When the famed Colony Club Casino in Mayfair underwent a full refurbishment from the gaming floor to the private members bar, Dakota House of Design was called in to create the desired blend of old-school Hollywood glamour and striking modernity. In creating a moody, high-end and sophisticated atmosphere for the private members area, bespoke solutions became central to the scheme.

A fascinating feature

Director of Dakota House of Design, Terri Naylor says, “To meet the luxury brief, we originally considered using marble for the bar, but to create something as complex and impressive as this would have taken too much from the budget. Another consideration was the risk of staining the marble with red wine and other acidic substances common to the service of drinks. So we then looked into Corian® – and it soon became the obvious choice. We worked closely with expert fabricators Atelier Joinery Ltd., to realise the vision of an angular installation that was evocative of a gemstone or crystal”.

This high-impact monolithic effect was enabled by the extraordinary versatility of Corian®, which can be cut, shaped and then seamlessly joined to create stunning results.

Multi-faceted design

The colour of Corian® chosen was Arrowroot, as this veined mineral texture most resembled the desired effect of a luxurious stone. So versatile is this aesthetic – enhanced by the complete homogeneity of the material – that it can be used with its more typically ‘reverse’ aspect of the sheet facing outwards instead.

“A further advantage of working Corian®,” explains Terri, “was that the various modules of the bar could be made by Atelier Joinery offsite and then easily transported, assembled, invisibly seamed and polished out on site so that it appears as though hewn out of one piece of precious mineral. What’s more the hygienic nature of Corian® and the fact that it’s so durable and easy to maintain made it ideal for a busy hospitality setting. The client is as thrilled as we are with the final results.”