WDA Spaces completed Mirage Bar with plush seating, luxuriant velvet fabrics, amber hued interiors, a loaded bar and accent lighting, to complete the space with a definitive style.

Mirage, the new lounge bar nestled on the top floor of a recently opened mall, #1 Sobha, is a sumptuously opulent space.

Mirage is an example of maximalism done right. The mood indoors is confidently dramatic, with snakeskin textures, well-lit and contrastingly dim areas, the play of bright swathes of light reflecting from metallic surfaces like the floor tiles. Any more and it could be garish and any less it would have become just another tastefully done F&B outlet. But we have struck the right balance between the bold and the beautiful.

The flamboyance of the space is visible right from the entrance. You can’t miss the large and almost theatrical image of Medusa with snake hair as you step in. A gently undulating metallic-tiled path draws you into the space, like a river flowing through and taking you along. The reflection from the overhead lights fitted into a ceiling with fish-scale pattern, animates this path like the ripples in a river. On either side of the snaking path is the well-appointed indoor section, with velvet seating and plush wall-to-wall carpeting.

The indoor area, spread across 1,700 sq ft is designed to appeal to day dining as well as dinner guests. The rest of the space is converted into an outdoor area to leverage Bengaluru’s great weather and a view of the City’s skyline.

But Mirage comes into its own by night, when the light plays with the fabrics and burl veneer walls to create an upscale, ritzy backdrop for a night out on the town.

If you look closely, there is a water theme that recurs in the design language of the space. Fish scale patterns on the ceiling, sea shell-shaped lighting fixtures and undulating curves are a nod to the languid, free-flowing nature of water.

Three large islands that occupy the area at the indoor-outdoor intersection are a further nod to the water theme. While creating a seamless continuity of the same dark and light mood into the outdoor section, the large islands hold in them giant orbs, casting soft glowing rays of light around.

As the indoor section ends, the outdoor section takes over to enthrall you with the bar that’s a focal point. Lighting features in this section stand out for their unusual treatment. A mesh of tiny button lights shaped into a globe hang from the ceiling to make stunning lighting features. More twinkling fibre optic lights are used to envelop a giant column in the outdoor section and continue on the bar as well, offering a foil to the brightly lit counter. Keeping the location of the bar in mind, it’s been crafted in fibre reinforced plastic to make it weather-proof. A snakeskin pattern clads the surface of the bar as well as the table bases in the outdoor area. Combined with marble tops, the tall seating literally elevates the dining experience here, giving the guest a bird’s eye view of the City. The columns in the outdoor area, a structural detail that can’t be done away with, are clad with crushed paper effect. Nothing, as you can see, is left as it. Every part of the space has been addressed and dressed up to create a memorable and Instagram-friendly lounge bar.

Design: WDA Spaces Photography: Shawn Menzes

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