Color Punch

Since Savard Beer & Board opened in downtown Wilmington this summer, guests have been talking about the beer (11 different brews, all under 7 percent ABV), the boards (custom surfboards shaped at the brewery), and the bathrooms. Yes, the bathrooms.

“I’m trying to remember if I’d had a beer when we came up with the bathrooms,” SALLY LINDROOS says with a laugh. Lindroos, and her design partner on the Savard project, COURTNEY STONE, were perusing tiles together and got a kick out of some extremely bright shades of red, yellow and orange. “We were like, ‘Who would use this?’ And then, ‘What if we used this?’”  

Each of the six bathrooms at Savard Beer & Board are positively decked out in a different, incredibly vibrant tile. “It kind of came to us on a whim, this idea that we could just absolutely encase people in color and make it happy,” Lindroos says. 

Lindroos and Stone, operating at the time as Coastal Manifest (a since-sunsetted design company), wove color and happiness into the design elements throughout Savard’s historic building at 121 South Front Street. While the bones of the building provided an aesthetic canvas with its exposed brick and ivy, the duo was tasked with bringing the vision of brand owners Michelle and John Savard to life.  

“The Savards came to us with the concept, and then we just kind of ran with it,” Lindroos says. “So we started there and then it was, ‘OK, if we’re talking about surfboard creation slash brewery slash we know John and Michelle and their personality…what makes sense?’ That kind of conceptualized into we need teals, we need blues, we need the sunshine colors. We need it to be a happy space. People are happy at the beach. They’re happy when they’re surfing. They’re happy when they’re drinking. How can we work all of that together?”  

The Savards have been friends with Lindroos for years and worked with Coastal Manifest on their other brewery, Wilmington Brewing Company. “I remember when Tropical Lightning was home-brewed and now it’s Wilmington’s water,” Lindroos says. After working together on Wilmington Brewing, the Savards wanted to work with Lindroos and Stone again on this latest endeavor. “I always had my eye on this building,” Lindroos says. “To help them bring this to life has been so rewarding for me. It was like a pinch-me moment when they bought this place and they were inviting us to be a part of the design.” 

In addition to the multi-colored tiles in the bathrooms, bright blue and teal tiles line the entryway and bar area. Huge aloe-green pendant lights hang above the orange bench along the windowed wall, along with custom colorful barstools, multi-colored mid-century chairs and sofas, and a painted surfboard or two. It’s all pulled together by the beams of natural light that shine through the large windows.

“We wanted vibrancy happening throughout the space,” Lindroos says. “That’s the crux of it, combining the wood tones, the exposed brick with the natural colors of the ocean. We wanted it to feel like you’re at the beach without having to hit you in the head about it. We like to design with all the senses in mind — what are you touching, listening to, seeing—the total ambience of a space, rather than just, ‘Oh a starfish is here, I must be in a coastal town.’” 

This design approach also comes to life in an upstairs, 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom apartment that will soon be available for short-term rental. Since Lindroos and Stone met through their work together at Kickstand Events, an event-planning company specializing in weddings, Lindroos knows the value of a picturesque rental near the downtown venues. The apartment can sleep six people but is also roomy enough to seat more. “It’s perfect for wedding row,” Lindroos says. “Brides getting ready, having their make-up done, having brunch up here and then going downtown and having a wedding! Maybe because of my experience that’s where my heart’s at, but it’s also great for families or any kind of group who wants to come enjoy Wilmington.”

Lindroos will manage the bookings for the apartment and will also serve as the event manager for the brewery. “Hospitality is my passion,” Lindroos says. “I love creating spaces, creating memories for people on the hospitality side of things. So if that’s designing a brewery? Awesome, I would love to be a part of it. If it’s helping a bridal party decide what restaurant to go to tonight? Awesome, I’d love to be a part of it. For me it’s this holistic side of hospitality.”

To view more of photographer Madeline Gray’s work, go to madelinegrayphoto.com.

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