IDK

'Stripping back as an approach to fitting out.'

Newington Table is a restaurant in Newington Green, North London and IDK’s first project. Working to a tight budget, we maximised the space to create a vibrant, laid back setting, with an open kitchen, bakery, bar and seating area. The site had previously been occupied by an Indian restaurant and our approach became an exercise in stripping back to the shell, only adding interventions that would directly benefit the diner’s experience. Most finishes were either as-found or extremely basic. This restraint freed up significant funds to invest in bespoke joinery, which became the restaurant’s unifying feature. The benches, booths and seats were all made of Siberian larch, as was the nine metre long banqueting table which gave the restaurant its name. The practice of minimal intervention in temporally-constrained fitouts has remained a touchstone in our studio’s practical approach and philosophy. Although the restaurant has since changed hands and its table is long gone, the pared back space has been passed down to the subsequent occupants of this sunny spot on Newington Green and the hallmarks of its design can be traced through all our subsequent work.