The New York-based architecture and interior design studio Rockwell Group, operating through its Madrid office, has unveiled the interior design for Keli — a 224-seat, 600-square-meter Spanish restaurant and art program located in a three-story building in Madrid’s Salamanca neighborhood.
Rockwell Group's design concept treats the restaurant as an invitation into someone’s home, with the name Keli being a colloquial Spanish term for house. Each floor represents a different chapter of a well-travelled host’s life, moving from a social ground-floor hub to a more intimate second floor and finally a basement dedicated to leisure, music, and play. Bold colors and geometric patterns draw from the vibrant palette of Pedro Almodóvar’s films, while materials range from restored Versailles parquet and blue satin-finished ceilings to fluted red-painted wooden walls, cork-clad wine cellars, and channel-tufted red velvet in the game room. An extensive art program at the Spanish restaurant features site-specific works by Miguel Caravaca, Javier de Juan, Luis Úrculo, Coco Dávez, and others.
Image Credit: Ed Reeve
Key Themes Behind This Trend
- Residential Restaurant Design
- Home-inspired hospitality concepts create more emotionally resonant dining environments where guests move through layered spaces that feel personal, collectible, and culturally specific.
- Gallery-led Dining
- Integrated art programs transform restaurants into hybrid cultural venues, opening new value around artist partnerships, rotating installations, and destination-worthy visual storytelling.
- Cinematic Interior Narratives
- Film-influenced color palettes, materials, and spatial sequences bring immersive worldbuilding into foodservice, making the restaurant setting as memorable as the menu.
Where This Applies
- Hospitality Design
- Boutique interiors with multi-floor storytelling provide design firms with new models for creating differentiated venues that blend leisure, dining, and entertainment.
- Fine Dining
- Experiential restaurants gain distinction through curated atmospheres that combine cuisine, art, music, and social play into a single premium night-out format.
- Contemporary Art
- Site-specific commissions in commercial venues expand artist visibility beyond galleries while giving hospitality brands culturally relevant content and local creative credibility.
