Light Years Asian Diner by Studio Plenty – Byron Bay, Australia

Light Years Asian Diner in Byron Bay is a bold exploration of tonality, texture, and spatial thresholds. Studio Plenty, in collaboration with renowned furniture designer Sarah Ellison, has transformed the restaurant from its humble beginnings into a vibrant, playful, and elevated dining experience. The design celebrates the restaurant’s famed local personality—capturing its cuisine, cocktails, and service culture—through a sophisticated palette of materials, gradients, and tactile furniture concepts.

Design Concept

The design approach embraces honest materiality and playful spatial transitions, creating distinct identities for each dining and interstitial space. Tonal and textural gradients, combined with material thresholds and unique openings, offer patrons a rich, layered experience that feels both intimate and expansive.

The dining areas are curated to harmonize as a holistic continuum while allowing individual compositions to shine. The collaboration with Sarah Ellison resulted in furniture that balances tactility, simplicity, and rational design, amplifying the diner’s warm and cozy atmosphere.

Spatial Experience

Visitors describe Light Years Byron Bay as “being in the womb,” a reflection of its warmth, intimacy, and thoughtfully layered interior. Studio Plenty maximized natural light through high ceilings and ensured natural ventilation, enhancing comfort and air quality. Hard-wearing material finishes support the restaurant’s longevity, while the inclusion of local artists and furniture makers—such as Studio of the Sun and Sarah Ellison—grounds the project in the cultural context of Byron Bay.

Studio Plenty: The Practice

Founded in late 2020, Studio Plenty began over coffee at a small Byron Bay café, Roadhouse. Light Years Asian Diner marks the practice’s inaugural project, setting the tone for future work in Byron Bay, Melbourne, and Brisbane. Lead architect Will Rathgeber (32), with experience at Harley Graham Architects, Jackson Clements Burrows Architects, and Woods Bagot, studied architecture at Melbourne University and Deakin University, complemented by international exchanges at CEPT University (India), Seoul National University (South Korea), and the University of British Columbia (Canada).

The studio’s ethos emphasizes rational design, functionalism, and thoughtful minimalism, rejecting excess and celebrating the notion that “that’ll be plenty, cheers.”