09 April 2009

Bird Song

This new eclectic Melbourne bar and restaurant adds another bird to the menagerie

The Emerald Peacock is the second Melbourne venture for owners Kevin Singh and Sharan Sagoo, following the success of their bar in Russell Street.

“Our first venture, The Red Hummingbird has generated a great deal of hype due to the name and synergy between the hummingbird printed Osborne and Little Wallpaper,” says Sagoo.

The duo decided to run with the bird theme by creating the larger scale Emerald Peacock bar and restaurant on Lonsdale Street.

“We were very conscious to create our own handwriting and not draw on already established venues to generate ideas,” says Sagoo – who brings over 20 year’s experience in fashion to the venue’s design.

“We chose the name, then chose the wallpaper and then worked our designs around these two elements.”

The huge floor-space includes a restaurant, rooftop bar – boasting city skyline glimpses – a lounge and a cocktail bar.

Fond of timber and raw materials, Singh was keen to incorporate wood and metal embellishments in the project. Imported Shand Kydd and vintage wallpapers and eclectic fabrics and furnishings create a decadent, yet brooding space.

The project has been separated into different zones. The ‘retro dining area’ is inspired by vintage posters depicting a number of the world’s cities, while the ‘Peacock lounge’ alludes to ‘old world luxe’ with wallpapers in blue and black peacocks, dark woods and “hand picked fabrics in candy man stripes and panne velvets”.

“In the cocktail bar we kept it quite pared back and wanted a luxurious industrial feel, so we polished the concrete floor, covered the walls in another vintage wallpaper (circa 1973) and added thick recycled beams and a wood panelled staircase.”

Continuing the tradition of eclectic Melbourne bars, the Emerald Peacock is bound to make some noise.

theemeraldpeacock.com