Crossing the line between commercial and personal with Wendy Bergman

BY Andrew McDonald

July 28th, 2015

Above: Little Hunter

Wendy Bergman

Bergman is already renown in the local design scene for her striking designs of a number of Melbourne’s hipper eateries, including Meatball & Wine Co., Little Hunter, and most recently Flinders Lanes’s Woody.P.

Woody.P is a contemporary space in the heart of Melbourne, and Bergman, along with Eades&Bergman partner Samantha Eades, created a modern and bespoke space, eschewing any notion of the coldness of modernity. Woody.P is characterised by exposed brickwork, polished wooden floors, textured glass and a tiled feature wall.

Woody.P

It’s this sense of warmth in the face of contemporary design that Wendy channels in her latest project, the interiors of the new Nine High development in Melboune’s Thornbury. With the made for entertaining kitchens serving as the focus point for these new apartments, a sense of flourish and style was essential for the completion of this project.

Woody.P

“Designing for restaurants has a large influence in my approach to apartment design. The way people move around and function in a restaurant is crucial to how they feel in the space, this is also a major influence on how I design the interiors of a home,” says Wendy “Just as patrons love to engage in the dramas of an open restaurant kitchen so do family and friends love to engage in the creativity of the domestic master chef”

Nine High

“Custom designing is an essential process in hospitality to express individuality and to have a unique experience, this naturally transpires into my designing of apartments and homes.”

Nine High

Bergman brings a meticulous eye to the interior specifications and layout of Nine High. Light has long been a major informant of her eye-catching designs, and Nine High continues with; with atriums and light-wells populating the space, the apartments are drenched in natural light throughout.

Meatball & Wine Bar

Eades&Bergman cites “A dedication to travel and staying ahead of trends” as a core value of their practice, and Bergman brings this over to the aesthetic of Nine High.

Wendy Bergman’s unique approach to restaurant interiors is both very aesthetic-design oriented and functional, never forgetting the practicality of these spaces as areas of work and relaxation. Bringing this approach across to the home is as natural as the spaces themselves.