Venice-based DEX Studio and Architect Glen Bell announce the opening of popular Los Angeles Indian eatery Badmaash as the franchise expanded from its Downtown LA flagship to the heart of Fairfax this summer. The vibrant restaurant is the second collaboration between Badmaash and DEX, blending unexpected with familiar in its bold reach for a uniquely cultural patron experience.

At the center of studios, boutique retailers and restaurants, Badmaash’s new Fairfax location has a heightened level of pedestrian and vehicular traffic as compared to their downtown location, providing a promising sense of exposure and revelation to the neighborhood and beyond. With an understated, yet quirky, exterior as per the owners’ vision, the darker scheme that introduces passer-bys to the restaurant contrasts the interior brighter palette, with a painted signage in neon overlay directly on the building’s façade.

Once inside, the eclectic design immediately captures a patron’s attention. The backdrop of the dining room is a rigid tapestry made up of bands of color that begin to break away and envelop the space, with a color scheme that plays as a response to the mid-city locale and the west facing space. The colorful motif is inspired by the effervescent energy that defines the Indian culture, and offset by the neutral tones of the walls and natural materials of some of the furnishings. Conclusively, the space itself became a balance of contrasts, playing on traditional elements like the paneled ceiling and hanging lamps intermingling with the bold backdrop, coined appropriately the ‘Rapture Wall’ by Badmaash Co-Founder Nakul Mahendro.

“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working with Glen on our vision for Badmaash, the second restaurant as collaborators,” shares Mahendro. “He genuinely listens to our ideas and is able to deliver with unique materials, textures and intuitive design elements. I especially appreciate his attentive approach to not only how the space looks aesthetically, but also how it functions as a restaurant and business.”

“The contrasting dynamic of the design is evident in the Mahendros as well,” shares Glen. “On the one hand, you have this charming family, deeply rooted in their Indian culture, and on the other, a playful sense of infusing their adopted home with the traditional cuisine of their country. That sense of inclusiveness translated to the design process gives a wonderful camaraderie throughout.”

About DEX Studio:

Based in Venice, DEX Studio is a multidisciplinary design studio founded in 1999 by Glen Bell that designs projects ranging from private homes, multi-unit residential properties and offices to restaurants, bars and retail spaces. Over the past fifteen years, DEX has completed projects throughout Southern California that animate and examine the relationship between the built form and surrounding community. Evidenced in the careful attention to craftsmanship and the Studio’s progressive vision, DEX creates environments that translate warmth and humanity along a contemporary continuum. www.studiodex.com