How does the upper floor of a two-level venue fill?

It depends on where the stair goes. Here the staircase was left in the middle of the room, parallel to the glazed front and with an open balustrade, so a guest on the ground floor keeps seeing that there is an upper floor. A stair pushed to the side and enclosed turns going up into a separate decision, and the upper floor stays empty most of the year.

How is seating made to feel comfortable in a high room?

By keeping eye level low. Here the wall was divided into arched niches, pictures and trailing plants were placed between them, and the pendants were brought down over the tables. Together those three give a seated person their own volume. Leaving the height empty makes a room look deserted rather than grand.

Can we commission the design only?

You can. We offer the design, the visuals and the construction drawings separately. If another firm is building it, we prepare the detail drawings and material schedule so they can start straight away — nothing is left half-finished.

Cafe and restaurant architecture · Two levels

We designed a cafe-restaurant over two levels.

A glazed, high-ceilinged shell with a staircase inside it. In a two-level venue the real question is how the upper floor gets filled; when the stair is built as an obstacle, the upper floor stays empty most of the year. Below we set out why the stair was left in the middle of the room.

Space type: Cafe-restaurant, ground and upper floor
Shell: Glazed front, high ceiling, internal stair
Scope: Interior design and visualisation
Stage: Design

Design principle

In a two-level venue the staircase is an invitation rather than a building item. A stair squeezed against the side turns the upper floor into storage.

Not hiding the stair

The staircase was left in the middle of the room, parallel to the glazed front. A stair pushed to the side and enclosed turns going upstairs into a decision; a stair standing in the middle keeps reminding people the upper floor exists.

The balustrade was resolved as wrought iron rather than a solid panel. A solid balustrade would cut the ground floor in two; the open one keeps the seating behind the stair visible.

The wall beside the stair was finished in textured stone and left empty. A staircase is already a moving element, and placing a second focus next to it makes both lose.

The wrought-iron balustraded staircase in the middle of the room, with a textured stone wall beside it and brass globe pendants above.

Using the space beneath

The space beneath the stair was given to seating rather than storage. The lower ceiling is no disadvantage here: with a buttoned banquette and two-seat tables this became the most sheltered zone in the room.

An arched niche was cut into the wall behind it, holding planted texture and the brand mark. In a low-ceilinged corner an arch reaching upward makes the volume read higher than it is.

The service door stands beside that niche, painted the same colour. Tying back-of-house doors to the wall colour rather than hiding them is the cheapest way to keep the reading of a room intact.

The wrought-iron balustraded staircase in the middle of the room, with a textured stone wall beside it and brass globe pendants above. — The sheltered seating beneath the stair, with planted texture and the brand mark in an arched niche and the service door beside it painted the same colour.

Arched brick niches

The long wall of the room was divided into arched brick niches. The niches are not only surface: each takes a group of tables into its own frame and makes their position permanent.

Small pictures and trailing plants were placed between the niches. Those two elements keep eye level low, which is the only way someone seated in a high room feels their own volume.

The armchairs were specified in turquoise velvet and the tables in white stone. Beside raw brick, soft textile and flat stone split the materials into three registers — textured, soft and smooth — and those three alone complete a room.

Turquoise velvet armchairs and white stone tables in front of arched brick niches, with pictures and trailing plants between them.

Building the backbar from product

The wall behind the bar was not left empty; it was turned into a run of shelving holding syrups, glass bottles and glassware. It is the only burst of colour in the room, and that colour comes from the product.

The lower tier of the shelving is at working height and the upper tiers at display height. What the bartender reaches for is low and what only needs to be seen is high, so the shelving is both store and sign.

The bar body is lit turquoise, with a run of stools left in front of it. A lit bar body points at the centre of the operation even from the furthest point in the room.

Shelves of syrups and glass bottles behind the bar, with the turquoise-lit bar body and a row of stools in front. — Shelves of syrups and glass bottles behind the bar, with the turquoise-lit bar body and a run of stools in front.

Decisions and common mistakes

Item	Settled in the design	Common mistake
Staircase	Left in the middle of the room with an open balustrade, keeping the upper floor visible.	The stair is squeezed to the side and the upper floor stays empty most of the year.
Under the stair	The low-ceilinged zone was given to sheltered seating.	The space under the stair goes to storage and the calmest corner is lost.
High ceiling	Eye level was kept low with niches, pictures and trailing plants.	The height is left empty and a seated guest is lost in the volume.
Backbar	The shelving was built from product, settling store and sign on one surface.	The back wall is painted and the product is hidden under the counter.

Frequently asked

How does the upper floor of a two-level venue fill?: It depends on where the stair goes. Here the staircase was left in the middle of the room, parallel to the glazed front and with an open balustrade, so a guest on the ground floor keeps seeing that there is an upper floor. A stair pushed to the side and enclosed turns going up into a separate decision, and the upper floor stays empty most of the year.
How is seating made to feel comfortable in a high room?: By keeping eye level low. Here the wall was divided into arched niches, pictures and trailing plants were placed between them, and the pendants were brought down over the tables. Together those three give a seated person their own volume. Leaving the height empty makes a room look deserted rather than grand.
Can we commission the design only?: You can. We offer the design, the visuals and the construction drawings separately. If another firm is building it, we prepare the detail drawings and material schedule so they can start straight away — nothing is left half-finished.

Other work in this category

Let’s talk about your space.

The dimensions of the shell, the floor-to-floor height and where the stair sits today are enough. Let us work out together how to fill the upper floor.

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