(London, UK)—Ochre, the National Gallery’s new restaurant in the heart of London, offers diners a remarkable interior inspired by the paintings found within the National Gallery.

Led by London-based architecture and design studio, Red Deer, the design inspiration for Ochre was found within the paintings housed at the National Gallery, as well as from the color namesake of the restaurant.

Set within the ground floor of The National Gallery, Ochre retains many of the building’s original features, including high ceilings and large windows. The inclusion of contemporary banquette seating that zig zags across the center of the main space serves to separate the drinking areas from the dining areas. Red Deer created this focal point to playfully mimic the shape of a paint stroke as a way to pay homage to the history of the building and to the act of painting. The wooden bar stool bases, shaped in the form of painters’ palettes, continue this artistic theme.

The team took color cues from the definition of ‘ochre’—a pigment found within rocks and soil—and created an earthy palette of burnt oranges, yellows, and browns for the dining space.

The lighting within Ochre is intended to create atmospheric ambience that alludes to the feeling of being seated within a still life painting. However, the historic status of the building meant there were various limitations to how Red Deer could implement new lighting fixtures. As a workaround, the team created custom large-scale free standing lighting that is intentionally exaggerated with playful shapes that read as brushmark gestures.

According to Red Deer co-founder and lead architect and designer, Lucas Che Tizard, “the design for Ochre was always going to be a plush space because the building itself is so beautiful and its proportions are so iconic…We imagined this restaurant space to be like an artist’s home— warm, homey, and relaxing.”

For more information, visit Ochre.