Restaurant Lumo Bistro’s design depicts contemporary Italy

Photography: Oleksandr Anhelovskyi.

Reimagined Italian design is the basis of the interiors for Lumo Bistro, a new Mediterranean eatery in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro. Designed by YOD Group, the vision paid particular attention to the Postmodernist style popularised by Milan’s Memphis Group in its mosaic tiles, plaid upholstery and citrus-hued accents.

In a firing process which renders the natural grain of plywood silvery and charred, the production of Alpi Veneer was first developed by the founder of Memphis, Ettore Sottsass, in the late 80s. Offsetting the checkerboard geometry, the same burnt timber sheets now clad the bar’s banquette seating, creating a material distinction and point of visual interest outside the main restaurant.

Adjacent, a voluminous bar divides the space, alongside a ridged light feature which hovers above. Resembling the curvature of blancmange, the illuminated mass omits a warm glow on cold tone surfaces; a striking effect viewable from the street and nearby public square, thanks to the restaurant’s panoramic glazed frontage. An arched portal, sitting to the left of the island bar, separates the primary space from the cloakroom and bathrooms. Tiled in black-grouted mosaic, a sense of continuity is present in the corridor, which also acts as a non-physical partition from utilities.

Characteristic of classic Italian coffee shops, the tables in the dining space feature moulded cast-iron table legs, with the archetypal black finish exchanged for polished grey to complement Lumo’s interior scheme. Another nod to Italy comes in the form of leather tabletops and padded seating, the raw-edged surface coverings reminiscent of the stretching process of hides in traditional tanneries.

Flashes of orange – including statement sinks in the bathroom, retro pendant lamps and bronze finishes – create a cosy mood throughout, interposing an otherwise sleek, monochromatic palette.