Greens Restaurant and Bar
Overlooking Kenmare Bay on the resilient coastline of the Iveragh Peninsula in South-West Ireland, the Ring of Kerry Golf Club is one of the most picturesque courses in the country. In operation for almost 20 years, the golf club has built its reputation on a challenging yet enjoyable golfing experience against a glorious backdrop.
Away from the course, the club’s hospitality offering has recently undergone a major overhaul with the refurbishment of its Greens Restaurant & Bar. Created by boutique interior design company Northern Backdrop, the new design takes a large amount of inspiration from the stunning landscape.
Image Credit – Derek Hillier
Speaking to Premier Hospitality, Northern Backdrop Founder Vinny Smith gave an overview of the new look space:
“My maternal family are from the area, just behind the golf club. I was at the club for New Year’s Eve playing Irish music with a couple of local musicians and ended up chatting with one of the owners. To cut a long story short, I was back on a plane 10 days later ready to work on the refurbishment. Basically it was a social night out that turned into a job.
“In terms of a brief for the project, the club pretty much gave me free reign over the space to let me carry out the vision I had for it. Previously the restaurant and bar had a very masculine feel and hadn’t really changed much since the Club House was first built. I purposely wanted it to feel more female-friendly.
“I am used to the view and the surrounding area because I’ve been going since I was a child and this was the real drive behind the design. The idea was that if I couldn’t see it out of the window of the club, it wasn’t going in. I really wanted to reflect the external surroundings and translate them into the interior finishes. If you can’t draw inspiration from that view you should really give up!
“All the colours, textures and materials were based on watching the sea on one day. When the weather changed, the sea changed to different colours. It can go from greys to greens to blues in a short space of time. The textures are very natural – we’ve used driftwood, recycled cork and birch trees as well as locally sourced bog oak to make sculptural pieces”
Feedback on the space so far has been great. The new restaurant and bar perfectly matches its surroundings and is already succeeding in attracting a wider audience, especially for special events. Plans for further expansion are already in place. Vinny added:
“It was an amazing project to work on but also a bit nerve-racking because obviously locals know my family, plus I only had a few days over there to develop the core ideas – I really wanted to get it right. It’s very rewarding that the first design I’ve done in Ireland is on the doorstep of somewhere I’ve known my whole life.”
Northern Backdrop Interior Design is based in Cheshire and was established by Vinny Smith in 2012. With a wealth of experience and an impressive portfolio of work, Vinny and his team have the resources to deliver everything from boutique projects to large scale, ambitious commercial designs from conception through to completion.
Image Credit – Derek Hillier
Telegraph Furniture
Telegraph Furniture specialise in the supply and manufacture of contract furniture to restaurants, bars, hotels and student accommodation. Telegraph Furniture also exports to restaurants and hotels all around Europe and recently in Spain, Holland, Ireland as well as the US and has worked with celebrity chefs including Simon Rogan and Mark Sergeant amongst others.
Most recently, Telegraph Furniture has been involved in Greens Bar & Restaurant. Telegraph Contract Furniture were invited to work with Vinny Smith from Northern Backdrop Design, as well as James Mitchell from The Ring of Kerry Golf Club, to create a furniture package that complimented the picturesque background that the golf club is based on.
Telegraph produced a very clean and neutral look in both furniture styles as well as the materials used, which the restaurant needed as it looked over the lake and rolling hills of its surroundings.
Telegraph Contract Furniture, Director, Kim Pinnington, said:
“It was a great project to work on – golf clubs have been great for us as a business over the years and collectively we have worked on the Royal Liverpool Golf Club, Royal Troon Golf Club, The Belfry, as well as Royal Malta Golf Club. To work on The Ring Of Kerry Golf Club has been a real positive for us as we continue to move the business in the right direction.”
Image Credit – Derek Hillier
