By Mari Muller | Illustration by Shaylene Brooks
To some, Bosscat Kitchen & Libations may look like an elegant mash-up of speakeasy-meets-steampunk. But for the restaurant’s designer, Hootan Hamedani of Hootan & Associates, the source of inspiration came from a much earlier time.
“Imagine you are a knight on your horse, passing through farmlands, coming back to the castle from the war,” he describes. “When you come to Bosscat, we want you to feel that you have entered a time machine and traveled to a different time.”
Bosscat makes its mark as a bastion of all that is industrial-chic, and it does it well. In fact, Hootan & Associates was recently recognized for the restaurant’s cutting-edge design with the prestigious A’Design Bronze Award in 2014. Characterized by strong, functional elements with an urban edge—every freestanding piece of furniture is constructed from some combination of reclaimed wood, metal and vintage gears or wheels—Bosscat’s style of decor translates well to residential living rooms.
Recreate the restaurant’s look and feel by taking a page from Hamedani’s design strategy for Bosscat: Invest in refurbished industrial materials—wheels, gears, chains and other vintage metals—to provide accent pieces for the walls or furniture. Even if you’re not ready to pursue a complete renovation to adopt Bosscat’s brick-lined walls, mixing the sleek appeal of leather sofas or chairs with the rich texture of old wood on farmhouse side tables or wall hangings can introduce a similar appeal into a living room. And for a dramatic finishing touch, a worthwhile investment is the addition of a sliding barn door; it’s a functional execution of the industrial trend that transitions easily from a commercial space to the home.
