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LYON 1894 — Modern French Brasserie Design & Material Supply
Project Overview
Intimate Dining Nook — Curved plaster arch alcove, curved white paper-style chandelier, and exposed original limestone wall
A restaurateur in Lyon's Vieux Lyon district hired us to design and supply a modern French brasserie in a heritage building from 1894. 320 square meters. Originally a silk workshop. Soaring arched ceilings, original limestone walls, deep arched windows facing a cobblestone street. The brief: a dining room that respects Lyon's gastronomic history but doesn't feel like a museum.
The original 1894 limestone walls were stabilized with injection grouting before the plaster finish went on — this added two weeks but prevented future spalling. The dark stone floor tiles are through-body porcelain with R11 slip rating for wet service areas. All electrical and plumbing runs are surface-mounted behind removable plaster panels to avoid drilling into the heritage masonry.
The design keeps the building's historic bones — limestone, archways, deep window reveals — and layers in dark stone flooring, white linen, navy blue upholstery, copper, and warm plaster. The old and new don't compete. The limestone does the talking. The modern materials stay quiet.
Design Philosophy — Heritage Modern
Entry Corridor — Curved plaster arch hallway with soft daylight, original limestone wall, dark stone stairs, and candle-lit wall niches
The approach is heritage modern. The original 19th-century stone and plaster are the foundation, not something to hide. The entry corridor makes this clear: a curved plaster tunnel, warm amber LED strips along the base, original limestone on one side, arched niches with candles. You walk from a cobblestone street into a dining room. The transition takes about eight seconds. Long enough to shift gears.
The palette comes from Lyon itself. Warm beige plaster — the same color as the city's limestone buildings. Deep navy blue — the evening sky over the Saône. Copper and brass — every Lyonnais kitchen has them. Olive green from the surrounding hills. No white. No black. Every tone has a reason to be there.
Main Dining Room — The Grand Salon
Service Bar & Open Kitchen — Curved plaster counter with brass espresso machine, copper pots, wine shelves, and olive tree in natural daylight
The curved plaster ceiling panels are glass-fiber-reinforced gypsum — half the weight of traditional plaster, so the original 19th-century roof trusses needed no structural reinforcement. The navy blue velvet upholstery meets EU contract-grade standards at 100,000 Martindale cycles. Copper cookware was sourced with full EU food-safety certification.
The main dining room is built around a curved plaster arch ceiling with dark ribbon band accents — a modern take on Lyon's historic vaulted passages. Round and rectangular tables in crisp white linen. Polished glassware. Copper candle holders. Navy blue upholstered chairs with slim black metal legs — 86 of them in the main room.
Arched floor-to-ceiling windows with sheer linen curtains open onto the cobblestone street. Afternoon light cuts across the room — gold on white linen, navy in shadow. Two large potted olive trees in dark concrete planters separate the front salon from the rear dining zone. Curved white paper-style chandeliers throw warm, diffused light onto the stone and plaster. The service bar — curved white plaster counter, warm amber LED-lit accent column — sits between the salon and the open kitchen. Backlit mirrored shelving behind it displays French spirits and glassware. Bartenders wipe the copper counter with a dry cloth between orders — the material patinas naturally over time.
Private Dining Room — La Salle Privée
Private Dining Room — Long white linen-draped table, light grey chairs, dark tufted leather bench, and glass partitions
A private dining room seats up to 20 behind dark-framed glass partitions. The glass gives acoustic separation without cutting off sightlines. Long rectangular table in white linen, polished wine glasses, copper candle holders. Light grey upholstered chairs with black metal legs along both sides. Dark tufted leather bench against the back wall.
Minimal linear pendant track lighting throws soft shadows across warm beige plaster walls. A wall-mounted display panel is recessed for presentations. An olive tree in a concrete planter in the corner matches the ones in the main salon — same variety, same pot. Through the glass, guests see the main room but hear nothing. That's the point of the glass.
Cave à Vin & Charcuterie Cellar
Wine & Charcuterie Cellar — Limestone archway, glass-enclosed dry-aging cabinet, copper cookware, and backlit wine rack with French bottles
A Lyon brasserie needs a proper wine and charcuterie program. The cellar room, framed by an original limestone archway, houses a glass-enclosed dry-aging cabinet — cured meats and saucisson hanging inside, lit from within. Hooks above a dark wooden counter with a brass faucet hold copper pots and pans. It's a direct nod to Lyon's bouchons — the traditional restaurants where copper cookware hangs above the bar.
A floor-to-ceiling dark metal wine rack with warm backlighting holds over 300 French bottles — Burgundy, Beaujolais, Côtes du Rhône — organized by region and vintage. Dark stone flooring continues through the cellar. A small woven rug sits in the center. The rug is there because cold stone floors in a cellar feel unwelcoming after 9 p.m.
Materials Breakdown
Materials Palette — Dark stone tile, lime plaster, aged limestone block, navy linen, copper saucepan with brass handle, white linen napkin, walnut wood, aged brass
What We Supplied
Polished dark stone floor tiles with subtle warm veining (320 m², all dining zones and cellar), warm beige textured plaster wall finish (custom-applied over original masonry), original limestone wall restoration and sealing (entry corridor and cellar archway), curved plaster ceiling panels with dark ribbon band accents (main dining room, custom-molded), deep navy blue velvet upholstery (dining chairs, 86 units, with slim black metal legs), light grey upholstered chairs (private dining, 20 units), dark tufted leather bench seating (private dining room), white linen tablecloths and napkins (custom-sized for round and rectangular tables), curved white paper-style pendant chandeliers (8 units, custom-fabricated), copper candle holders and hanging copper cookware (imported from French artisan workshops), backlit mirrored spirit shelving with integrated warm-amber LED (service bar), glass-enclosed dry-aging cabinet with amber LED (charcuterie cellar), dark metal floor-to-ceiling wine rack with warm backlighting (300-bottle capacity), brass faucets, bar footrests, and trim (aged patina finish), dark-framed glass partition panels (private dining room), arched window treatments with sheer linen curtains, potted olive trees in dark concrete planters (4 units)
Key Results
All materials delivered within a 12-week lead time from order confirmation to Lyon site handover, with customs clearance coordinated for the copper cookware and custom chandelier imports. The heritage-modern approach — preserving original 19th-century limestone and plaster while layering in dark stone, navy blue, and copper — was praised by local heritage authorities as a sensitive and successful adaptation of a historic silk workshop. The brasserie opened to strong critical reception, earning a mention in the Michelin Guide Lyon within its first quarter of operation.
LYON 1894 is one purchase order, one container, one delivery — from heritage plasterwork to EU-certified copper cookware to contract-grade upholstery. OneStopBuildly handles sourcing, QC inspection, containerization, and shipping in a single consolidated order. All materials include full CE documentation. For GCC restaurant projects, we pre-configure fire-retardant upholstery and anti-corrosion metal fixture upgrades. Reach our team at cindy@onestopbuildly.com for a project quotation.
