When Lynne Roberts and her partners looked to start a sister restaurant to Route 29-based Timberwood Grill, they wanted to create a unique space while hinting at the original. The key link between the two? Look no further than the name.
“The other restaurant has a lot of wood in there—the ceiling, the tables,” Roberts says. The new Timberwood Tap House, newly opened at 5th Street Station, “echoes it a little bit in that way.”
In addition to the lodge-like beams, bar and tables, Roberts says wood’s been taken up a notch in the new beer-focused gastropub. The shading on the boards behind the bar and in the corners of the dining room ranges from a light blonde to a deep brown, a nod to the various colors of beer.
“It’s sort of a celebration of the beer,” says Kendra Guiffre, owner of architecture firm Blueply Design. “There are four different types of wood and…four different stains, so there are 16 different tones represented in the wood, similar in nature to a light pilsner all the way to a dark beer, like a stout.”
Guiffre says woodwork was critical in creating defined spaces for Timberwood Tap House’s dining room and bar. One of the challenges in designing the restaurant—the first full eatery she’s taken on since starting her own architecture firm—was making the 6,000-square-foot layout with 15′ ceilings feel comfortable and finished.
“We added a wood-slatted ceiling to define the different areas,” Guiffre says. “With the dining room to the right and bar to the left, above the bar we did a series of hanging wood elements. It starts to take a large space and define it.”
Worthington Architectural Millwork built the custom ceiling elements, as well as the stained woodwork behind the bar, according to Guiffre. “Those elements definitely are unique,” she says. “There was an appreciation of the volume that we have there. We didn’t just want to put a low ceiling in, but to work with the volume, give more character to each area and still have some visual connection to the original shell of the building.”
Outside the shell, patrons will be able to enjoy an outdoor space covered by a canopy, outlined by a low planter and surrounding several fire pits. Guiffre says the effect is to give the outdoor dining area some connection to the indoors and make it feel less like you’re eating in a parking lot.
Roberts, whose partners Adam Gregory and Steve Guiffre were less interested in working on design than she was, said she worked closely with Kendra Guiffre (Steve’s sister-in-law) to put a modern spin on the wood-paneled Timberwood Tap House. That included adding a sleek in-wall electric fireplace, unique printed tile in the bathrooms and illuminating the entire space with LED light fixtures.
In addition to being far warmer than she’d expected, Roberts says energy efficiency was a critical component of every step of the design process. The team did as many things as it could to earn LEED points, and that included sensor faucets and auto-flush toilets, in addition to the efficient and mood-appropriate lighting.
“We wanted to make it more modern and upscale, and then to take such a big space and make it feel more intimate—it’s hard,” Roberts says. “We want it to be casual enough to bring a group of friends and watch a game and nice enough to bring your grandmother for her birthday.”