| Suzanne Catlette contacted us to find a solution to acoustically correct The Farmstead Restaurant. The busy restaurant provides a warm inviting atmosphere in the heart of rural Amish Ohio. However, being a busy restaurant with a large open dining room creates a noisy environment.
Traditional acoustic treatments such as acoustic panels and diffusors would distract from the traditional decor. Next Industries engineers met with Suzanne to discuss her vision for the interior space. Quilts, re-purposed barn wood planks from the 1800′s, and pictures of rural American farm lands were a central theme for decoration.
Vertical acoustic baffles can be utilized to break up transverse sound wave issues in large open areas, effectively reduce the background noise levels. Next Industries devised a solution in which Amish-made quilts were produced without standard backing material, this allowed to quilts to be installed with an internal frame and acoustic material. To finish these off, Next Industries built an external frame and constructed a horizontal bar for the quilts to hang from.
Also constructed for this project were acoustical wall panels in which repurposed antique barn wood was used for external trim. Acoustic yellow suede fabric was used to match the color of the walls, and canvas prints were used to create a shadowbox design. Finally, to aid in minimizing background noise closest to the customers, custom head rest backboards were created and wrapped in acoustically transparent fabric that went with the decor of the room. These headrests allow for direct background noise absorption at the closest surface point to the restaurant patron ears. All treatments in the space provide a warm and inviting, acoustically uncluttered experience. Ultimately, the overall design created additions to the restaurant that did not detract from the design target of the interior designer. “I recently met and worked with the staff of Next Industries for a restaurant project/rennovation I was working with. I was amazed, after our initial meeting, how much I learned from them both about their products and services, as well as knowledge of space, sound and solutions. Ours was not an easy task solution, as design and visual was a key for me as an interior designer. Trying to make this location and our customer’s experience feel warm, friendly and comforting as possible. All this without noticing anything commercial, industrial or noticeable as well as solving our sound issues in each dining area. The staff of Next Industries listened. Together, we came up with wonderful solutions that accomplished all our goals. The experience has been enlightening, easy, and well worth the efforts. I look forward to my next project with them.” -Suzanne Catlette, SC Interiors for Dutchman Hospitality Group |
