I have had such an amazing time being on the design team for Restaurant: Impossible Ambush Season 13. Cheryl Torrenueva is such an amazing designer and it’s been a pleasure to collaborate with her this season. I wanted to take you behind the scenes to give you an unclose look at all the design elements that went into the restaurant. In TV land there is only so much time and I think the designs that went into this project are worth stopping and taking a closer look at!
If you watched last week’s episode of Restaurant: Impossible, you saw the incredible transformation of Peppinos’ restaurant in Oviedo, Florida. The great thing about the show for a DIYer is that we truly have to do this entire transformation in 36 hours, with volunteers and on a budget so that means quick, easy and affordable.
Did you see the scene where Robert Irvine ripped down this fake Ivy arch filled with Christmas lights. One thing Robert hates are fake flowers. Notice the baseboards…they are filthy and peeling up from the wet carpet.
This is what the restaurant looked like when we arrived. 2 more things that Robert dislikes are tablecloths and banquet chairs. lol
You can see there are a ton of tablecloths and banquet chairs which means we have a lot too do in 36 hours.
The restaurant was extremely dark with the heavy brick, wood paneling and dark carpet. Another eyesore were those arched mirrors.
The first item of business was to empty the restaurant and then Roland and his crew removed all of the wet carpet. Next the painting crew painted the brick, baseboards, chair rail and wood paneling in SW7012 Creamy and walls in SW7685 White Raisin. Please excuse the quality of some of my photos, we are talking quick cellphone shots here!
Restaurant Decor Elements:
These faux shutters were made by the D9 crew from bi-fold closet doors we picked up the local ReStore Habitat for Humanity. The design team took them over from there and created a beautiful patina finish using Modern Masters Metal Effects Paint in Copper with Blue & Green Patina. (tutorial coming soon!)
I also love the wood valances that were stained and hung to square off those arched mirrors. Yep, those are the same arched mirrors behind there. Isn’t the transformation amazing?
These room dividers made from repurposed bi-fold doors are another key element to the design of the restaurant.
Once again, we aged them with Modern Masters Metal Effects but this time we used their Iron Paint and Rust Activator over a blue base. (tutorial coming soon!)
I cannot express how much I love these dividers and…
… the shutters. We also created beautiful custom artwork for the restaurant.
We built plywood art panels using PureBond Plywood and 1″ x 2″. The magic of these art pieces take shape when we layer plasters, metal effects, rust and patina and other mixed media (tutorial coming soon!).
More art.
And more custom art!
And beautiful custom floral arrangements.
And more art… Custom art does not have to be complicated or expensive!
The D9 crew made this amazing harvest table that can act as a buffet when needed. Did you notice the chairs? No more banquet chairs. We cleaned, distressed and reupholstered 94 chairs. Notice the back of the chairs??? That is our Diva of DIY Chalk Mix in SW 6713 Verdant.
Here it is…the new Peppinos. Isn’t it gorgeous?
The faux wood peel & stick laminate flooring looked so good with the mix of woods and patinas. By combining so many layers of color and texture we were able to elevate the look of each single piece as a whole.
So, there is a background look of Pippinos’ Restaurant makeover. There were so many projects you couldn’t see on the show, I didn’t even go into the table tops we made with PureBond to cover the bad formica tables or the chandelier lighting we custom made or…. It truly was an amazing transformation! Be sure to sign up for our email list so you will not miss out on the tutorials for these and other future DIY projects to come.
Each and everyone of you inspire me and I LOVE to see the work that you’ve created. Feel free to share with me on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook. And as always, be sure to follow Diva Of DIY on Pinterest and sign up for our FREE Newsletter to receive the latest projects delivered straight to your inbox!
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