Los Angeles studio Design, Bitches has evoked "old-school Miami" at this restaurant in Nashville using pastel colours, planting and plenty of natural light.

Little Octopus opened earlier this year in The Gulch neighbourhood of the city, created by the owners of the Pop space for pop-up restaurants and events in East Nashville.

Design, Bitches was brought on to complete the interiors, tasked with transforming the space from dark to bright.

An opaque facade was replaced with an expanse of glass, and part of the ceiling was raised so that clerestory windows could bring more light into the deep plan.

The aesthetic that unites the various sections of the long space harks back to the art deco colours and shapes found in Miami's South Beach.

"We looked to old-school Miami for inspiration, equipping the space with flora, linen, and stained sherbet-coloured glass," said a statement from the studio, founded by Catherine Johnson and Rebecca Rudolph in 2010.

At the front, a bench with coral-coloured upholstery is accompanied by a row of small tables topped with Pink Tennessee marble. These face the bar, which has a cork covering around the base and a Carrara marble counter.

White pendant lamps by Finnish modernist Alvar Aalto hang above, while a gold mirror is fitted behind the shelves for plans and liquor bottles behind. The same tinted mirror is used on walls along the narrow space, where informal seating gives way to leather-upholstered booths along the wall.

Tall chairs provide seats along solid oak chef's table, opposite the banquettes and overlooking the kitchen area, leading to a double-height dining space at the back.

"These areas transform from day to night with help from the lighting and reflective elements, allowing the space to take on a chameleonic character," said Design, Bitches, which also completed a restaurant filled with retro video games in LA.

In the light-filled atrium space, a graphic of an octopus by local artist Chris Zidek is highlighted in gold on the high wall opposite the windows. More plants occupy an adjacent ledge, and hang from the ceiling below.

In total, up to 99 visitors can sample the Caribbean-influenced food and rum-based cocktails at any given time.

Photography is by Lisa Diederich and Nashville Guru.

Project credits:

Client: Little Octopus, Sarah and Brad Gavigan
Interior design: Design, Bitches
Local architect of record: Mike Ireland
General contractor: City Construction