Style : Interiors : A FEAST FOR THE EYES

When John Thomas set out to turn an old American Legion hall in Beverly Hills into the restaurant Asylum, he knew the project called for something completely different. “There’s a trend in Los Angeles toward cold, industrial, futuristic interiors,” the 33-year-old real estate developer and first-time restaurateur says. “I wanted the space to feel like a comfortable living room where you can put your feet up.”

With rich finishes and intriguing juxtapositions of materials, the newly opened Asylum is one of California’s most dramatic-looking restaurants. It boasts extraordinary attention to detail--not only a bronze frieze and luminous amber walls but also ceilings of suede tile and steel parquet. This otherworldly look is, in Thomas’ words, “a feast for the senses.” Everything in the three spacious lounges and main dining salon--5,000 square feet in all--is larger-than-life. In the main room, a spectacular flower arrangement towers over the tables. A two-story grid of Carpathian burled elm, punctuated by a circular window, dominates the back wall. A canted 14- foot-wide mirror, draped with crimson velvet, resembles a grand proscenium arch--perfect for viewing the restaurant as theater.

Like the food at Asylum, the interior embraces several styles and cultures. Japanesque parchment chandeliers loom like flying saucers. An Art Nouveau motif stenciled on the walls is reminiscent of an Otto Wagner design. Curvilinear chairs take a cue from Frank Lloyd Wright’s barrel-shaped seating. Elsewhere, Chinese rugs and high-tech lamps sculpted from titanium and airplane parts work together to create a strange yet familiar sense of place.

Says Thomas: “You’re not quite sure where you are. People say the restaurant is so New York. To me, it’s very L.A.”