Irish Whiskey Public House (Washington, DC)

I am a native Washingtonian and grew up believing I was from Ireland.  My Irish heritage is one of my biggest defining features.  As such, my affinity and love for Irish Bar Pubs (as my Dad says) stems from a sentimental and nostalgic feeling of immediate comfort, joy, music and lots of laughter.

Unfortunately, Irish Bars are often considered “dive bars.”  I wanted to change that and worked closely with Irsh Whiskey Ownership to create something new; a contemporary and more cosmopolitan public house with the same old comfort, friendliness and enormous sense of fun.

The O’Neill Studios team used three ”themes” to guide our decorative statements: Whiskey Barrels, Brass, Pattern and Plaid. We treated the ordinary and very DURABLE surface of plywood through out the space with graphic, 3 dimensional and mod details.  Each of the floors boasts the brass accents and ceiling treatments. We were able to create character upholstery pieces on each floor to ensure they all had their own statement piece.

In most of my work I love to incorporate a few trademark elements:

1. 3-Dimensional Features- We used the whiskey barrels as a 3d wall treatment on two floors.  The belts in the upholstery on the first floor are used in the walls in the hallway.  Upholstery nail heads, door handles and hinges are drilled into the wood throughout the hallway as well.

2. As much COLOR or CONTRAST as I can get away with- The graphic stencil patchwork in the hallways leading upstairs and down is a great illustration of this.

3. Original or Commissioned Artwork- We always try to encourage our clients to buy or commission custom artwork from local artists and craftsmen.  We utilized custom pieces that are contemporary takes on old advertisements and pint ads such as the Jameson portrait.

I personally felt a strong pull to execute this project as it was a great challenge to create the sentimentality and charm of a traditional Irish Bar (or PUB) without looking like your standard dark, dingy, dive. I think we succeeded!