Interior Design alumna masterfully reimagines this Toronto Restaurant

Dyonne Fashina draws in guests to The Gardiner Museum restaurant using a clever design concept

By: Kaela Malozewski

October 05, 2021

Interior Design alumna Dyonne Fashina and principal at Denizens of Design Inc. (external link, opens in new window) , was featured this month in the latest issue of Canadian Interiors for her reimagining of Clay Restaurant (external link, opens in new window) at The Gardiner Museum (external link, opens in new window) , Canada's ceramics museum, which masterfully combined form and function while also prioritizing profitability.

Picture of the bar at Clay restaurant. The back counters are painted a deep aubergine and the bar counter is white. In front of the counter are five potter stools. A server grabs a glass behind the bar

Views of the bar at Clay Restaurant. Image by Larissa Issler Photography

The dining room at Clay Restaurant features small white tables with light green chairs. Floor to ceiling windows are on all sides of the room and a pink and gold room divider sits to the left

The main dining area of Clay Restaurant designed by Fashina & team. Image by Larissa Issler Photography

I brought that jar of clay to our first meeting and sat it down in the middle of the table and said ‘this is your concept’

Dyonne Fashina, principal designer at Denizens of Design Inc.

Building a community with Clay

When the project was brought to Fashina and her team, the goal was to improve the restaurant’s functionality as it transitioned from daytime service to evening and weekend events. Together with their hospitality partner The Food Dudes (external link, opens in new window) , Denizens envisioned more for Clay, something that took the museum’s tagline, ‘Building community with clay', to heart.

“We asked ourselves, ‘how can we tie in the design to the identity of the space while also drawing in a new demographic of guests’,” says Fashina. “Members were always coming through the restaurant but the cafe was really seeing reduced traffic over the years. We knew that the space as a whole was known for events and so we took all of these moving parts and worked to make it a destination within the museum.”

Portrait of Dyonne Fashina. Fashina wears a purple jacket and a blue patterned scarf. Her hair is dark and curly and she looks into the camera

Dyonne Fashina, principal designer at Denizens of Design Inc. Image by Mark Binks

When form meets function

Part of Fashina’s process is to connect with each space she designs. When Denizens was awarded the project, Fashina immediately thought of clay, in its material form, as a nod to the museum. She traveled back to her parent’s home where a creek of the Nottawasaga river runs through their property and gathered clay from it just like she had done as a child to make sculptures.

“I brought that jar of clay to our first meeting and sat it down in the middle of the table and said ‘this is your concept’,” she says. “This is what we based the design on because it is what the museum is all about – celebrating ceramics, which fundamentally are made from clay”.

A mockup of the bar design is drawn on a piece of white paper and filled in with purple watercolor. To the left there is a paint palette and to the right, pencils and paint swatches

A watercolour mockup of the bar redesign. Image courtesy of Denizens of Design Inc.

In terms of colour palette, Fashina shares that inspiration came from the different types of minerals found in clay; from the deep terracottas to stones with grey and green tones, and even included porcelain. “Every detail really considers the concept without beating it into your head,” says Fashina while noting that even the stools look like those of a potter. “Clay was the overarching concept that really drove everything, not only in terms of aesthetics, but also in function as clay is malleable before it hardens”.

Photograph of a corner of the restaurant shows a white collapsible table and a stack of chairs

Modular furniture allows for greater flexibility in the space. Image by Kelsey Blake

The team also focused on ensuring the space was modular to support its functionality.

“Everything is highly flexible to support lunch service and event service,” explains Fashina. “The space can flip from a lunch lecture to an evening cocktail, and then to a weekend wedding quite seamlessly,” she shares.

Image shows a section of the dining area with a long, rust bench and several small beige tables and wooden chairs

Earth tones, like this deep rust bench, are found throughout the restaurant. Image by Kelsey Blake

Building a career with authenticity

Fashina credits part of her success to the preparation she received through the Interior Design program.

“You can’t be in this career at the level that we are without going through an accredited program such as Ryerson’s,” says Fashina. “The program really prepared me for what it would be like in the industry and understood the importance of collaboration in team projects.”

Fashina holds two pieces of white paper with water colour design mockups on them

Fashina reviewing the mockup designs. Image courtesy of Denizens of Design Inc.

For those interested in pursuing a career in design like Fashina, she has one important piece of advice -- always stay true to yourself. “Be respectful and mindful of the people who are trying to teach you, but remember that you have your own way of working and there’s always a way to fit that in and find your place”.

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