We have had the honor of designing the new interiors for the Thai House Eatery, formerly known as the Thai House Express, which brings New Plymouth authentic Thai cuisine at it’s finest.

The restaurant has transferred to new hands – the daughter of the current owners. We met Khim last year in June, as she explained to us that with her stepping up, so too should the restaurant. The interior renovation gives the location a new look and fresh feel, also symbolizing the start of new beginnings for Khim.

Progress photos

Our brief was to make the interior light, bright and family-friendly. With this in mind, we added more seating options to be inclusive to the solo eater and large families alike, and to add dimension to the space through texture, colours and lighting.

To achieve these goals we worked with Khim (the new owner) and graphic designer, Casie Smith from Design Garage, to choose a colour palette and imagery that reflected the family’s multi-culture. Khim’s Family is Thai/Chinese and they live in Taranaki. Design Garage worked these elements in to the wallpaper design, and we created the ambiance. If you look at the wallpaper mural you will see our Maunga Taranaki, coriander, chillies, lemongrass and Thai orchids. The logo colour palette is Khim’s favourite shades of pink and red, which we incorporated in the seating and part of the ceiling.

We made the space lighter by painting the walls and ceilings white (only leaving a small section of the ceiling red.) We improved the existing lighting and added more lighting around the room that is strategically placed to create zones. By using pastel colour tones rather than deeper darker ones, the restaurant is interesting and playful.

We created more seating options by zoning the space with room dividers along the walls and a range of furniture options that included large tables, smaller easy-to-move tables and a bar leaner, allowing anyone to find a space that suits them, their families and friends.

We added dimension to what is a very large space, by using wall paneling details, wooden room dividers, a gallery framed menu board, rattan pendants which reflect the light in beautiful patterns on the ceiling and hanging greenery in baskets from above.

While there are still a few tables and chairs to still arrive, we are all very happy with the result!

Final photos

We often say ‘we’re all about the pretty.’

It is our job to design interiors, but we rely on our trades teams to tell us if our ideas are possible. To achieve the result we envisioned, it took a team of fantastic trades people to help us problem solve along the way and come up with equally effective solutions when a couple of our grand ideas needed a reality check, or just as bit more thought to make them happen. We want to thank everyone who pitched in to get the job done!

Branding and wallpaper design: Design Garage
Electrician: Scott Electrical Solutions
Signage: Speedy Signs
Builder: Jilling Zwart
Painter: Kevin Hassett

Before photo