The theme was to create an Urban Oasis, an escape from the bustle of the city, with distinct nautical elements to tie in with its waterfront location. The designers wanted to move away from the neon lights and slick terrazzo and strip everything back to its original true form where they could, creating a lighter, greener, more comfortable ambiance where people could relax with friends, family and business colleagues, play the deck games in the courtyard and enjoy the spectacular views of Sydney Harbour

As the majority of the original design was all white terrazzo, they had to introduce a number of elements to soften this and add more warmth. They used recycled wharf timber to dress the bar counter and removed the original ceiling to install rope and driftwood feature ceilings with caged ship lighting to move away from the stark white and introduce more of a nautical theme in keeping with the name of the bar and to compliment the heritage of its location.

Their focus was on sourcing unique nautical elements; buoys, lighting, shipping rope, shipping crates, even introducing a mermaid “below board” in the basement, and tying this in with the urban oasis by using plants and greenery throughout. They wanted everything to be natural and comfortable and for the courtyard and the interior of level 1 to flow seamlessly. They introduced large throw cushions and furs to encourage relaxation and to really enforce that the new cruise bar was a place to lounge around and while away the day

The nautical theme dictated the textural qualities; rope, recycled timber, rattan, rusted metal elements. The designers then introduced the greens and tans to bring the “oasis”, the life into the space. As the eye sees more shades of green than any other colour, they used every shade of green they could find!

The living moss wall behind the bar being the pivotal design element. Installed by Vertiscape, is the largest living moss wall in Australia. With this indoor garden, the rest of the concept came to life, hanging moss plants over the bar and throughout the space bring the greenhouse to life

They wanted to keep the lighting low and relaxing, using candles and bare bulb/ caged fittings that would tie in with the nautical theme

Deck chairs and hanging chairs with deck games really tie the cruise bar into its location, mimicking that of the ship deck which may just be the backdrop the day of your visit! The basement bathrooms have an underwater theme, complete with the elusive mermaid. Keep an eye out for the nautical antiques dressing the interiors

When the cladding was removed from the terrazzo bar there were large holes in the bar which were plugged with rusted bolts. These replicate the industrial bolts of an old shipping port/ wharf.

After site handover, a graffiti artist was commissioned to paint the column. It is alive with Amazonian greenery complete with frog life! It is not part of the original design, but the designers are warming to it! Definitely a bit of fun and a point of difference!