Studio Paolo Ferrari makes a Toronto restaurant a “world of its own”.

Toronto studio Paolo Ferrari has combined influences from filmmakers from Stanley Kubrick to Nancy Meyers to create a cinematic interior for a downtown restaurant.

Unlike the typical restaurant layout, Daphne unfolds as a series of rooms with different identities, taking cues from different film styles.

Studio Paolo Ferrari intended each space to offer a different experience to guests and custom-made all the furniture and lighting to make the restaurant feel even more special.

“Daphne is an elevated and highly creative vision of the American bistro that combines New England nostalgia with whimsy and eccentricity,” said Paolo Ferrari Studio. “At once intimate and grand, eccentric and sculptural, whimsical and experimental, the deeply imaginative space is reminiscent of a magnificent residence that has evolved over time.”

Guests enter into an intimate space with a clear full-height wine cabinet that offers a view of the dining room beyond.

They then proceed to the Great Room, a cavernous room surrounded by a magnificent vaulted ceiling and decorated in a warm neutral palette.

In the center is a series of dining tables, each paired with a circular striped sofa and two boucle upholstered chairs.

The open kitchen is fully visible through the arches on one side, while the dark, cozy dining room, painted orange, is on the other.

“The large space recalls the warm luxe spirit of a Nancy Meyers film, with unique furnishings, decorated with a deep residential feel and checkerboards inspired by universities,” said Studio Paolo Ferrari.

The living room continues the fiery orange, completely wrapping the walls, ceiling and seating area, creating a monochromatic space.

Boh lighting is installed behind the louvers that cover the upper walls, adding texture and shadows, while also hinting at “Cape Cod Americana.”

The bar area is accessed via a long hallway that runs from floor to ceiling along one wall and is lined with a hand-painted landscape on the opposite side.

This leafy countryside look continues on the undulating surfaces in the bar room, above the green banquettes that flow along the wall.

“Daphne is a world of its own waiting to be discovered,” the studio said. “Stepping into the bar is like walking into a beautifully designed movie set.”

In a nod to the bar at the fictional Overlook Hotel in Stanley Kubrick's The Shining, the glass-enclosed bar counter is illuminated from within.

The front pays homage to Beaux-Arts architect Henry Bacon, while the reflective stainless steel on the back bar matches the legs of the room's round tables and chairs.

A dilapidated building next to the restaurant was demolished to make way for a spacious outdoor garden terrace with a dining room and bar.

Nestled between two brick structures, this outdoor space features comfortable yellow and white striped chairs surrounded by plants and tall trees in the center – continuing the botanical theme inside.

A separate entrance from the street leads guests into an alley-like space between tall columns covered in dark blue-purple tiles.

“The depth of the space and the quality of the experience were important,” said Paolo Ferrari, founder of his eponymous firm. “Daphne is a truly active discovery experience where guests can discover thoughtful and innovative details.”

The designer's previous projects in Canada include a lake house with a wood and granite interior and an Ottawa showroom that looks more like a home than a sales gallery.

Other recent additions to Toronto's dining scene include Prime Seafood Palace, with its vaulted wood interior by architect Omar Gandhi.

Photo by Joel Esposito.