Project Name: Chateau Elan Winery and Resort – Versaille Restaurant 

Location: Georgia 

Date Completed: 2020 

Interior Designer and Architect: BLUR Workshop 

Hotel Group/Developer: Wheelock Street Capital 

Construction Company: Nix Unger Construction 

Versailles Restaurant & Bar is the new concept for the three-meal restaurant at the Chateau Elan Winery and Resort. The resort is located north of Atlanta, at the start of Georgia’s wine country in Braselton, and is owned by Wheelock Street Capitol of Greenwich, CT.  The renovation of this 7000-sf restaurant was complete in March of 2020 and seats 179 guests.  

The primary project challenge was how to create a fine dining restaurant within the volume of a 3-story glass atrium that met all the Owner’s objectives. The restaurant needed to feel permanent and upscale to not only draw hotel guests, but to become a destination for the surrounding affluent community. It needed to feel appropriately scaled to the large volume of the atrium, but also have a more intimate scale for fine dining. The scale of the atrium was brought down by the introduction of a large chandelier that glorifies the glass space by creating a crystal palace like setting during the day. Sunlight plays off the custom glass installation, made up of over 1,400 pieces of hand-blown crystal and in the evening, it creates the feeling of a starry North Georgia night.  

The design team worked very closely with Formations Studio out of Atlanta to create the wood sculpture that rises 30’ from the back of the bar. It is an interpretation of the area’s topography, as the property is located at the foothills of the North Georgia Mountains. The appearance of the sculpture changes as guests move around it and during different times of the day, giving the space its own energy and activation.  

This design is an extension of the overall hotel yet maintains its own personality, it complements the architecture while creating its own signature design moments through the bar sculpture and chandelier yet remain a part of the overall design of the hotel. The hard finishes compliment the hotel narrative whilst the soft finishes and colour scheme give the restaurant its own distinct character.