The facade of L'Hotel Gitan in Commercial Road, Prahran, celebrates the streamlined modernist architecture from the 1930s.
While the curved brick facade with its steel windows remains intact, the building was originally a Victorian pile from the late 19th century.
The corner pub has experienced several makeovers, including a major overhaul in the 1930s.
"There had been a series of operators who added to this place," interior designer Andrew Parr, director of SJB Interiors, says. "The bathrooms were located in what was formerly a light well."
Previously a watering hole known as "The Max", new owners Jacques Reymond and his family, Eduord, Antoine and Nathalie, wanted their L'Hotel Gitan to evoke a relaxed French bistro.
"They didn't want the place to feel intimidating but rather that people felt comfortable eating or drinking on a regular basis, enjoying casual French fare," interior designer Leo Terrando, an associate with SJB, says.
SJB inherited a relatively "blank canvas" for the latest renovation. Apart from a few cornices, original leadlight doors and windows, very little of the 1930s fit-out remained.
While interior detailing was critical to the success of the project, getting the spatial planning right was paramount.
Pivotal to SJB's design is the open kitchen at the core of the fit-out.
"As meat appears extensively on the menu, having an elaborate exhaust system was critical," Parr says.
"Designing the kitchen was challenging," he says, pointing out the need to include a rotisserie unit.
However, as well as being highly functional, the kitchen as an "open stage" had be matched on aesthetics.
Rather than create one dining experience at L'Hotel Gitan, SJB Interiors has developed a variety of settings. The front portion, adjacent to the bar, features benches and bar stools. As diners progress through the space, the dining experience becomes more formal, with booth-style seating and individual tables set with white linen.
And for those wanting more privacy, there's the booth with a setting for six people. This intimate booth, framed with art deco leadlight windows, is wrapped in stucco lustro (polished plaster) walls. It was formerly an office space that catered for the needs of guests staying upstairs overnight. That first floor is now a larger function area.
Those wanting space for a group can also book the private function room. Framed by a rattan screen and featuring unusual origami-shaped copper chairs, the intimate setting is crowned with a dazzling array of lights by Tom Dixon.
One of the charming features of the SJB design is the subtle blending of period and contemporary. The bathrooms, for example, feature new 1930s-style terrazzo floors. The same consideration has been given to the built-in furniture, which includes contrast piping and button-backed lounges. Even the wallpapers have a slightly 1930s feel; a faded foliage evocative of the period.
The corsetry-style pendant lights and smoked mirrored columns suggest a contemporary, but still classic feel, of a French bistro.
"We were extremely conscious about the detail, as much as the spatial planning. Our brief was for something that was timeless, but also spoke of today," says Terrando, who translates "gitan" to mean gypsy.
"It also has that slight reference to the gypsy mood fondly recalled in the 1960s in Paris," he says.
The success of L'Hotel Gitan not only comes down to the ambience, but also an understanding of architecture, both past and present. This latest incarnation by SJB Interiors innately comes from the designers' abilities to push forward while still respecting the past.
