The Dick Whittington Tavern, an institution among St Kilda locals, was built in 1861 and has been a big part of the community for over 150 years. Located at 32 Chapel Street St Kilda, “The Dick” was a big part of the Melbourne comedy scene during the 1990s when characters such as Dave Hughes, Tim Smith, Colin Lane and Trevor Marmalade delivered their first stand up gigs to enthralled locals. Now owned by Sam Beck (from Beck Property Group) and three partners who run the Hotel week to week The Dick was in need of a transformation from its glory days to ensure it’s ongoing appeal as a family friendly iconic hotel in years to come.

The brief to Serena Elise, Principal Designer at White Chalk Interiors was to “create elegance and style with all the necessary functionality to host a large crowd in our upstairs bar and function space - we want our clientele to be wowed but not overwhelmed with glitz and glamour. The end result should be upmarket, comfortable and inviting”, said Sam.

The 270sqm renovation required the expertise of White Chalk Interiors in the selection of a cohesive palette of colours and materials, furnishings, lighting and décor, and also collaboration with French Oak Floors and Illuminated Group to create the perfect flooring finishes and moody yet considered lighting plan.

The main bar was to be the focus of the space and needed to deliver the biggest ‘wow’ in the room with the rest of the design evolving around it. The ‘jumping off’ point for this concept, was to present to the client a dramatic cluster of gold birdcage pendants to be strung above the bar. Once approved White Chalk Interiors went head first into the remainder of the design elements. With a considered lux yet moody colour palette with a hint of navy, accents of brass, raw timbers and a feature marble panel under the bar, the design quickly came together. The bar was complete with a brass beer font for the selection of beers offered on tap and an eye catching bespoke liquor display shelving unit behind for bottle display.

In the private dining room a large extendable custom made oak dining table with fully 2 x retractable leaves is centred under a black and brass feature pendant. The walls are the feature of the room with navy palm motif wall paper floating above grey paneled walls to create understated elegance for diners.

As lighting was a key design element in the space, the expertise of the team, headed up by Sam Crocker at Illuminated Group, was used to create the perfect lighting plan, delivering moody highlights, plenty of ambient light and task lighting for staff. From this, White Chalk Interiors designed and selected lights to finish off the design beautifully, including custom made bronze tube wall sconces designed exclusively for The Dick by White Chalk, to provide impact and contrast against the dark grey paneled walls.

Sam and the partners at The Dick are still amazed at the understated elegance of their new upstairs area. Commenting that “Serena and her team at White Chalk, delivered an outstanding design aesthetic, which is still practical and functional for the space. Serena has sucessfully taken us well beyond our original scope of what we thought was possible décor wise… and managed to stay on budget!’, said Sam Beck. They also say that patrons just love the birdcage pendant cluster and often say ‘WOW’ when they reach the top of the stairs and enter the new bar.