Etta | IF Architecture

Modern dining space with shelves, wine glasses, and table setup from Etta.

Imagine wandering down a bustling street in Milan or Rome. You come across a crowded little bistro, frequented by locals and visitors alike.

Modern bar interior with marble countertops and pendant lights from the Etta project.

Miraculously, there’s one empty table and you swiftly claim it. Looking around the animated space, it’s impossible to say if it’s decades old, or a warm and welcoming new establishment. This was the vision for Etta, now perfectly at home in Brunswick East.

2017
Brunswick, Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Land

Patrons

60pax

Floor area

105m²

We began with just one foundation element: the original black and grey speckled terrazzo floor of uncertain age.

Modern black bar stools with terrazzo flooring in Etta interior design.

Etta features a stylish bar setup with bottles, glassware, and lush green foliage.

Modern bar interior with red seating, pendant lights, and a stocked shelf behind the counter.

Encircling the bar are tall and thin low-backed ‘Iva’ stools (named after Director Iva Foschia). A wide burgundy cushioned banquette is framed in bronze pearl steel, with room for patrons to sit either side. The walls throughout are unadorned. A mix of raw cement sheet, spaced to emphasise the shadow lines of the joins, or solid plaster with French wash to create a patina of soft ageing.

Wine bottles arranged on shelves as part of the Etta project display.

Modern interior design of Etta featuring a sleek bar area and elegant wine display.

A long dining bench extends from the open kitchen, topped with Australian Emperador marble from Chillagoe in flowing patterns of black and rusty red marble. The green palette is later mirrored in the intimate cushioned dining booths, lit by an internal courtyard with ferny planters and a leafy mural painted by Melbourne artist Robert Bowers. The marble bench, built to seat 10, extends into the main dining area, a mixture of intimate tables, both square and circular, with traditional bentwood chairs and comfortable booths.

Elegant dining setup on a marble table with modern lighting from Etta.

The overall impression is of an animated space, a homage to the local area, familiar, comforting and welcoming. A place that exudes timeless authenticity and character that in truth did not exist before the project began.