The Corner Door

Located in an up-and-coming area of Culver City, on the corner of Washington and Wasatch, near Mar Vista and Playa del Rey, The Corner Door restaurant and bar caters to a mixed-use community in the area’s emerging restaurant row. Serving New American comfort food and craft cocktails, the restaurant’s combination of casual dining and drinking is reflected in Marmol Radziner’s concept for an eatery and bar that ties different elements together.

With a mix of residents and professionals from the local community, the peak hours for The Corner Door restaurant and bar vary to some degree. The 1,500 square foot venue needed to respond to both. The owners’ interest in offering a fresh, seasonal menu and craft cocktails in a casual setting presented an opportunity for the architecture firm to experiment between process and product.

The resulting concept is a refined industrial-inspired interior space infused with an approachable, local neighborhood bar feel. The architects maintained the original corner entrance, but added an antique front wooden door painted in high gloss black, hence the name “The Corner Door” restaurant and bar.

The space utilizes matte black reclaimed wood on the exterior and interior back walls; steel paneling on the front of the bar; aged oak bar top and tables, as well as vintage chairs and a tweed and leather bench seat; blackened steel windows; concrete flooring and hand-blown glass pendant lamps.

A palette of different shades of black paint is used throughout to give depth, while offsetting the warmth of the wood used. The architects created additional texture by installing a paneled ceiling, using textured wallpaper, as well as highlighting the existing red brick walls throughout.

The resulting concept is a neighborhood destination that walks the line between bar and restaurant, that’s inviting and friendly, while maintaining a modern feel.