Created by Kelly Gleason and Anastasia Israel, Abode is a small, sophisticated gem tucked away in an intimate courtyard off of Ocean Avenue. The quiet, private nature of the space, combined with the stately fourteen foot high ceilings led Franklin Studios to the idea of a refined oasis, or garden, hidden away from the tourist traffic along Santa Monica’s main drag. The austere, abstract geometries of high-sixties design encase the dining room and lounge-bar. The concept of garden is brought out abstractly by regularizing organic forms into ornate patterns. The color pallet is rich and earthy, and the stone slabs provide a natural source of wildly varied texture. The back wall of the dining room is articulated by tall, tree-like wood members with lines that branch out across the ceiling. Ceiling pendants hang from these branches and create a focal point to the center of the room. The space is loosely divided into three sections by floor-to-ceiling wood screens, which energize the space with a bold, hypnotic geometry. The main dining room sits in the middle of the space and is set apart by its private booths raised along the back wall. These semi-private enclosures are prized seats and the center of attention. To the right of the dining room is the private dining area, which is dominated by a twenty-six foot long sculpted wall. The owners wanted to make Abode a sustainable project, and went to great extents to make sure that the materials and methods used in the design were in line with LEED practices. The restaurant called for the warmth of wood, but the wood needed to be from a recycled source, so the owners drove to a local vintage wood supplier and selected one hundred year old barn beams to be cut, preserving the weathered faces of the beams, and reassembled on-site. They also wanted the floors to be wood, but considering the heavy traffic in restaurants, and the humid ocean air, they decided to go with Ergon porcelain tiles that closely resemble wood, are made from recycled content and have almost no maintenance costs.