RESTAURANT · SUGAR HILL, GEORGIA
Thistle & Oak
A Sugar Hill restaurant that reinterprets the warmth of a Scottish public house through tailored plaid, sculptural lighting, warm leather, and rooms designed to make gathering feel like an occasion.
THE COMMISSION
A Public House Without the Costume
Ashley designed Thistle & Oak around the warmth and familiarity of a Scottish public house, then removed anything that felt literal. Plaid becomes a thread rather than a theme, appearing in wallcovering, upholstery, and smaller gestures alongside stone, leather, warm metal, and deep wood.
The restaurant needed to feel established without feeling old, polished without becoming formal. Every room carries the same character, but each one changes the pace.
PROJECT TYPE
Restaurant Interior Design
LOCATION
Sugar Hill, Georgia
SCOPE
Hospitality Interior Design, Furnishings, Decorative Lighting, Window Treatments, Art and Accessories, Brand Integration, and Styling
SPACES
Main Dining Room, Piano Lounge, Dining Nooks, and Private Dining Room
DINING + GATHERING
A Room Built for Long Evenings
The main dining room is arranged around the rituals that make a restaurant feel social: the curve of a banquette, the pause around a piano, and tables close enough to feel lively while still allowing conversation.
Taupe leather, barrel chairs, marble-topped tables, brass edges, and oversized cone pendants give the room weight without heaviness. The grand piano and sculptural chandelier add a sense of occasion without asking the room to become formal.
PRIVATE DINING
The Same Character, Turned Inward
The private room is quieter, but not separate in spirit. Plaid wallcovering and a stone fireplace create a sense of enclosure, while olive-gold drapery, a porthole mirror, and a botanical gallery wall soften the room around the table.
The public dining room is about energy; this room is about attention. The materials repeat just enough to keep the restaurant connected while allowing a smaller gathering to feel like its own occasion.
The personality continues in the closer details: woven placemats, loose botanical arrangements, patterned surfaces, and tableware selected as part of the room rather than added after it.
THE RESULT
A Restaurant With a Memory of Its Own
Thistle & Oak feels familiar on the first visit, but difficult to place. That is the balance: enough tradition to create warmth, enough restraint to keep the room current, and enough specificity to make it memorable.
The project shows how hospitality design can give people more than a place to eat. It can give an ordinary evening a sense of occasion.
The reference is unmistakable. The room never becomes a costume.
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BEGIN YOUR PROJECT
Create a Place People Want to Stay In
Tell us what you are creating, how you want guests to feel, and what the space should be remembered for. We will begin with a conversation about the experience, function, and details that bring the room to life.