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Creative Color Maximizes Stylish Viking Renovation
Directions in Design brings contemporary charm to a local culinary legend

          ST. LOUIS, Oct. 23, 2007 – Regular guests to the Holiday Inn Viking Conference Center restaurant had nothing but positive reactions to recent design and space-planning changes carried out by St. Louis-based Directions in Design. The arguably conservative crowd responded enthusiastically to the vivid patterns and bright splashes of red that dominated the project.

Directions in Design Inc. was retained to give the restaurant a modern up-to-date artistic theme. The team worked from the outside in, first addressing the hotel’s lobby and then tackling the restaurant’s spacious interior, while managing the project’s limited budget. The Viking’s general manager, Bill Banmiller, remained heavily involved throughout the project while still granting the design team an ample amount of artistic license on the restaurant’s design and theme.

“Completing this project within a conservative budget was an exercise in resourcefulness for us.” said Mia Mandel, senior designer and project manager, Directions in Design. “We worked with the existing infrastructure as much as possible and found innovative ways to maximize our materials and finish selections.”

Renovations to the restaurant’s spacious dining area are highlighted by the unique decorative lighting employed throughout the room. The use of wall sconces and pendants highlight the designers’ deliberate focus on bright tones and colorful patterns. A striking color palette of chocolate brown and gold with lipstick red accents was incorporated into the seating and flooring. The new carpet sports a large printed pattern, featuring chocolate brown with a variety of other pink, red and tan tones.  
           
The design team made use of the restaurant’s existing seating, reupholstering the booths and raising the backs to create a higher backrest and more privacy for diners.
The remaining seating in the center of the room is covered with a striking red checkered pattern. A trendy faux zebra-wood design makes the fireplace a focal point of the 112-seat dining area and complements the lively artwork lining the walls.

“We saw a marked increase in restaurant traffic following the renovation,” said Banmiller. “This upgrade has been a big selling point with our regular customers and has also made us more marketable with the business meeting segment of the market.”

The new renovation work began in the hotel’s lobby.  New couches and end tables are organized into conversation groups and the lobby bar space was enhanced for hotel guest’s enjoyment.  In addition to completing the restaurant and lobby redesign, DID also renovated the hotel’s guest rooms, upgraded ballroom finishes and redesigned the Great Hall meeting space.

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