Written by: Štěpánka Strouhalová
Photo by: Věroslav Sixt

The painter Oto Bláha, who designs the interiors of prestigious hotels and restaurants, claims that if a graphic artist has the right feeling and the idea, he can create anything, from a postage stamp to a submarine.

BLÁHA studied graphics, but the artistic illustration market was stagnant at the beginning of the nineties, so he found work with Le Patio shops after his graduation. “When I saw the first Le Patio on Pařížská street, it filled me with such inspiration that I immediately designed some items and offered to sell them to the owner, Marie Borenstein,” recalls Bláha. “We took a liking to one another, and that was the beginning of our seven years of excellent cooperation.” At Le Patio he started with the Christmas shop window, and together with Milada Fischerová, he designed decorations and items for sale, supervised the shop’s artistic appearance, and painted the shop walls. His Provencal- and Moroccan-styles frescoes in the shop on Národní třída are well known. Ms Borenstein finally sold the entire chain, so they parted company – only to get together again two years later, working on her new project: the No stress Café in Old Town, on V Kolkovně street. In the meantime, Bláha created the interior of the Méridien Spa in Hamburg, and then he returned to Le Patio, which was under new ownership. He was also the chief designer for the entire Nová Celnice project. The offers then started flowing in, so he had to leave the romantic environment of Le Patio for good and set up his own design studio, Finhound & Burg. Bláha’s best known works include the interiors of the restaurant Le Bistrot de Marle`ne, the Prague boutique in the Elegant hotel, and the exclusive shop for the Belgian firm SIA. The crowning touch is his ongoing work on the interiors and exteriors of the elegant “above the Vltava” restaurant in Sovovy mlýny and a design restaurant in Berne.
“I try to put something special into each of my works, something original and unrepeatable,” says Bláha. “My life-long credo is variety. I try to create ‘living’ interiors that invite continual changes, so as to bring surprises in the form of something new as time passes.”

Painter Oto Bláha created the frescoes in Le Patio shops..

The new interior of Le Bistrot de Marle`ne.

Gallery in the No stress Café.

Restroom interior with original lights made of laminates.

Detail of lights made of metallic fabric in Le Bistrot de Marle`ne.

how to survive the summer Here’s a few stylish items that will help you minimize the risk of overheating! Cooling cocktail swizel sticks. 6 pcs, CZK 445, Arcada Gallus & Gallina thermoses, CZK 553 and 620, La Vecchia Bottega                                                                                                                                                      Kitschy rubber icemakers, CZK 49, Ikea. Alfi bottle caps and cooler with frozen insert, CZK 120 and 790, Arcada Arcada, Vinohradský pavilon, Vinohradská 50, Praha 2 La Vecchia Bottega, OC Nový Smíchov, Plzeňská 8, Praha 5 Ikea, Skandinávská 1, Praha 5