IDeas from Restaurants- Bijou

by Adrian How

Instead of just flipping through magazines, go out there to see and feel how ID ideas are implemented. Being a foodie, I like trying out new eateries and often times I feel that modern restaurants more to offer than just food- you can dine in yet take-away the ID ideas from restaurants to implement in your own home.

Last weekend, my wife and our friends went to Bijou, a cozy little restaurant located in Mont Kiara serving French cuisine. Setting is rustic- white walls, white wood panels, white wooden floorboards, modernized by its wall hangings and art pieces and decorative ornaments. It tries hard to show off its clean lines and open spaces with table configuration being set far apart. What I didn’t fancy was the pink drapes used to partition sections of the dining area. Also, perhaps a little overdose of pink with the fake flower bouquet on each table.

I’m not here to critique the ID of the restaurant so let’s see what we can take away from it to implement in your home.

photo courtesy of bijou.com.my

The Barstool

Simple, functional and elegant bar lined with low-back modern barstools. Today’s modern homes often incorporate a bar counter or a breakfast top where counter/tabletop height is approx 42″ off the ground. These require high chairs or barstools. Where would you be able to get barstools for a reasonable price? Check out GDO (gallery of designer ornaments) – an outlet retailing designer furniture at affordable prices. I go to the outlet in Kota Damansara due to location convenience and they have quite a massive offering there- two floors of furniture and lighting, very cluttered so you’ll need to take time to sift out the gems. If you’re there, look for Frankie as he has the authority to provide further discounts. Check out the light pieces too while you’re there.

Art

Most of the art hung up at Bijou are prints on stretched canvas. A colourful piece of modern art (suggest to go with motives or abstract pieces) really adds life and colour to your walls and entire living area. Don’t know where to get em?

First off, IKEA’s a good place to find many prints for under RM300, if you’re not conscious about your guests coming over and saying ‘oooh, I’ve seen that at IKEA’
Flea markets (Mont Kiara, The Curve) have stalls that offer local art and prints. There’s a stall that’s situated between the Curve and Tesco that sells art on canvas by local and Hong Kong artists. Not too pricy either- just go give you an idea, a hand painted 24″ x36″ sells for around RM200. Look for Carmen.

Fabric Partitions

Bijou utilizes light lacey fabric to partition its seating areas. Personally, I do not like the colour tone they’ve chosen as it cheapens the look of the place and gives me the impression of a try-hard attempt at making the place look cheery. Leave that to the art and ornaments really.

photo courtesy of bijou.com.my

However, it’s the concept that is important. Curtains need not only be used to drape windows but as illustrated in this case, be used as partitions instead. Advantages- cost savings, non-permanent and can be removed at any time, adds a softer and more comfortable feel when right colour schemes are selected. See below for a good example of partitioning the living area (behind couch) where the curtain tones complement the living area. Note that if you do decide to use cloth partitions, add weights to the base of the cloth so that it doesn’t flap about in the wind when the fan’s turned on.