Hello everyone! How are you doing? The Restaurant & Bar Design Awards, now in its tenth year, is a globally recognized competition dedicated to the design of food and beverage spaces. I thought today we could look at some of my favorites from their 2018 entries, and with each, I will give you a tip on how to bring some of the ideas home. So often, I've been out lunching with a friend and spotted a good design idea to apply in my living space. You too?  So let's look at 12 great interior examples below and see what we can learn from the talents firms who designed them.

1// Above: Superbaba (Vancouver, Canada) Studio Roslyn

DECOR TIP: Color Blocking with paint! Be daring!

2// Above: The Budapest Cafe (Chengdu, China) Biasol

DECOR TIP: More color blocking with paint on walls and stairs, and sticking to a limited palette.

3// Above: Sean Connolly (Dubai, United Arab Emirates) Alexander & Co

DECOR TIP: Mix in brushed metals for elegance.

4// Above: 4City (Odessa, Ukraine) 2b Group

DECOR TIP: Add texture to the walls

5 // Above: ATX Cocina (Austin, United States) Michael Hsu Office of Architecture

DECOR TIP: Mix warm colors and wood with gray for an unexpected mix.

6// Above: Don Francisco’s Coffee Casa Cubana (Los Angeles, United States) Omgivning

DECOR TIP: Add decorative tile as an  accent, not in the entire space.

7 // Above: Le Petite Tree House Cafe (Dubai, United Arab Emirates) Sneha Divias Atelier

DECOR TIP: Work around a theme and build from there.

8 // Above: Mana 75º (Barcelona, Spain) Turell Sorensen Arquitectos

DECOR TIP: Mix nautical stripes with patterns that are unexpected, like from textiles found in Turkey, for instance.

9 // Neobio (Shanghai, China) X+Living

DECOR TIP: When designing a kids' room, mix patterns and colors and have fun first of all. The sky is the limit!

10 // Above: Pot Bellied Pig (Dublin, Ireland) Kingston Lafferty Design

DECOR TIP: Grab two colors that work together and experiment with them in different tints and tones.  This lesson in restraint can have lovely results.

11 / Above: Spooning (Berlin, Germany) Zentralnorden

DECOR TIP: Pick a main color and add accent colors very sparingly (yellow on counter, blue stools).

12 // Above: Romola (Madrid, Spain) Office for Political Innovation

DECOR TIP: Play with shapes, materials, and scale if you are daring enough. Be bold. You only live once, right?

(Photos from The Restaurant and Bar Awards)