Dynasty Room

The Story

The Dynasty Room was a local favorite in the International District of Seattle, WA. Soon the restaurant and bar would be demolished to make way for a new multi-family building. The client remembered going there as a kid. He always wanted to own a bar, but had never given it a try. He figured that he could take over the space for 1-2 years while the design and permit work was being done on the multi-family project.

We had a tight budget to work with. The client wanted it to be for the community and not take away from what was there, but he wanted to modernize it. We had a crazy amount of fun on this one. We closed off the restaurant and focused on the bar. We also made the entry sequence a design feature. Working with an artist from Electric Coffin, we found opportunities to incorporate art. One of my favorite parts of this project is after you enter the bar you are hit with bight red. It’s energetic. Then once you find your seat and turn around to look back at the entry, you see what it used to be like back in the day. It was fun to be a little extra risky and just go for it on this one. It ended up winning the Best Bar in Seattle, 2018.

Collaborators

Firm: Board & Vellum
Project Lead: Ryan Adanalian, Board & Vellum
Interiors: Katie Mallory, Board & Vellum
Contractor: Client
Art: Electric Coffin
Photographer: Austin Lane Day