XO takes a modern, fresh approach to traditional South East Asian cuisine, a bright vibrant ambiance was created to help support this concept. The challenge was designing to the long, narrow, dark space. This had to be taken into account during the design process to ensure functionality and good seating capacity but at the same time ensuring comfort and accessibility.

The designers focused on using light and accessible materials. A lot of the materials are quiet simple but detail and repetition makes them stand out. The colour scheme was influenced by the idea of making the space bright and vibrant, the white textural brick wall that runs the length of one side of the restaurant emphasising this.

The use of indirect ambient light throughout the space reinforces the concept of brightness, changing the mood of the space throughout the day.

The use of steel in various forms, from the L section cladding on the bar to the plate steel in the entry and the custom stools by local industrial designer Tom Skeehan.

Small features like the consistent use of ash timber, carpet inserts in the ceiling coffers and the glass brick wall with the reflection of a subtly lit tree behind all add to the overall ambiance and cohesiveness of the space.