BLYTH AND BURROWS + VIA VECCHIA DESIGNED BY QUILL DESIGN

THE “JOHNNY AWARD”

“Congratulations ViA VECCHiA on your 2021 Johnny Award!!!
Located in the Old Port of Portland, Maine, @vvoldport is a small plates Italian inspired restaurant. I came here on a random night in September, in town for a wedding. Their ivy covered brick building led me to believe that their bathroom might be just as beautiful. But when I finally made the trip to the john at the back of the restaurant, I knew instantly it was up for a Johnny Award.
The first thing I noticed was the green tiled walls. They are somehow just perfect bathroom walls and they complemented the mini tiled floor extremely well. The lighting was just what I wanted in a bathroom and it helped bring out the dark wood and gold furnishings. I'm a sucker for high quality hand towels and soap and this place delivered. The staff also had an amazing knack for stacking toilet paper above the toilet, just where a guest needs it. I left this place feeling energized. I wanted to come back. I will be back eventually and hope to see the Johnny Award up on the wall next time. Truly a masterpiece bathroom in the Old Port. Congratulations to the staff and owners whose bathroom pride shines through to each guest when nature calls.”
#johnnybathroom

MAINE HOME + DESIGN MAGAZINE

18 Maine Interiors that Inspire Us- Via Vecchia

“FIRM: QUILL DESIGN
DESIGNER: WENDY POLSTEIN
BUILDER: NMT WOODWORKING
PHOTOGRAPHER: ANTHONY DIBIASE LOCATION: PORTLAND 

The design team drew inspiration from pre-World War I European bistros. Via Vecchia translates as “the old way”—a perfect name for this 1920s Italian bistro concept that celebrates food, wine, cocktails, gracious design, and the gathering of people. The atmosphere is very social, transporting diners back in time to the crowded streets and cafes of early 1900s Italy. C-shaped booths face the dining room and allow customers to take in the comings and goings of the restaurant. The mood is rich elegance with a touch of glitz, creating a place where you want to celebrate and visit often. The back dining and bar space is slightly hidden and very masculine in tone. Large candelabras, gold beaded curtains, and black and gold velvet seating come together for an inti- mate lounging experience.

Emerald green velvet booths signal the formal part of the restaurant, and black and white mosaic tile wraps around the large U-shaped bar, while dark wood stained floors suggest 100 years of bistro activity. Each of the front windows is highlighted with a large crystal and gold chan- delier. Grand gold mirrors hang above the booths and are angled to allow customers to fully see the space. The back room features eight antique light fixtures rescued from the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York City. A large iron and crystal chandelier from Union Station in Washington, DC, hangs over the black marble bar. Ivy plants, antique mirrors, and Italianate imagery dot the walls to help tell the story.

The bathrooms are a work of art in and of themselves, and their elegance and attention to detail equal the main spaces, with full tile walls, black marble countertops, gold mirrors, and lights from the Waldorf Astoria. Paul White Tile created complicated and detailed quartz bar tops and bathroom vanities that look like Carrara or black marble.

Wendy Polstein’s philosophy has always been to listen to what her client wants and let this guide the design process, and owner Joshua Miranda had a clear vision for the space and knew what he wanted to achieve. Quill Design’s job was to curate objects and design elements that work toward a cohesive concept.”

CHOOSING THE RIGHT CONTRACTOR AND DESIGNER

THE PORTLAND PRESS HERALD

“Via Vecchia, 10 Dana St., vvoldport.com, 207-407-7070. “I walked in the door, looked up at the ceiling and said, ‘We should paint it metallic gold,’” Wendy Polstein of Quill Design recalled. “It lights up the space and sparkles and shines down on whatever else we do.” Gold and brass are a recurring theme – on mirror frames, all the bar and bath taps, restored soda fountains, bar lights and flatware. So are crystal chandeliers salvaged from New York’s Waldorf Astoria and Portland’s long-gone Union Station. There are green velvet booths, emerald-green tiles, floors of black and white penny tile. It’s an amalgam of various places beloved by Miranda, including New York’s Balthazar brasserie, Roman coffee bars and a cocktail bar in Positano. “The goal here is escapism,” Miranda concluded.”

BY JORGE S. ARANGO