The Parkway Inn was never intended to become a fashionable bar that would look impressive for a few years and then date. The ambition was more challenging: to bring a closed neighbourhood pub back to life and make people want to return to it.
Located in Bridge of Don, Aberdeen, the pub had once been a familiar part of the local community. By the time the new owners took it over, it had lost much of that connection and eventually closed. For Yuliya Forrest Interior Design, the challenge was not simply to refurbish 180 square metres of tired interior, but to give the venue a new identity and a reason to matter again.
The project was delivered on a very limited budget, which became an important part of the design approach. Rather than stripping out everything and starting again, the studio looked carefully at what could be retained, restored, adapted or given a second life. Existing elements were incorporated wherever they could contribute to the new interior, reducing unnecessary waste while allowing the available budget to be concentrated on changes that would have the greatest impact.
This approach also gave the finished space something that cannot always be achieved with an entirely new fit-out: character. The aim was not to erase the history of the pub, but to build upon it.
The design deliberately avoids both a reproduction of a traditional Scottish pub and the opposite extreme of an overly fashionable bar. Dark timber, natural and durable materials, rich tones and warm layered lighting create intimacy, while contemporary details give The Parkway Inn a recognisable identity of its own.
Much of the interior was considered from the customer's point of view. A neighbourhood pub has to work for different people at different times. Someone stopping for a quiet drink should feel as comfortable as a family having dinner or a group meeting friends in the evening. Seating was arranged to create smaller, more intimate areas within the larger space, while lighting and material choices help the atmosphere evolve throughout the day.
Sustainability here was approached practically rather than as a statement. Reusing and reviving existing elements, avoiding unnecessary replacement and choosing materials suitable for the demands of a busy hospitality environment made both environmental and commercial sense. For an independent business working within a tight budget, good design had to be resourceful.
The result is a pub that feels renewed without losing the familiarity of a good local. It is warmer, more distinctive and more relevant to a contemporary audience, yet still belongs to its community.
For Yuliya Forrest Interior Design, that was the real measure of success: not how much could be replaced, but how intelligently the existing space could be transformed into somewhere people would choose to return to.
