Behind the scenes: creating the stylish interiors for the Casa Don Alphonso restaurant at Ritz-Carlton, St Louis.
I recently traveled to Missouri to add my flair to the ceiling of the beautiful new Casa Don Alphonso soon to open at the Ritz-Carlton, St Louis.
Casa Don Alphonso is the newest restaurant from renowned Italian restauranteur Mario Iaccarino. I worked closely with Atlanta-based architecture and interior design firm The
Johnson Studio for the stunning concept.
The team have created the 140-seat dining room and bar with a lounge area and counter
seating flanking the central open kitchen. The décor is inspired by the lavender fields in Sant'Agata, and will feature a soft, romantic lavender color palette accented by a cascading glass wisteria chandelier in the dining room.
Overhead guests will find delicate branches and blossoms covering the ceiling. My mural, which is spread across seven barrel vaulted ceiling sections. I looked to Impressionist artists like Monet and Van Gogh for my style and feel for this particular project.
“Sfumato”, which is from the Italian word, sfumare meaning “to tone down like smoke”
I borrowed Leonardo Da Vinci’s technique “Sfumato”, which is from the Italian word, sfumare meaning “to tone down like smoke” to finialise the mural’s soft effect.
The space also features dramatic arches and curves, nods to the iconic and converging Missouri and Mississippi rivers. As always I enjoyed working with the team Johnson Studio and enjoyed seeing our vision come together.
You can watch a short video I’ve put together below.