Oysters, Caviar, and Quintana Partners’ Nonchalant Design: 6 Ideas to Steal from Menorca’s New Hangout

It’s been a whirlwind few months for Benito Escat and Pol Castells of Quintana Partners. In addition to designing two just-opened Paris hotels, the duo launched their own tableware and textiles line, House of Quintana. And back on their home base of Menorca, Spain, they also just got married.


These days, they’re not always on the island where Quintana’s glam vintage look was first established. But when they are, they’ve made sure they have the ideal place to hang.


Created with a friend in the seafood business, Oysters Menorca is Quintana Partners’ café clubhouse: look for the shell sconces and cute waiters in leather aprons. Come take a tour—and note Quintana’s joie-de-vivre inducing ideas worth replicating in your own home or hideaway.


Photography courtesy of Quintana Partners and Oysters Menorca.


1. Keep the Shore Decor Subtle


Above: History revisited—situated in Menorca’s old town of Mahón, Oysters Menorca is in the sort of setting where Pol and Benoit got their start: an atmospheric but needy historic structure benefitting from an extensive update that looks as if it’s always been there. Note the just-enough nautical touch: shell sconces indoors and out—for more ideas, go to Now Trending: Poetic Seashells in Interiors, 12 Ways. Photograph by Daniel Schaefer Studio.


2. Offset the Refined with Summery Rope Furniture


Above: A sinuous marble-topped bar, Josef Frank-style table lamp, and vintage Rolex watch wall clock are invitingly paired with Ash and Seagrass Bar Stools, $299, from Zara Home.
Above: The restaurant specializes Champagne, caviar, and primo oysters from Holland (as well as France, Portugal, Ireland, and Spain, all supplied by an international co-op of oyster farmers).


3. Finish a Seating Area with a Tiled Wainscot


Above: Indoors and out are finished in a crisp palette of dark green and shades of white, including a tiled wainscot that wraps around the room—an idea worth replicating in an eat-in kitchen. Photograph by Daniel Schaefer Studio.


4. Display Your Tools as Decor


Above: As we always say, a peg rail makes everything look better: hanging everyday necessities puts them within reach and creates an eye-pleasing display. See Instant Order: 16 Simple, Smart Uses for the Shaker Peg Rail from the Remodelista Archives.
Above: A metal boat holds the tools of the oyster trade. Photograph by Daniel Schaefer Studio.


5. Preserve the Old (While Giving It a Refresh)


Above: Oysters Menorca occupies an old restaurant space that came with a terracotta-tiled stone wine cave that the designers put to use as a private dining room for groups of eight and more. The oak dining table expands to fit and is surrounded by Ash Wood Chairs from Zara Home. A hand-painted ceramic seafood sign that could be a century old or newly made—Quintana is not revealing—serves as a focal point. 


6. Discover the Menorcan Take On the Director’s Chair


Above: The local take on the classic canvas and wood director’s chair is known as the Menorcan Chair. It’s been fabricated on the island since the 1920s and is available from Sillas Menorca, which has its workshop on the island. The Chairs start at €84.64; they’re solid beech (varnished for outdoor use) and come in a range of sizes, finishes, and canvas colors. The Tables start at €163.29 and like the chairs are collapsible.


Oysters Menorca


Here are three more favorite Quintana Partners’ designs:



* The All-Vintage Renovation in Menorca

* Kitchen of the Week: Embracing the Old in 5 Quintana Partners’ Projects

* A Garden Center Converted into a Vacation Compound | bit.ly/3XLoEJb


http://dlvr.it/TBrvD9