Stockholm design studio Note revels in mixing colours. This playfulness is apparent in such products as the Tembo stools and Zero lights, as well as in the studio’s growing portfolio of interiors – and even its multi-hued logo. And yet, its interior for the Finefood restaurant, in Hammerby Sjöstad (a new eco-design district in Stockholm), takes its colour inspiration from a series of photographs that American artist Jordan Sullivan made of America’s Death Valley. His shots wash the sky and desert of this legendary basin-and-range landscape in poetic pastels.

While the photo series inspired the palette, from its deep greens to pale turquoise and salmon, the materials – with the exception of marble from Guatemala – are Scandinavian. These include the custom designed ash tables with painted-metal edges, brass lighting and natural leather banquettes. The overall scheme was arranged in an interior program designed to complement Finefood’s multi-pronged service as a cafe, lunch spot and bistro. As Note puts it: “It must work just as well serving breakfast at 7am in the morning as serving beer 7pm in the evening.”

The main space is anchored by a green marble service counter – a lustrous rock resting on the shifting desert sands evoked by the herringbone tile floor. All around are seating areas delineated by hue: on one end, a bright orange communal table sits across from a cafe-style arrangement of tables animated by turquoise chairs and sheer salmon curtains. And on the opposite end, a deep-green corrugated wall with a banquette leads into a more intimate space with a similar scheme. Throughout, the details – including the studio’s own ceramic Fuse pendants – are carefully selected to complement the colour scheme.