Where The Land Meets the Sea

WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?Where The Land Meets the SeaNOTE: "What Were They Thinking?" is a new addition to each issue of Interiors & Sources that examines the thought process behind the design of a particular space, with special attention placed on exploring the convergence of elements used to complete the design.One of Charlotte, NC's newest and most acclaimed restaurants, Blue is an urbane and sophisticated destination for local residents seeking great cuisine and live music. Owner Alex Myrick turned to Little Diversified Architectural Consultants to help create his 8,500-square-foot dream restaurant, one that Steve Starr, Store Design Studio principal at Little, described as "a restaurant that conveyed the theme and brand of a multi- cultural Mediterranean restaurant without it being 'themey'."During their creative brainstorming sessions, Starr and his team sought to define the essence of "Mediterranean style," and centered on the metaphor of "a place where the land meets the sea." Using that concept, they applied the imagery to many of the space's elements and, in fact, "the restaurant's design became about the contrast between the land and the sea, between the ordered elements and the curved elements," noted Starr.Here's what the Little team was thinking as they shaped Blue's multi-faced space.