Suede Lounge

Photo By: Michael T. Regan

Floor-to-ceiling mahogany-framed windows welcome you into the airy Suede's Market Street entrance (its VIP lounge entrance is along the Letitia side). The openness of the 2,800-square-foot space with 12-foot ceilings is made to feel guarded and private by its dusky lighting and heavy doors. Using earth tones to enrich architect Christopher Beardsley's Spartan design, interior designer Terri Grape went for a look that was massive and elegant, using a bar base crafted from Brazilian underwater granite and amber backlit Plexiglas as a centerpiece. "I wanted something sophisticated and timeless throughout the lounge, but inviting, conquerable," says Grape of her "twilight-in-the-Arizona-desert look." Grape chose honeycomb-perforated steel sconces painted copper for an eerie, butterfly effect along Suede's brick walls. The midnight-blue ceiling features twinkling 2-foot-long chandeliers that create a night-sky feel. While Suede's center is dark, DeJuan McQueen's design for the VIP lounge is light, with thick shag carpeting, muted white light boxes and a celery-green sofa and light fixtures. While Suede intends to utilize its second floor for more restaurant, dance and private VIP space by March, this single-floor lounge is a lovely respite from Old City's craziness right now.

Suede Lounge, 120 Market St., 215-923-5570.

—A.D. Amorosi

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