An ode to retro casino glamour and the theatre of dining out, Grandfathers by Killing Matt Woods draws from the decadence of mid-century casinos and Australia’s beloved heritage of regional Chinese restaurants; celebrating the eccentricity and joy of an era when dining out was an event in itself, and every room was dressed accordingly.

Briggs Veneers’ Marri is a rare and characterful timber from the forests of Western Australia, it arrives as the material equivalent of a silk-lined dining room straight from a 1980s Cantonese banquet hall. Marri is unlike any other veneer in the Briggs collection. Its surface is animated by distinctive kino veins; dark, wavy lines formed by the tree’s own reddish-brown resin, produced as a natural defence against bushfire, drought, and physical stress. These sinuous markings move across the grain with an almost organic restlessness, evoking threads of embroidery woven into the timber by the forces of nature itself. The result is a surface that shifts and shimmers with the iridescent, layered quality of antique silk wallpaper – rich, textural, and quietly exotic in equal measure.

It is a material shaped by survival and steeped in character, and in Grandfathers, that character finds its perfect home. Rich and luxe, Marri brings the sensibility of an era when dining out was pure pleasure and every surface told a story. Here, it doesn’t just line the walls, it sets a dramatic scene.

Product

Marri, Quarter Cut, Random Mis-matched

Architect

Killing Matt Woods

Project 

Grandfather’s Restaurant

Photography

Kat Lu

Builder

Green Anvil Co

Killing Matt Woods | Grandfather’s Restaurant | Build by Green Anvil Co | Photography: Kat Lu