Andy Thornton worked closely with Martin Brudnizki Design Studio to produce the main contract furniture package for the new Jamie’s Italian restaurant in Piccadilly Circus, London. Housed in a landmark building on the corner of Denman Street and Sherwood Street, the new restaurant is the latest flagship venue for the successful Jamie Oliver brand.
The building’s distinctive triangular wedge shape proved a challenge for Martin Brudnizki Design Studio, which has made the most of the unusual layout to create character and atmosphere on each of the five floors. Whilst at first glance the Andy Thornton furniture may look fairly standard, the quality of the manufacture and bespoke finishes make it stand out.
The ground floor features full-height windows, an oak-panelled dining room and oak flooring, banquette seating and an attractive, traditional bar counter. Along the bar are backless versions of the Andy Thornton Toledo bar stool, which combine a steel frame and circular footrest in a dull-patina finish with simple timber seats.
Andy Thornton supplied all the farmhouse chairs – a mix of spindle and slat farmhouse designs, which have been stained oak or colour washed, then hand distressed and waxed. They have been upholstered in Crest Old English Wine leather, tanned to give a distressed finish which ages well over time.
The first and second floor dining areas feature exposed brickwork and rustic oak flooring, combined with more farmhouse chairs and banquette seating. Andy Thornton supplied its popular Liberty cast-iron table bases with self-adjusting feet, matched with hand-distressed and lacquered solid-oak tops.
Up a few more steps is the popular Antipasti Bar, featuring an eye-catching Italian-style deli counter display. Here, Andy Thornton supplied specially-commissioned self-aligning bar stools with antiqued satin-steel pedestals. These have been upholstered in aged leather with contrasting stitching.
Andy Thornton also has a presence outside the restaurant, with bistro tables with Cararra marble tops on the roof garden terrace and bench seating on the Sherwood Street pavement.
