Incorporating a Grand Room, Lounge, Beauty Salon, a changing room and restrooms, the Platinum Services Club lounge is in line with DFS’ ambitions to provide a swish shopping environment for its top-tier customers.

A project by Australian firm pmdl, the lounge recently scooped a Bronze award under the Leisure and Entertainment Space category at the recent Asia Pacific Interior Design Award.

pmdl is no stranger to Macau, having been tapped as the prime architect for the beauty hall at T Galleria DFS in City of Dreams, Macau University residences and most recently, the extension of the new T Galleria DFS – of which the Platinum Services Club lounge is part of – at Shoppes Four Seasons, in Macau.

And it is precisely this sensibility to Macanese culture that allowed them to strike the balance between contemporary and colonial influences in the design of the lounge.

“One of the briefs we got was that the design be related to its location. We wanted something that was intrinsically Macanese,” Simon Fallon, senior associate at pmdl, explains. “Our initial response was through the planning of the spaces, based on a series of formal rooms or salons off a main public area.”

Marble is a dominant design feature, with the floors, walls and architraves of the Grand Room and Lounge decked out in Pietra Grey. Also furnished in stone, the Entry Vestibule, Beauty Salon and Rest Rooms feature playful geometric patterns. Meanwhile, the private rooms hone a decidedly cosier and more intimate vibe, with the floor done up in customised plush wool carpets.

Walnut wood paneling is used in the Grand Room and reception area to imbue the spaces with, as Fallon emphasises, “a sense of formality”. The grainy texture gives an eye-catching boosting to the overall design. The soaring 4.8-metre paneled door at the entrance also pays homage to a distinct Macanese design sensibility.

The walls of the Lounge is done up in painted timber panels. “The design of this space was inspired by the Grand Salons of Europe with tone-on-tone colourings and raised timber trim,” Fallon says. The ceiling, featuring an ornate mirrored fretwork panel in the centre coffer, provides a theatrical focal point.

The remaining spaces are fitted with wallpaper of a rich assortment of designs including chinoiserie, textured silk and vibrant geometric patterns. “Not only does it enhance the ‘sense of place’, it’s also a nod to the geometric patterns found in traditional Chinese screens,” Fallon notes.

Upholstered in richly-hued fabrics, the seating smartly targets both individuals and groups. Customers will be tempted to sink into one of the many wing back chairs – dotted throughout the lounge – and unwind over food and drinks at the end of a long day.

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