The magic of Melbourne’s hospitality scene has long centred around the sense of discovery and delight we derive from wandering down laneways, up industrial stairwells and through unlikely doorways to find hidden worlds within.

The Florence has that same sense of discovery to it, hidden above The Meatball & Wine Bar in Flinders Lane. A muse of Melbourne’s hospitality design scene, Wendy Bergman of Bergman & Co. was commissioned by Valarc Group to work on this secluded wine bar, which plunges you instantly into a deep Florentine flavoured reverie.

Having also designed the downstairs Meatball & Wine Bar (Wendy’s first-ever hospitality project), The Florence represented a ‘full circle’ moment for her. Wendy strongly believes that in order to design a hospitality space you must design for the experience first. “Before considering finishes or aesthetics, we think about how people will feel when they enter, how they will move through the space, and what memories we want them to take away,” Wendy says.

The site, formerly an office space, is located via a laneway stairwell, tucked behind the restaurant. “The Florence sits above Flinders Lane, hidden from the street, and we wanted that sense of arrival to be part of the experience,” says Wendy.

Patrons climb the stairs, leaving the city behind them to ascend into the promise of an Italian evening – very Florentine in style, perhaps a little devotional. Rather than overt, this impression plays out as a feeling – the ritual of aperitivo, the warmth of conversation, unfolding through a series of intimate spaces that sink you from early evening into late night.

Working with the existing site, Wendy and team allowed its original character of existing brick arches, structural elements and spatial proportions to guide the design. The long, linear floor plan is arranged into a sequence of spaces made distinct by shifts in materiality, lighting, furniture and atmosphere – a series of personalities that blends into a single continuous experience.

“We believe in creating layers so a hospitality environment reveals itself slowly through moments of discovery, unexpected details and spaces that reward exploration,” says Wendy. She has assembled a palette of colours and materials that conjure the ritual of wine. Deep reds blend with burgundy tones, conjured through a swathe of gleaming Vixel mosaics which endow the back bar. Warm timber, aged bronze and a striking Artedomus Baccaro natural stone (on the bar benchtop and tabletops) complete the diverse palette, softened out by more neutral tones.

“We were also conscious of balancing moments of restraint with moments of theatre. The bar becomes a focal point with its sculptural stone counter, tortoiseshell tile and illuminated shelving, while quieter moments such as the bathrooms and rear booths allow the materiality to become more immersive and intimate,” says Wendy.

Bergman & Co. has no interest in creating overly designed, trend-driven spaces, rather they seek to conjure environments that feel as if they have evolved over time. “Hospitality is about human behaviour and interaction,” says Wendy. “We look at how people move through a space, where they naturally gather and how lighting changes the mood throughout the evening.”

Mirrored surfaces are used to great effect, giving a sense of expanding space and creating unexpected reflections. Where The Florence overlooks Flinders Lane, suspended mirrors capture inverse scenes of diners and pedestrians on the street below, connecting the patron back to the street while refracting light and hints of the outside world into the interiors.

“The best spaces are defined by a clear understanding of place, purpose and story,” says Wendy. That strong sense of identity is not decorative either. Through the orchestration of materiality, spatial planning, furnishing, lighting and acoustics, Bergman & Co. embeds the venue’s identity into its environment, baking it in in such a way that we might remember the feeling it evokes, and return to it again.