When interior architect Joanna Laajisto set out to remodel a former bank in Helsinki into a Milanese-inspired bar called Jackie, she started with music. “I was given a soundtrack of sixties and seventies Italian lounge music and seventies French cosmic disco by the owner, Antii Eerikäinen, to understand the ambiance he wanted in the space,” says Laajisto. “Best brief I have ever received.”
The result is a mix of velvet, leather, walnut, and exotic marble, which adds up to a piece of 1970s Italy in modern Helsinki. Here’s a look.
![the bar is named after the song \2\20;jackie\2\2\1; by \1960 17](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/jackie-bar-helsinki-joanna-laajisto-1-733x489.jpg)
![the leather benches and tables are custom. the chairs are walnut medici chairs 18](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/jackie-bar-helsinki-joanna-laajisto-2-733x1100.jpg)
![special attention was given to the dj booth, which is built in sapele, a tropic 19](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/jackie-bar-helsinki-joanna-laajisto-3-733x1100.jpg)
![the bar is also clad in sapele wood. 20](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/jackie-bar-helsinki-joanna-laajisto-4-733x489.jpg)
![in addition to classic cocktails, the bar serves northern italian food. 21](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/jackie-bar-helsinki-joanna-laajisto-8-733x1100.jpg)
![to create the feel of a hotel lobby, laajisto utilized velvet curtains and leat 22](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/jackie-bar-helsinki-joanna-laajisto-6-733x1100.jpg)
![a detail of the custom tables laajisto commissioned in stripes of exotic marble. 23](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/jackie-bar-helsinki-joanna-laajisto-5-733x489.jpg)
![the bathroom features mainzu tile, a muuto framed mirror, and cone sphere wall 24](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/jackie-bar-helsinki-joanna-laajisto-7-733x1100.jpg)
For more restaurant interiors by Laajisto, see our posts:
- Story Restaurant: The New Chapter for Helsinki’s Old Market Hall
- A Caviar Bar in Finland with a Wintry Palette
- The Theater Crowd: Bar & Co. in Helsinki
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