Dezeen Magazine

Bobby Gin Cocktail Bar by Normal

Bobby Gin Cocktail Bar by Normal

Spanish designers Normal have completed a Barcelona cocktail bar with tables made of drawers, a bar made of doors and a door made of cupboards.

Bobby Gin Cocktail Bar by Normal

The long wooden bar runs along the length of the Bobby Gin Cocktail Bar and is clad in recycled doors of different sizes and colours.

Bobby Gin Cocktail Bar by Normal

The reused chests of drawers have had their legs removed and are mounted on the opposite wall as tables.

Bobby Gin Cocktail Bar by Normal

Above, the ceiling is decorated with empty picture frames.

Bobby Gin Cocktail Bar by Normal

Dark-stained timber covers the floor and folds up around some of the walls.

Bobby Gin Cocktail Bar by Normal

Walls elsewhere are white-painted stone, decorated with circular ceiling lights and letters spelling out the message GOD SAVE THE GIN.

Bobby Gin Cocktail Bar by Normal

Other unusual bars featured on Dezeen include one modelled on a movie set and another that resembles an undulating cave - see all our stories about restaurant and bar interiors here.

Bobby Gin Cocktail Bar by Normal

Photography is by Pedro Pegenaute.

Here's a project description from Normal:


We’ve had a great time with this project: we’ve made door collages, invented one-legged furniture, put part of the floor on the wall, made doors look like cupboards and hung paintings on the wall.

Nevertheless, Bobby Gin looks pretty Normal. The idea was to create the most memorable result possible within a very limited budget. We ended up with a radical organization of the space using alternative resources: a) strategic placement of wood paneling and materials; b) customized furniture and c) extreme care in all the details that help create the bar’s signature atmosphere.

Bobby Gin Cocktail Bar by Normal

The strong front door frames a richly textured interior: the bar covered in a collage of old doors, furniture designed from recycled drawers, the mirror that dominates the left-hand side, the stone wall painted white on the right.

The vertical paneling in the central module in tinted oak fades into the floors to blur the edges of the hallway. This way, with help from the retro, homey furniture, the dark, narrow hallway becomes a cozy place to stand and chat.

Bobby Gin Cocktail Bar by Normal

A fun cupboard hides the inevitable presence of the door to the bathroom in the main room, while maintaining aesthetical coherence with the other elements that make up the space. Frames made from molding, also salvaged, allow us to camouflage the soundproofing system on the ceiling... and, in the same line, a long etcetera of resources to make the most of the space in an atmosphere that is both surprising and cozy.

Everyone is talking about Bobby Gin as the “temple of the Gin and Tonic” in Barcelona and bartender Alberto Pizarro was chosen the best mixologist in Spain at the finals of the World Class Competition.