Photography courtesy of Refettorio Felix.
“Beauty has no boundaries,” said acclaimed British designer Ilse Crawford at the June 2017 opening of Refettorio Felix, a community kitchen and dining hall in London.
The Refettorio is located at St. Cuthbert’s Community Centre, in the hall of a former Victorian-era church that’s been given a pro-bono redesign by Crawford (with architect Charles Wainright).
Crawford paired pale green walls with houseplants to create a homelike feeling, and added white paper lanterns with warm white bulbs to bring the tall ceilings down.
With Crawford and Bottura at the helm of the project, a number of big players in the design world donated materials—including Mutina (furniture), Mylands (paint), and Royal Doulton (tableware).
The hall can also be rented out for private functions, which generates revenue to fund the Refettorio’s work. In addition to the dining hall, the building has a dedicated reading lounge, private counseling rooms, and comfortable seating for movie nights.
A lounge area at the end of the dining hall features a Tepee Sofa by SCP and a kilim rug by Larusi.
An elevated platform at one end of the hall can be used for performances, talks, and movie nights.
One of two Levistico Sideboards from Riva 1920, perched beneath Artemide’s Vigo sconce by David Chipperfield.
A glimpse into the Refettorio’s commercial kitchen. For the kitchen’s opening last June, Mossimo Bottura served soup, pasta, and ice cream.
The stainless steel kitchen is clad in tonal blue tile.
The redesign in progress.