Dezeen Magazine

Maannos kitchen and bar by Laura Seppänen Design Agency

Farm-to-table cooking informs natural colour palette of Maannos restaurant in Helsinki

Finnish designer Laura Seppänen applied earthy tones throughout this restaurant in Helsinki to reflect the menu's focus on locally sourced ingredients.

Maannos kitchen and bar by Laura Seppänen Design Agency

Maannos kitchen and bar – located to the south of the city centre – offers diners a seasonal menu of largely vegetable-based dishes, using produce that has been almost exclusively grown in Finland.

When translated from Finnish, the restaurant's name refers to the first and supposedly most fertile layer of soil.

Maannos kitchen and bar by Laura Seppänen Design Agency

This was interior designer Laura Seppänen's starting point for establishing an aesthetic for the restaurant, which she decided to complete in colours akin to materials like soil, mud, clay, sand, and other elements of nature.

"As a designer I wanted to combine three things: the old industrial building, the owner's food philosophy, and modern Scandinavian design," said Seppänen.

Maannos kitchen and bar by Laura Seppänen Design Agency

The designer decided to keep the restaurant's existing concrete floors and an exposed brick rear wall.

Remaining surfaces have been washed with plaster made from travertine, a type of limestone deposited by mineral springs, which leaves a chalky, pale grey finish. Bare pipes on the ceiling have also been freshened up with white paint.

Maannos kitchen and bar by Laura Seppänen Design Agency

A fluted wood bar counter centres the room, complemented by tables that are crafted from timber felled in restaurant owner Jouni Rahikainen's own forest.

Emerald green and deep blue Beetle chairs by Danish brand Gubi have been dotted throughout the space to reflect Finland's verdant landscape and abundance of lakes.

"The jute carpet and ochre coloured sofa remind me of a cornfield," the designer added.

Maannos kitchen and bar by Laura Seppänen Design Agency

Metallic touches are provided by the circular brass wall lamps and a chunky, mirrored coffee table that sits near the restaurant's entrance.

Recently architecture firm Woods Bagot borrowed colours from the outdoors to complete the interiors of a sky-high restaurant in Manhattan, which features cloudy grey walls and a range of blue furnishings.

Photography is by Pauliina Salonen.

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Maannos kitchen and bar by Laura Seppänen Design Agency
Maannos kitchen and bar by Laura Seppänen Design Agency