Today is the one-month anniversary of the opening of Ava’s in St. Michaels, MD. Hooray! I have two selfish reasons to root for its success: first, St. Michaels desperately needs an inexpensive-but-excellent restaurant with a grown-up atmosphere (wine, lovely setting) and child-friendly practicality (crayons in a pinch). Second, I helped them choose the colors for the interior.
I met one of the owners last summer, when I was sitting in St. Michaels Perk posting a blog entry and Ava’s was under construction across the street. Here are small-town operations at their finest: Irene, the lovely coffee shop owner, knew I was an interior designer, and she also knew that Chris and Jenn, the restaurant’s owners and the real Ava’s parents, were EXACTLY at the point when they needed some help with the restaurant’s interior. A match was made.
Here’s what the restaurant looked like when I arrived on the scene: demo done, drywall up, finishes in question.
They mentioned that they were thinking of red walls, and I literally jumped out of my chair. Maybe I’ve developed some kind of prejudice against red dining rooms, but I simply could not allow this to happen.
Chris and Jenn had a clear idea of how the restaurant would be set up. On the right as you enter (beyond the staircase in the picture above) would be the wood-oven pizza family-dining area. On the other side (foreground of the same picture) would be the wine bar and adults-only area for eating, drinking, and socializing.
It wasn’t unreasonable to think that an accent wall might be the answer. Instead, though, I persuaded them to use a a different color to define ALL the walls – not just an accent wall – in each space. For the bar side we used Benjamin Moore’s 502 Grasslands…
…and for the family side we used HC-12 Concord Ivory, one of my favorite golds.
We put a darker green, 504 Nature’s Reflection, on the front of the pizza station (above) and the front of the bar, and we used an extremely light green, 500 Maidenhair Fern, 
for the ceiling throughout. Just because, you know, I’ve developed a problem with stark white ceilings.
In the powder room, we gave a nod to the owners’ original red walls concept. 2170-30 Autumn Cover is more of an orangey pomegranate than red, but it has the same warm effect. No one wants to be cold in the powder room.
Maryland’s Eastern Shore takes its history seriously – St. Michaels is “The Town That Fooled The British”, after all – and I was delighted that the owners had thought to use the original ceiling beams for the bar surface. Jenn was so cute in saying, “Will the customers think it’s gross that they can see the little beetle marks in the wood?” Luckily, her friends convinced her it’s cool.
So if you find yourself driving aimlessly around the Eastern Shore some weekend, be sure and look up Ava’s. It may take a little while, but eventually a spot at the bar will open up. And believe me, the pizza – and the decor, of course – are worth the wait.
P.S. It’s kind of sad when your parents demand to know what you’ve been up to…not because you haven’t called in a while, but because it’s been nearly a week since you posted a blog entry. Well Mom and Dad, I was hit with a bad cold with bonus side effects – they’ll be funny someday; not yet – but I’m fine now. Thanks for your concern.
