Ballarat blues a winner for Lola

LOLA restaurant, in the recently refurbished Provincial Hotel in Ballarat, has been shortlisted as a finalist for the nationally prestigious Dulux Colour Awards in the commercial interior – public and hospitality category.

Designer, Kathryn Mills, responsible for the interior renovations, said a lifeless and underutilised restaurant space received an injection of colour, texture and visual interest to become Lola.

Ms Mills, who worked with Provincials’ owners Simon and Gorgi Coglan from Buninyong and Drew Harry on the project, said the initial briefing from Gorgi was that she loved blue, but it couldn’t be a Greek or Santorini beachy blue.

Ms Mills, based in Wagga Wagga who previously ran her interior design business in Ballarat for seven years, said we needed to find our own Ballarat blue, that would be inviting on the city’s gloomy drizzly days.

“The colour needed to be more traditional but not boring or twee,” Ms Mills said.

“So when Alaskan Cruise was chosen, this became the theme colour throughout the restaurant and adjoining hotel and inspired the selection of wallpaper, leathers, seating and lighting.”

Andrea Lucena-Orr, Dulux Colour Planning and Communications Manager, said Dulux was thrilled to see the calibre of submissions for this year’s awards program.

“Architects and designers have really set a new precedent with their masterful and innovative employment of colour to create unexpected, lively, playful and refined interior and exterior spaces,” Ms Lucena-Orr said.

Winners in all categories of the Dulux Colour Awards will be announced at a gala event at the NGV on Wednesday, 8 May.