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FeedEminently Tasteful
And you thought the food was excellent. But could it be that the beautiful interior design subtly enhances your palate? Energizes your conversation? Makes you tingle a bit? Two stunningly beautiful new restaurants show why dining is more than eating.
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Black French chandeliers hang from an exposed-beam ceiling. If you look closely, you’ll notice the black paint that covers parts of the ceiling is subtly striped. Lush greens, pinks and floral fabrics line the booths, adding a dash of Greenville prep for the Lilly Pulitzer set that, when mixed with bold black-and-white rugs, sleek bar details and unique lighting, avoids paint-by-number predictability.
The bathroom—about which a smug Danner murmurs, “You wouldn’t believe how affordable this was”—is outfitted with glittering crystal chandeliers and brocade-influenced silver-tone wallpaper that seamlessly blends vintage and now. And of course, the restaurant’s trademark—beautiful black-and-white Elizabeths—dot the walls, a curious, seductive sisterhood that coyly watches who’s coming and going. 
In a word, it’s all about glamour, says owner Betsy LeRoy.
“Our old design was Mediterranean-Southwestern, with terra cotta and natural, neutral colors,” she says. “But it got dated. Todd immediately said, ‘You know what’s missing? Glamour.’”
“I really try to understand the goal of a client,” Danner says. “I approach my process like chili: Add a bit here, taste it, decide if it needs something else, let it marinate.”
Though Danner is hesitant to define his role too strictly, he is an architect who goes beyond stereotypes. “I do everything down to choosing candlesticks,” he says. “People ask who did that, and I say, ‘me,’ and they say, ‘But aren’t you the architect?’”
So why should function matter to a designer who’s choosing candlesticks? In the world of design, how things look and how things work go hand in hand.
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