When Lars Snellaars was commissioned to design a restaurant inspired by the 1920s just as we came out of pandemic lockdown, the connection between what was happening then (emergence from the Spanish Flu, world war and economic downturn) and now, struck him. His seating designs for the project were all richly pigmented velvet, long fringed trim and a gold frame, details that recalled a carefree heel-clicking, skirt-swishing Charleston dancer. For him it represented a feeling of freedom; a call to party. ‘The inspiration was dancing people who are celebrating life after this period,’ he says. ‘The frame gives flexibility for sitting and chatting to everyone around you in a bar area. The velvet fabric gives an exciting feeling together with the gold frame in a crossed shape that symbolises togetherness.’ The design, which he entitled ReUnited, has now been developed into a collection for Dutch design brand Satelliet Originals, the new customisable furniture line for hospitality selling the sort of high-quality originality now craved by the restaurant industry.
