Design Concept: In designing Don Chido, we ran into an interesting juxtaposition. We wanted to create a space with over the top “wow factor” elements, but at the same time, the environment needed to be warm, inviting and casual. We wanted to create a “funky” experience in a living room setting. We achieved this by using a combination of utilitarian and organic elements such as barn wood, Edison light fixtures, rope, subway tile and old steel. We then reconfigured these materials in unexpected ways. Big diagonal stripes on the walls layered with wood planks & tile, suspended beams with keyless light fixtures, unfinished steel display boxes and exaggerated “fleur de lis” tiles. In addition we wanted the project to be appealing to a wide demographic. We wanted to create a social playground for everybody including kids, old timers and hipsters. This was accomplished by creating fun and playful elements such as a series of bright yellow cherub statues, custom maraca light fixtures and a wall of overlapping Mexican blankets.

Project Description: Our goal was to create a space that envelopes a person with different visual experiences. Every direction should offer a new discovery. We definitely wanted to avoid being too serious, the intent was to create an almost magical environment. Don Chido provided us with the opportunity to take traditional Mexican architectural elements and reconfigure them as” Pop Art” furniture and lighting. For example, we took traditional spindle columns, painted them bright blue and clustered them together to create tables. We also suspended traditional Mexican steel gates from the ceiling and transformed them into light fixtures.