DELTA RUE & BAR TILDA

BY FK


WHERE HERITAGE MEETS 

CONTEMPORARY HOSPITALITY


For Karen Morris, design is more than aesthetics—it’s about storytelling, emotion, and the way spaces make us feel. As an Associate Principal at FK, she brings this philosophy to life in every project, including the recently reimagined Delta Rue and Bar Tilda at Sofitel Sydney Wentworth. We sat down with Karen to uncover the vision behind these striking hospitality spaces, the challenges of working within a heritage building, and how collaboration helped shape an experience that feels both timeless and inviting.


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With the hotel having such an iconic history, the overall vision was to try recreating some of the energy from the hay day of the hotel in the 60’swith the new F&B venues being at the core of the hospitality offer.


 Like many hotels overseas, we wanted to blur the lines between the hotel and F&B venues and create authentic dining experiences that would also draw in the local neighbourhood.



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DESIGN STYLE

AND AESTHETIC

Q: Delta Rue and Tilda both have such distinct aesthetics. Can you tell us about the design inspirations behind these two venues?

Karen: We had a really great brief from Client team (Futuro) and Housemade Hospitality  in terms of aspirations for each venue. This included food concepts, menus, uniforms and the overall atmosphere we were trying to create.  We started from there and had lots of workshops along the way ensuring we were being respectful to the fabric of the building whilst also creating authentic F&B offers.
 
Tilda, an Australian take on a grill restaurant, embodies contemporary cuisine; Bar Tilda offers an elevated yet laidback experience to the hotel bar; Delta Rue, a modern French-Vietnamese concept, transports guests to a grand colonial villa retreat. Through all these venues we really wanted the culture of relaxed Australian hospitality to underpin each of these concepts. We tried our best to capture this through the planning of the spaces, materials, lighting and furniture.

WORKING WITH

CHALLENGING ASPECTS


Q: What was the most challenging aspect of bringing this project to life?

Karen: The refurbishment presented the challenge of creating four distinct venues within the heritage fabric of the hotel. Our design approach required careful consideration of the existing building’s constraints and opportunities. On L2, a bar, a restaurant and lobby had to cohesively co-exist whilst getting the open kitchen concept to work in a central location proved challenging with getting all the services to a new location within the heritage fabric. We also had a big stakeholder/client/consultant group team and at times this was super tricky to navigate through certain aspects of the project.

FAVOURITE

DESIGN ELEMENTS


Q: Do you have a personal favourite design element within the Sofitel Sydney Wentworth that you're particularly proud of?

Karen: We are really proud of how the atmosphere of Tilda turned out – it was a challenging space in terms of it being a really deep floor plate with limited natural light, so we played into that a bit more to create intimate inward facing dining spaces that are cosy to hang out in. One of my personal favourites is Sarah Nedovic’s lights from her “Monument collection” sitting against the soft plastered clay walls. They were touch and go for a while and we managed to sacrifice a few things to make sure we got those in! We also really loved collaborating with you (REDDIE) to create the rope lounge chairs for Delta Rue. They are another personal favorite on the project - we are so happy how they turned out.

KEY STEPS

IN THE DESIGN JOURNEY


Q: Your career as a designer has been incredibly impressive. Could you share some of the key steps that led you to where you are today?

Karen: Gosh, I feel like I am only just getting started and still have a long way to go! Getting to this point I have had so many amazing opportunities working in different parts of the world and travelling - this has helped me see and experience all sorts of cultures and ways of doing things. I didn’t really realise at the time how valuable this would be.
 


Delta Rue and Bar Tilda at Sofitel Sydney Wentworth designed by FK

Team: Karen Morris

All Photography: Steven Woodburn

PRODUCTS IN

THE PROJECT

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reddie-raw dining chair 46W x 49D x 82H *cm (45H seat) / Solid Reclaimed Teak Wood~Natural / White Rope Rita Rope Dining Chair
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reddie-raw lounge chair 61W x 56D x 69H *cm (45H seat) / Metal~Stainless Steel / Fabric~Magma Latte Cinta chair
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reddie-raw stool COUNTER 42W x 47D x 90 H (65H seat) / Wood Teak~Natural / Wood~Na Rita Bar Stool