London comes to Montrose

'Mayfair Maximalism' shines in new Houston restaurant's lavish design

Long before Bridgerton placed London’s Mayfair neighborhood at the helm of America’s collective psyche, innumerable restaurateurs have put their spin on what I’ll call “Mayfair Maximalism.” This includes the following, mixed among one another, co-existing under the same roof: boldly saturated colors, pastel colors, mixed textiles (especially employing the varied use of trimmings), multiple furnishing styles, wallpapers, murals, floral motifs, semi-eccentric lighting fixtures, and, of course, expertly curated dish, glass, and flatware collections.

Casual pubs and beer gardens have long been steadfast in their dedication to British authenticity, oftentimes importing full interiors from across the pond. So, why not utilize England for inspiration in fine dining?

It is improbable that jet-setting Houstonians have yet to notice that recently, inner loop restaurant design has been quietly inching closer and closer to Mayfair enthusiasm, clearly inspired by staples such as Charlie’s, Annabel’s, and Sketch, for example. To date, none have been explicit about acknowledging the source of their design inspiration. Perhaps that is why not one has been able to quite pull it off entirely — until now. Not to say that these existing places aren’t beautiful. They are objectively gorgeous, but Mayfair, they are not.

Perhaps the desire to be original or pioneering is to blame for recent shortcomings, who’s to say? But, if the desired effect of a space is to transport guests to another place, then, well, admitting that that is the goal is definitely the first step.

Not usually one to take any interest in a dining space (Eric Sandler has that covered), one particular opening is too perfectly executed to be overlooked: The Marigold Club.

From its inception, The Marigold Club has wanted only one thing, “to blend classic French cuisine with the opulence of Mayfair London and energetic spirit of Houston for a one-of-a-kind dining experience,” according to press materials. This refreshing transparency in design inspiration has allowed them to eloquently become everything that they are, while avoiding anything and everything that they are not — the execution is flawless.

Goodnight Hospitality, the parent company of The Marigold Club, is no stranger to elevated dining experiences. Responsible for March, Rosie Cannonball, and Montrose Cheese & Wine, there was never any question as to whether The Marigold Club would happen, only when. After two years and many travels later, Goodnight Hospitality has made certain that it was worth the wait.

Returning to what qualifies design as “Mayfair Maximalism,” let’s explore how The Marigold Club meets and exceeds the criteria. Goodnight Hospitality partners (CEO and partner June Rodil, chef-partner Felipe Riccio, partners Pete and Bailey McCarthy, and Marigold Club chef-partner Austin Waiter) worked alongside Texas-based architectural firm FoxFox Studios on this project. Rodil was on-hand with details that should placate any lingering questions The Marigold Club guests may have after a cheeky visit.

One of the main attractions to the space is the expansive Bemelman’s-inspired mural, hand-painted by Pauline de Roussy de Sales. Wonderfully whimsical, the mural includes everything from the restaurant’s partners to cowboys to poodles — even the tabletop lampshades have been adorned with these soon-to-be-familiar characters. For those unfamiliar, Bemelman’s Bar is located in NYC’s famed Carlyle Hotel.

When asked what it was like to collaborate with such an iconic muralist, Rodil did not hide her enthusiasm: “What a delight! Pauline was the best and a true artist and collaborator. She would check in with us throughout the entire process to ensure that her vision was working with ours,” she writes in an email. “As we got to know each other throughout the process more and more, she added more personal touches to the mural. She made it whimsical, yet rich and textured, and also personalized it to honor what the space once was (Goodnight Charlie's), the people behind it, the guests and community it's for, and what we hope it will become. It's truly so special. 14/10 would love to work with her again.”

Wallpaper enthusiasts may notice that the hallway and adjoining restrooms are papered in what appears to be glistening, hand-painted de Gournay patterns. There is a reason for this — it isde Gournay, and all that that implies. For those new to the brand, they have been hand painting wall coverings for royal families and the like for centuries.

Not particularly known for their economically advantageous price points, de Gournay is a financially bold choice to install in a space that’s open to the public. I ask Rodil if there is any concern from the partners about damage, accidental or otherwise.

“But of course there is! It's a huge risk and we are so honored and understand the privilege to be able to showcase it in our restaurant,” she explains. “The decision came from the first iteration of the bathroom design not quite hitting the mark. Then Bailey [McCarthy] chose something that she's admired for a long time and wanted to share with our guests. It oozes that posh London lifestyle that we saw in Mayfair and this choice was one of the moments when we really decided to lean in hard into the project. It's an investment and a risk but a large part of the concept and experience of The Marigold Club is being able to share the feeling of the exclusivity of a supper club with anyone who walks through our doors.”

Masterful art choices pepper the walls and the responsible party is none other than personal curator to the McCarthys— Houstonian Illa Gaunt. Are more collaborations with Goodnight Hospitality and Gaunt on the horizon?

“She's always our go-to for art expertise. We love her eye and the diverse set of artists that she chooses from. She actually already assisted with other aspects of Goodnight Hospitality — one of our hallmark pieces in March, the Oliver Jeffers "For All We Know" piece was through Illa. We love that she's also a frequenter of our restaurants so understands the guests, the vibe, the food, and what her unique perspective can add to it,” Rodil writes.

Lush velvets upholster the boullion-trimmed slipper chairs, as well as the piped booths, gathered walls, and paneled ceilings. Clearly, acoustics will not be a problem for any tune coming from the self-playing Steinway baby grand piano in the main dining area, and tickled ivories won’t be the only things softened by the velvet ceilings.

Perhaps the real jewels of the restaurant are the bespoke Murano glass chandeliers and sconces. Crafted by third generation Italian glassmaker Vetreria Venier, hand-blown tulips and marigolds project soft lightning against the velvety green sea above, as well as the diners seated below.

Bespoke Murano lighting requires patience to design, create, and assemble. So, how long did it take from inception to installation?

“From start to finish it was....not a quick process,” Rodil acknowledges. “Pete and Bailey dreamed up the idea and then went to the Murano house [Venier] for their anniversary in early summer to start the design process. They finalized our marigolds and the colors of the piece while there, but Murano houses close in August. Once started in December it took a little over a year to get it made, packaged, and shipped.

“It then sat in a storage house until the build-out was in a complete enough place to focus on it without any (thank god!) mishap. We found a local installer who was amazing to work with and they were wizards with the one photo we received of what the chandeliers ‘should' look like when installed with zero written instructions (Ikea they are not) and were able to install the two chandeliers and six sconces in three days flat. No small feat, but we knew that going into it, and oh my, they are beauties!”

The Marigold Club has been refreshingly transparent about having been inspired entirely by Mayfair dining clubs. I ask Rodil if she thinks that by not playing it safe in that regard, the community will appreciate the efforts made to figuratively transport diners to Mayfair:

“We truly hope so and appreciate your feeling on the transparency…We are a company that relishes our experiences together and a lot of the times the restaurants that we love the most are also because of great company around us and the setting that those restaurants create allow for that. We think it's pretty natural to want to recreate those great moments and feelings so we definitely hope that our ability to manifest those memories into a new reality for the Houston community will give them a new — and hopefully what they think of as a special — setting and dining experience to create their own set of wonderful memories.”

Hoping to visit The Marigold Club? Thankfully, sourcing a reservation doesn’t require the same patience as waiting for the chandeliers to arrive. Access the restaurant’s Instagram or visit OpenTable. Cheers!

Photo by Arturo Olmos

Gathered satins on the walls soften the space.

openings design

good as gold

Boutique Australian furniture brand opens first U.S. studio in Houston

Courtesy of En Gold

The Houston store has the full En Gold line as well as products from other Australian brands.

Say hello to En Gold! Diehard fans of the coveted Australian furniture brand finally have a stateside gallery, right in Houston’s Upper Kirby District (3330 Audley St.). Cool and crisp, the vintage-inspired, handcrafted collections shine a spotlight on the long-forgotten craft of Fossil Stone artistry.

Courtesy of En Gold

The Houston store has the full En Gold line as well as products from other Australian brands.

CultureMap caught up with En Gold founder Steffanie Ball in her new gallery space to talk vintage, Fossil Stone, and how En Gold has revitalized an all-but-extinct pocket industry in Cebu, The Philippines.

What began as a maternity-leave-induced search for quality vintage led to instantly-sold-out Instagram pop-up sales and a lively cult following that demanded more. The vintage Fossil Stone phenomenon drove En Gold founder Steffanie Ball to seek out the original artisans that produced these iconic pieces in the first place. Now, 45 years after making its debut, Fossil Stone furniture is being produced once again — by the same artisans who produced it the first time around. Only this time, the artisans are finally getting their flowers.

En Gold is the only brand in the world producing Fossil Stone furniture, and with their exclusive partnership with the artisans, it’s looking to stay that way. A form of limestone, Fossil Stone is native to the Philippines and contains organic inclusions that give it the appearance and character it’s known for. Quarried by hand, it’s then cut by hand into thin layers before being painstakingly sanded repeatedly until it is applied to a timber frame.

En Gold is all about sustainability, so any potential waste that comes from breakage is turned into a powder, then a putty, before finding new life as a decorative vessel, like the Laguna Vase or becoming a Paradis Mirror frame. “This craft is actually so beautiful because it has minimal wastage,” says Ball.

In 2018, the interior designer, turned industrialist, found herself in somewhat of a “nesting” quandary. “In Australia at the time, [furniture] was either mass-produced flat-pack, or crazy expensive and unattainable — there was nothing in the middle,” says Ball. “I couldn’t find anything interesting that had any kind of character to it, so that’s why I started to look at vintage.”

After more and more of the same pieces continued popping up on the secondhand market, questions about these beautiful stone works arose: “I couldn’t understand it,” she says. “Was it solid stone, was it faux marble? It was really hard for me to get any information about it.” All Ball knew was that she loved it, and kept buying all that came available. “I couldn’t pass them up! It needed a home. It needed to go where it’s appreciated,” she says.

Before long, Ball’s home started to resemble a warehouse. At the behest of a friend, the decision to part ways with some of these pieces had been made. She created an Instagram account to showcase vintage Fossil Stone pieces, and then two collections were dropped per week.

“The whole collection would sell out in three seconds — it was madness,” says Ball. “It grew into this engaged community with two-way communication. Customers would ask if we had more of certain things coming up. I could hear the things that they were looking for and really understand what I needed to be searching for.”

After countless hours of research, and discovering some dodgy European import practices of the 70s and 80s, Ball learned that every piece of Fossil Stone furniture had been made by skilled artisans in the Philippines, then stamped with either “Made in France” or “Made in Italy” once it had been unpacked abroad. Of the 80 Fossil Stone factories operating in Cebu during their heyday, only one remained.

“I found the last standing workshop that was creating furniture [back then]. He was not producing at all, but kind of still there — he said he didn’t know what he was still even holding on for,” says Ball. “Meanwhile, I’m searching all of Australia for this Fossil Stone furniture!”

For Ball, whose mother is Filipino, the discovery was kismet. Imagine the artisan’s surprise to learn that his creations were as popular today as they had been so many decades before. Ball struck an exclusive deal to get the factory operational once more and revitalize the industry, only this time with the craft as the main focus.

“Let’s tell the story about it. Where it comes from, whose hands make it. Let’s shine a light on the artisans who have been creating it this whole time,” she says.

They decided to reproduce three key pieces: the Tierra Petite, Isla Dining Table, and the best-selling Arena Coffee table. “We launched it online and the entire container sold out in one hour.”

Since that time, En Gold has expanded its offerings to include wooden, seagrass, and upholstery collections, but the ethos remains the same: “Always handmade, always traditional in its method. We try to use all natural materials,” says Ball. “All the timbers are native to The Philippines — native mahogany, seagrass, and another light timber called Gmelina.”

Ball is currently working on an iron collection as well. Fans of En Gold flock to the brand for its focus on craftsmanship, as well as the inherent individuality of each piece. Ball enjoys the love that En Gold clients have for the brand.

“When you’re working with handmade products and natural materials, there is an appreciation for the perfectly imperfect….you can see where they [artisans] were sanding,” she says. “When we talk about the fingerprints of our makers, that’s what we mean.”

The brand’s new Upper Kirby outpost will offer the entire En Gold line, as well as other female-owned Aussie favorites for shoppers to explore. Paintings and sculptures by Adele Naidoo, Karv Studio, White on Walls, and Denise Quah will be available for purchase, plus linen bedding by Cultiver. Australian-made skincare brand Gracious Minds will line the shelves along with top-tier Turkish linen bath sheets by En Gold’s luxe self-care sister-brand Yōli. Find dry-brushes next to Tiger’s Eye Gua Sha, essential oil dryer droppers, and hand-poured candles with En Gold’s signature blend of neroli, cedar leaf, and teak wood. A collection of Bordam candles will be on offer as well — everything one needs to tune into the Yōli playlist on Spotify and unwind at home.

En Gold has already opened their doors to fans looking to say hello, and invites fellow creatives, designers, and lovers of thoughtful design to celebrate the opening of their first U.S. gallery space on Friday, April 25 from 6-9 pm.

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