Opened in 1991 in the picturesque Surrey countryside, this prestigious private golf club boasting state-of-the-art facilities and exceptional greens needed an update.
We were commissioned to redesign the interior of the restaurant, create a new ‘Spike Bar’, and refresh the main entrance, cloaks and changing rooms.
The client loves the outcome, and so do we.
Interior Design
Signage and Wayfinding
Physical changes to the building
Our first concern was to address the problems that we perceived in the physical space of the clubroom.
Removing brick pillars, we introduced larger doors into the dining area to bring light into the space and open up the uninterrupted views onto the gardens and golf course. The additional sense of space helped to eliminate the corridor effect of the room.
We removed a short wall on the mezzanine level and replaced it with simple glass to open up the view across the mezzanine and reception area—out to the sky view through the rotunda windows. The glass balustrade is punctuated by the central cabinet and the back-lit shelving wall behind the bar. We designed both units to take visual advantage of the height of the room and to add scale and drama into the space.
Design from a different perspective
We intentionally avoided styling around a golf theme as we felt it could quickly become twee and dated. Instead, in designing the cabinetry and bar shelving wall, we made space for over 195 carefully curated objects to dress the room in a way that is light-hearted and beautiful. A nod to eccentricity, past times, and the nature that is nurtured in the extensive grounds at The Wisley.
Dressing the room
We wanted the seating to look more like comfy sofas than banquette seating, and with the new central seating being movable, the space becomes flexible for special functions.
The cabinets are dressed with our handpicked curios, from drawers of butterflies from the British Museum and antique crockery, to designer pieces from the likes of Tom Ford, Alessi, and Fornasetti.
Renowned craftspeople paired with sustainability
For the fixtures, we worked with renowned British craftspeople. Saddler Matthew Fothergill handcrafted the leather bar front, and bespoke lighting designers Curiousa and Curiousa created their tallest lamp commissions that stand at both ends of the bar.
The elegant fine profile on the tabletops is achieved with an innovative, strong, and hard wearing ‘leather finish’ product made from recycled paper. We reused the existing fine dining chairs, having them fully refurbished to fit in with the new scheme.
Scale and drama
Two large-scale drawings of British birds – a Barn Swallow and a Great Tit – were specifically commissioned for The Wisley. Both drawings are used on the back wall to make a connection with the main room below and draw the eye up to the mezzanine and make the space feel wider.
The Wisley is genuinely unique and now our clubhouse is too. It would have been very easy to do a traditional look but we liked Newenglish Studio’s ideas because they came from a different angle. It doesn’t feel like you’re in a golf club; it’s more like a high-end restaurant.Since the redesign more people come in for lunches and our private party bookings… we can see the positive business impact the redesign has had. Chief Executive, The Wisley
