Here's a little preview of London design firm Blacksheep's concept for the first ever restaurant for the owners of the award-winning Provencale vineyard ‘Chateau du Galoupet’ soon opening in Beauchamp Place, Knightsbridge.

The new London restaurant, to be called ‘Galoupet’, will launch in late Spring 2011 and is to house both public and private dining areas as well as a retail fine wine store, offering a range of wines from the owners’ vineyard, along with other hand-picked bins.

The store will also house London’s first enomatic champagne machine, which dispenses four types of champagne by the glass at the perfect temperature.

‘Galoupet’ will be a two-storey space, with 60 square metres on the ground floor, plus a further 30 square metres of private dining and lounge space on the lower ground floor.

Visitors to Galoupet will enter the Georgian terraced building directly into the wine store area, and here, lighting (Blacksheep worked with Gravity Lighting on this) is ‘hidden’.

Set within a swirl-shaped ceiling bay, to create a subtle retail atmosphere, it allows the product - housed in bespoke ridged glass display units edged in brass on the right hand wall - to shine.

Four large glass floorplates in a bespoke etched, checked design will take the retail light down into the lower ground lounge area. Flooring around the glass pieces and through to the back of the restaurant space is pale oak.

A narrower gloss-panelled mid section between the store space and the restaurant will house coffee dispensing machines alongside the oak staircase, which leads down to the lower ground floor, with an all-glass surround and brass balustrade whilst the ‘hidden’ recessed lighting swirl continues through this space.

The restaurant’s colours are restrained and subtly glamorous, in off-whites, silvers and gold, with bespoke banquette seating and tables and Hans Wegner ‘Wishbone’ chairs in white. Vertical interest is added through glass panels, edged in brass, whilst angled mirrors allow for people-watching in what is a small and intimate space. Lighting levels are all dimmable to provide for changes in atmosphere from day to night.

On the lower ground floor, the private dining area for up to 8 people features a leather-embossed wall and antiqued mirrors with limestone-effect ceramic flooring.

A lounge area to the rear is lit from above via the retail area’s glass floor plates, slightly recessed into the ceiling with a striking patinated brass surround. This reflective, surface is picked up in the frame of a large mirror on the wall in this space and in the brass-edged and subtly-lit wine displays behind.

This area has a luxe, club feel with faux suede seating and a softening inset rug in the ceramic flooring. A striking feature wall is covered in marbled black, white and gold wallpaper. Furniture is further bespoke banquette seating in graphite grey and freestanding tables and stools in patinated brass with pale grey uppers.

All in all, we'd say this'll turn out to be an uber luxe venue...