LOBBY GOES ONE LEVEL HIGHER
Roots plays major role in creating fresh look for Toronto hot spot
For the past 10 days, during the 31st Toronto International Film Festival, one of the hottest addresses in town for after-hours mingling has been on Bloor Street, a block west of the Roots flagship store. Every evening, film stars, entertainment executives, models, fashion cognoscenti, media mavens and other assorted movers and shakers have converged on Lobby, a restaurant and champagne lounge that has been a success almost since the day it opened several years ago. If the club has been particularly comfortable and smarter looking of late, owners Jeff and Corey Mandell have Roots to thank in large part.
In July, they decided they wanted to give Lobby a facelift in time for the film festival onslaught of guests. They were inspired by what they saw during a visit to the home of architect Diane Bald and her husband Roots Co-Founder Michael Budman. Working within a tight timeframe in close collaboration with Matt Davis, Allen Chan and Anwar Mukhayest of the Designer Guys TV show, Diane played a key role in the impressive new look of Lobby.
The new Lobby is sophisticated yet sexy, elegant and tailored. The designers turned the previous white Miami look into a beautiful rich warm moody lounge reminiscent of the great club rooms of the 1940s such as the Polo Lounge at the Beverley Hills Hotel and Chasen’s, the late lamented restaurant of the stars in Los Angeles.
Other than the bar, almost none of Lobby’s original elements were kept. The front lounge was reconfigured using beautiful Roots armchairs custom-designed for Lobby to create a more open, flexible and yet still private and exclusive lounge clusters.
"The entire project was a whirlwind right from the start,” says Matt. “With a 10-day window to completely transform a downtown landmark and our camera crew rolling (for Designer Guys), everyone was pushed to the limit. The success of the project was in no small part due to the unbelievable efforts by Diane and the whole Roots team who managed to custom design and fabricate a unique set of armchairs, sofas, curved and fitted banquettes, and re-upholster all the dining chairs in leather within impossible timelines. Through her furniture design and her insight into both Lobby and the city's need for a new style and identity, Diane truly helped inspire the vision for the project.”
Based on the response so far from patrons and staff, Lobby’s new look is a crowd pleaser, and not just any crowd.
For the past 10 days, during the 31st Toronto International Film Festival, one of the hottest addresses in town for after-hours mingling has been on Bloor Street, a block west of the Roots flagship store. Every evening, film stars, entertainment executives, models, fashion cognoscenti, media mavens and other assorted movers and shakers have converged on Lobby, a restaurant and champagne lounge that has been a success almost since the day it opened several years ago. If the club has been particularly comfortable and smarter looking of late, owners Jeff and Corey Mandell have Roots to thank in large part.
In July, they decided they wanted to give Lobby a facelift in time for the film festival onslaught of guests. They were inspired by what they saw during a visit to the home of architect Diane Bald and her husband Roots Co-Founder Michael Budman. Working within a tight timeframe in close collaboration with Matt Davis, Allen Chan and Anwar Mukhayest of the Designer Guys TV show, Diane played a key role in the impressive new look of Lobby.
The new Lobby is sophisticated yet sexy, elegant and tailored. The designers turned the previous white Miami look into a beautiful rich warm moody lounge reminiscent of the great club rooms of the 1940s such as the Polo Lounge at the Beverley Hills Hotel and Chasen’s, the late lamented restaurant of the stars in Los Angeles.
Other than the bar, almost none of Lobby’s original elements were kept. The front lounge was reconfigured using beautiful Roots armchairs custom-designed for Lobby to create a more open, flexible and yet still private and exclusive lounge clusters.
"The entire project was a whirlwind right from the start,” says Matt. “With a 10-day window to completely transform a downtown landmark and our camera crew rolling (for Designer Guys), everyone was pushed to the limit. The success of the project was in no small part due to the unbelievable efforts by Diane and the whole Roots team who managed to custom design and fabricate a unique set of armchairs, sofas, curved and fitted banquettes, and re-upholster all the dining chairs in leather within impossible timelines. Through her furniture design and her insight into both Lobby and the city's need for a new style and identity, Diane truly helped inspire the vision for the project.”
Based on the response so far from patrons and staff, Lobby’s new look is a crowd pleaser, and not just any crowd.
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