Dear Guest: A Bakery Between Nostalgia and Fantasy in Los Angeles

Located on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles’ Silver Lake neighbourhood, Dear Guest, a bakery and café designed by Studio Jialun Xiong, combines nostalgic references with a playful, cinematic sensibility. Rather than recreating any particular period or aesthetic, the studio’s founder, Jialun Xiong, has developed a visual language entirely her own, drawing on an eclectic range of influences, from 1930s Art Deco and Parisian boutique hotels to traditional Japanese inns, or ryokan, and the whimsical fantasy of Studio Ghibli films. Realised through an entirely bespoke ensemble of furnishings, lighting and architectural details, the result is an inviting space that feels at once familiar and delightfully otherworldly.

A circular wall mirror at Dear Guest reflects an intimate arrangement of bespoke furniture, including a cream-upholstered Void Chair with a distinctive round cut-out, a pale tabletop and burgundy leather lounge seating. Framed by butter-yellow walls and dark timber battens, the reflection creates a layered composition that reinforces the café’s recurring circular motif. — Photography Elizabeth Carababas.

A closer view of Dear Guest’s dining area highlights the juxtaposition of Japanese-inspired timber latticework, circular mirrors and Art Deco-inflected pendant lights with delicate raw-silk shades. Polka-dot banquette upholstery in warm terracotta contrasts with the angular silhouettes of bespoke timber chairs, while cream leather cushions and pale tabletops soften the composition. — Photography Elizabeth Carababas.

A frontal view of Dear Guest bakery’s service counter reveals butter-yellow joinery framed in dark timber, glass-fronted pastry displays and a pearlescent tiled backsplash. A burgundy espresso machine adds a rich colour accent, while the silver-lacquered ceiling and metallic cornices lend a subtle shimmer to the warm, Art Deco-inspired interior. — Photography Elizabeth Carababas.

The scheme’s cinematic undertones are no coincidence: the bakery’s owner previously worked in the film and gaming industries. “We wanted to create a space that is isolated from the outside, a place that enables you to enter a different fantasy world,” Xiong explains. “Everything is customised like in a movie set.” Indeed, from the furniture and lighting to the smallest decorative details, every element contributes to a carefully orchestrated environment.

Stepping inside, visitors are enveloped in a warm palette of butter-yellow walls and joinery, complemented by mahogany-hued furniture and display cabinets. Together, the creamy yellows and rich browns create a colour scheme that subtly echoes the golden crusts of the viennoiseries on display. Grey stone flooring grounds the interior, while overhead, a silver-lacquered ceiling and metallic cornices introduce an unexpected shimmer, picked up by the pearlescent glass tiles lining the service counter’s splashback.

A closer view of the bakery’s service area highlights the interplay of butter-yellow cabinetry, mahogany-hued timber and pearlescent square tiles. A burgundy espresso machine sits behind the glass pastry display, while open shelves stocked with white cups and a vintage-style cabinet with metallic drawers reinforce the space’s bespoke, nostalgic character.

The bakery’s lounge area combines bespoke seating and display cabinetry in a restrained palette of butter yellow, burgundy-brown timber and cream leather. A full-height shelving unit with metallic rails and star-shaped drawer pulls provides a decorative backdrop, while a leather-upholstered Skeleton Lounge Chair and low timber furniture introduce contrasting silhouettes beneath the reflective ceiling. — Photography Elizabeth Carababas.

A wide view of Dear Guest bakery by Studio Jialun Xiong captures the interplay of butter-yellow cabinetry, mahogany-hued furnishings and a reflective silver ceiling. Bespoke leather-upholstered lounge seating occupies the foreground, while glass pastry displays, pearlescent wall tiles and Japanese-inspired timber latticework create a cohesive composition of nostalgic references and contemporary design. — Photography Elizabeth Carababas.

An intimate dining nook at Dear Guest juxtaposes a dark timber lattice partition with circular wall mirrors and terracotta banquette seating covered in oversized white polka dots. A bespoke Void Chair with its signature circular backrest cut-out introduces another geometric layer, while a single white flower in a glass vase adds a delicate finishing touch. — Photography Elizabeth Carababas.

A view across Dear Guest’s interior captures the transition from the pastry counter to the window-side seating area. Terracotta banquettes upholstered in white polka dots, circular mirrors and Japanese-inspired timber battens introduce playful geometry, complemented by lantern-like pendant lights and a timber lattice partition. A reflective silver ceiling unifies the space. — Photography Elizabeth Carababas.

The window-side dining area at Dear Guest features a continuous terracotta banquette upholstered in oversized white polka dots, set against butter-yellow walls articulated by slender timber battens. Three circular mirrors and four raw-silk pendant lights establish a rhythmic composition, while bespoke mahogany-hued chairs with circular cut-outs introduce a playful geometric counterpoint. — Photography Elizabeth Carababas.

Inspired by the exposed panelling of ryokan, slender timber battens articulate the wall behind the banquette seating in a loose grid punctuated by three round mirrors. Part of a recurring circular motif that lends the interior a playful graphic coherence, the mirrors are complemented by white polka dots on the banquette’ terracotta-hued upholstery and circular cut-outs in the backs of the adjoining Void Chairs. A recent addition to the studio’s furniture collection, the chairs feature butter-yellow leather upholstery that matches the surrounding walls. Above the tables, custom pendant lights with delicate metal frames and raw-silk shades reinterpret the familiar silhouette of Japanese lanterns through an Art Deco lens.

A close-up of a circular mirror at Dear Guest captures fragmented reflections of the café’s bespoke furniture, including burgundy leather lounge chairs and a slatted timber table. A softly blurred lantern-like pendant overlaps the mirror, while the butter-yellow wall and dark timber battens frame the composition, emphasising the interior’s layered geometry. — Photography Elizabeth Carababas.

A close-up of Dear Guest’s bespoke Void Chair reveals its distinctive rectangular timber backrest with an oversized circular cut-out and cream leather upholstery. Behind it, terracotta banquettes patterned with white polka dots and pale tabletops reinforce the café’s playful geometric language, while warm daylight filters through the adjacent floor-to-ceiling windows. — Photography Elizabeth Carababas.

Another of the studio’s designs making an appearance is the Skeleton Lounge Chair, its minimalist brushed-metal frame draped in Dear Guest in cocoa-brown leather. Nearby, a low-slung timber sofa with cream leather cushions and bolsters is paired with an integrated side table, creating an intimate seating arrangement reminiscent of a hotel lounge. The furniture’s sculptural silhouettes, exposed construction and carefully balanced proportions are recognisably part of Xiong’s design vocabulary, even as their warmer finishes and softer upholstery introduce a more relaxed character.

A close-up of the Skeleton Lounge Chair at Dear Guest reveals its minimalist construction, with cocoa-brown leather stretched across a slender tubular metal frame. Exposed cylindrical joints, precise stitching and small metal fasteners emphasise the furniture’s structural clarity, while the warm leather contrasts with the cool metallic finish and grey stone flooring. — *Skeleton Lounge Chair* by **Studio Jialun Xiong**. Photography Elizabeth Carababas.

A detail of Studio Jialun Xiong’s Skeleton Lounge Chair highlights the seamless relationship between material and structure. Cocoa-brown leather wraps around brushed-metal cylindrical supports, secured by discreet fasteners and precise stitching. The pared-back construction showcases the studio’s interest in exposed connections, geometric simplicity and the tactile contrast between supple upholstery and rigid metal. — *Skeleton Lounge Chair* by **Studio Jialun Xiong**. Photography Elizabeth Carababas.

A close-up of Dear Guest’s butter-yellow cabinetry highlights the sculptural star-shaped drawer pulls in dark patinated bronze, designed by Bankston. The playful hardware punctuates the otherwise minimalist drawer fronts, while polished metal display stands above introduce a subtle contrast in finish, exemplifying Studio Jialun Xiong’s attention to decorative details. — Handles from **Bankston**. Photography Elizabeth Carababas.

A detail of Dear Guest’s lounge reveals a bespoke mahogany-hued timber sofa with cream leather cushions and cylindrical bolsters, paired with an integrated raised side table. The furniture’s exposed framework and precise joinery express Studio Jialun Xiong’s sculptural approach, while butter-yellow cabinetry with star-shaped bronze pulls provides a softly contrasting backdrop. — Handles from **Bankston**. Photography Elizabeth Carababas.

The boutique-hotel references, subtly hinted at in the café’s name, take a more whimsical turn in the bathroom, where hand-painted illustrations of hotel paraphernalia, from service bells to white gloves, adorn the walls. An illuminated circular panel and an adjoining mirror further transform the otherwise functional space into an unexpected optical composition.

Dear Guest marks a departure from the graphic minimalism that has characterised much of Xiong’s previous work, embracing a more whimsical sensibility without sacrificing her characteristic precision. More than a stylistic experiment, the project demonstrates her ability to absorb seemingly disparate influences into a cohesive design language, creating an interior whose imaginative character remains unmistakably her own.