Dubliner’s Irish Pub: A Genuine Irish Pub in the Heart of Piacenza

Renovating without betraying the venue’s identity

Dubliner’s Irish Pub is a historic meeting place in the center of Piacenza, and its owners wanted to renovate the space without radically changing the venue’s identity. Despite many changes and interiors that are now clearly different from the original, the pub atmosphere has remained intact.

The attention to detail throughout this transformation brought greater coherence to the furnishings, giving the venue the character of a genuine Irish pub, able to speak to a loyal clientele while still delivering the update the space needed.

An atmosphere built through details

Vintage objects such as an old cash register, a period gramophone set alongside bottles, framed photographs and crossed hurling sticks hanging on the wall tell the story of the pub through small details rather than a single scenographic gesture. This controlled accumulation of objects becomes the venue’s true decorative language.

Enveloping seating and warm materials

Green leather booth seating runs along the walls, paired with dark wood tables and bistro-style chairs. Terracotta flooring and warm wood tones complete a material palette designed to bring warmth and comfort, essential qualities for a pub that wants to remain a genuine gathering place.

Wallpaper and texture take the lead

Several areas of the venue feature geometric and floral wallpaper patterns, adding depth and character to the walls without weighing down the space. This use of texture, combined with gold frames and vintage mirrors, contributes to a more layered British-Irish aesthetic than the pub’s original furnishings.

Warm light and diffused points of glow

Copper pendant lamps and wall sconces spread a warm, soft light throughout the venue, avoiding uniform illumination in favor of small pools of light that accompany the tables and seating. This lighting choice reinforces the intimacy of the spaces and highlights the vintage details scattered throughout the room.

From Dubliner’s to our approach to bar design

The Dubliner’s Irish Pub project reflects how VANDA approaches the renovation of historic venues with an already established identity, working to reinforce the existing atmosphere rather than replace it. This approach continues to guide our bar and venue design work across Italy and Europe.