LINGER
Each area was intended to function as a “chic and comfortable” retreat for customers, hence the range of seating options. Including the official dining area beyond the bar and lounge, the 8500-square-foot space is designed to hold 170 guests.

5.) EYE CANDY
“The design team combined midcentury modern pieces … with the classic color scheme of gray, black, brass and white stone, into one cohesive design,” says Nina Magon, principal designer, Contour Interior Design (Houston), about the location’s high-quality materials and art pieces that complement Saks’ overall aesthetic.

PROJECT SUPPLIERS

Retailer
51fifteen Cuisine and Cocktails, Houston
Saks Fifth Avenue, New York

Design
Contour Interior Design, Houston: Nina Morgan, principal designer.

Lighting
LightArt, Seattle