Pine Nut Cycle Café

Set within the towering pines, log cabins and fresh air on the Californian side of Lake Tahoe is Pine Nut Cycle Café, a new health and wellness-based bike store and café for discerning outdoor enthusiasts. Desirous of creating an international destination, the owners looked worldwide for the right creative powerhouse to design a unified brand and interior experience, appointing Melbourne’s own Biasol who is well-known for its integrated creative approach.

However, the studio cleverly opted to challenge the popular local convention of rustic ‘log-cabin’ style interiors and drew on its surroundings in a more sophisticated and contemporary manner. “The palette encapsulates the essence of South Lake Tahoe, inspired by the changing seasons and local materiality. Soft greys and greens evoke the pine forest landscape, and timber joinery honours the local craftsmanship tradition, while steering clear of the conventional pine timber finishes,” says Biasol.

“We worked with local trades, and local and international suppliers to use honest materials with refined simplicity. Concrete café counter tiles are from California, while the splashbacks and benchtops are from Fibonacci in Australia. These materials have natural, understated colours and textures that evoke the surroundings and a sense of authenticity, and create a refreshing, modern and welcoming space. The hues and tones of Fibonacci’s Moon Garden were the perfect pairing for the project, helping set an international benchmark for the area.”

In Fibonacci’s first foray into the US market, the sublime timelessness of Moon Garden is the perfect addition to this contemporary take on a generations-old American architectural style. Its occasional hints of warm nude set amongst cool greys and whites act as the perfect link between the polished concrete floor and the light timber joinery.

“Every product in our Dramaturgy collection was designed to be able to be a hero in the design or the perfect subtle backdrop. This range was specifically designed to enable designers to take the products to new places - like South Lake Tahoe!” says Michael Karakolis, Founder of Fibonacci. “We are only one small piece of the puzzle that is a completed design, and we love being part of projects such as this fantastic one by Biasol.”