BENEATH THE SURFACE

Written by RACHEL GALLAHER

Photographed by HARIS KENJAR

THIS PAGE, FROM LEFT: A close-up of an 8-foot-long chandelier, traversing the ceiling of the back room at Deep Dive bar in Seattle, which was a collaboration between collector and artist Curtis Steiner and glass artist John Hogan. Just outside the bathrooms, the counter and sink were made from a slab of Verde Victoria granite from Brazil, backed with wall tile sourced through Ambiente European Tile Design. Hand towels sit snugly in a wooden vessel. OPPOSITE, FROM LEFT: The bar is also formed from Verde Victoria granite. A curved ramp leads guests from the door to the main seating area.

LOVE IT OR HATE IT, Amazon is now responsible for a lot of fresh development in Seattle—including the city’s most breathtaking new bar. The aptly named Deep Dive (located beneath the much-talked-about Amazon Spheres) is among the latest additions to James Beard Award–winning chef Renee Erickson’s roster of restaurants, and its moody maximalism pushes the space well beyond the typically restrained aesthetics of PNW eateries.

Designed by Graham Baba Architects to fit into a circular footprint (global firm NBBJ designed the Spheres themselves) and decorated by antiques dealer and artist Curtis Steiner, Deep Dive is a descent into detailed hedonism, with custom art, high-end finishes, and more than 600 eclectic objets enlivening every surface. Steiner has filled the walls with assorted oddities and created several art pieces for the space, including cheeky Don Milgate–shot portraits that line the entry ramp.

“We thought of this space as the mythical spherekeeper’s office under the stairs,” says Jim Graham, principal at Graham Baba. “When you descend, you enter into this dark relic that’s tinged with a sense of Victorian magic and mysticism.”

Working with Sellen Construction, the design team had to exercise maximum creativity from the start. In addition to the circular shape and a steep elevation change, the ceiling was burdened with lots of heavy, low-hanging ductwork—an eyesore that Graham concealed with overhead sections of hot-rolled steel ribbons, crafted and installed by Canadian fabricator Spearhead (see page 60 for profile).

A dark-stained oak ramp guides visitors from the entryway to the heart of the bar, gently unveiling a series of rich visual tableaux. Deep Dive has the cosmopolitan vibe of a New York hot spot, but the level of thought put into each aspect of the bar laces the design with a strong shot of Northwest authenticity. “Each area has its own little narrative,” notes Steiner. “You can walk into this space a hundred times, and I guarantee you’ll see something new each and every time.” »

“When you descend, you enter into this dark relic that’s tinged with a sense of Victorian magic and mysticism.”

—Jim Graham, architect

Velvet-upholstered banquettes and matching seating bring color to the space and complement the space’s dark-stained ash wood. Overhead, strips of hot-rolled steel hide ductwork and mechanical systems. The Steiner-sourced cloches on the bar are supported by custom Resolute Lighting bases. Steiner embellished the 19th-century Japanese gold-leafed wood-and-lacquer leaves on the wall with antique French sequins, balanced on pins, so that they quake in the slightest breeze. h