Rachel McLane’s Stunning Interior Designs for The Hertsmere’s New-Look Restaurant and Bar

Rachel McLane Ltd has given a stunning new contemporary look and environmental focus to the interior design of the restaurant at The Hertsmere, Elstree, called Script: Restaurant and Bar. The full-scale refurbishment forms part of The Hertsmere’s ambitious plans to progressively become the home of family golf in Hertfordshire and North-West London.

A challenging, picturesque 18-hole golf course in the middle of the Hertfordshire countryside, The Hertsmere has recently installed a new high-tech, state-of-the-art 26-bay golf driving range, and opened a golf academy which is ground-breaking in its approach focused on customer outcomes. Built about ten years ago, the clubhouse provides facilities to serve food and drink in a restaurant setting which can also be used by golfers and for public gatherings. Award-winning interior design consultancy Rachel McLane Ltd started work on the interior design concepts behind the new-look restaurant about 18 months ago.

“One of the main things that stood out to us about The Hertsmere was the setting of the course and clubhouse, which are amazing and exceptionally beautiful; the course and the driving range have real character and are of a high quality, which we wanted to capture and reflect in our designs. The clubhouse is quite literally that, a place for everyone to meet and socialise and talk over their game with friends, families and children. We wanted to add a bit of a ‘wow’ factor to help match the very high standards of the rest of The Hertsmere.”

Stuart Ritchie, the business’s director, said: “The Hertsmere is a leisure business which owns a golf course, an award winning driving range and now an amazing restaurant which has been separately branded Script: Restaurant and Bar. We wanted to create our own narrative with our ‘fresh approach to golf’ and to give everyone the opportunity to get involved with golf and enjoy our facilities, hence our standalone restaurant in the centre of the facility.”

“Our restaurant is key to this and we wanted it to be welcoming, accessible and appealing as well as reflecting our high standards and the importance we attach to our surroundings. Rachel McLane Ltd has created a stunning space where I hope people will enjoy spending time, be that for a bite to eat after a game of golf, or as a get together of family and friends for a meal. We felt that ‘Script: Restaurant and Bar’ was the perfect name for the restaurant as it combines the idea of us setting our daily changing menu of locally sourced ingredients – which, just like a fantastic script, provides the foundations for an outstanding experience. We are looking forward to welcoming customers to enjoy the new stylish design, stunning views and great menu.”

North Yorkshire-based Rachel and her team of interior designers have created a concept that draws on the importance of landscape, countryside and environmental sustainability, without detracting from the view of the course. “The Hertsmere has a vision to help make golf more sustainable, minimising waste, the use of water, chemicals and fertilisers, and to develop an environment that has a positive impact on local wildlife and supports the wellbeing of its community.”

“The course has a network of public footpaths and trails across its 160 acres. We felt there needed to be a real sense of how rural and parklike The Hertsmere is and to reference environmental and sustainability aspects in the designs – not just in the design look, but also in the materials we used. Whilst the new look of the interior is one that has been very carefully considered with contemporary lighting and seating, we didn’t want it to overpower the positive details of the building, including the views out over the golf course.”

A dominating sloped timber ceiling has now been painted over and a flattened bulkhead area created on the ceiling helps to break up the room into zones. A custom bespoke tree-like structure forms a new centrepiece to the room and is constructed from solid oak, and littered with random lights to break up the mass of ceiling.

An innovative, subtle tiered effect seating system has created booths on a raised deck at the rear where people can look across the curved dining booths by the central tree-form which in turn looks over the lower sofa-type seating at the front window. This was all done to ensure uninterrupted views of the course. A mix of timber seating and upholstered booths separated by fret-cut screens break up the room further to create the sense of different areas within one larger space. The fret-cut detailing is also applied to the glazing using The Hertsmere logo, which must be one of the best now in use in the world of golf. The colour palette is one of subtle tones with punches of colour based on The Hertsmere’s branding.

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