Vaseline glass, invented eons ago yet largely unused today, is a unifying element at Veronika, the new Manhattan restaurant that Robin Standefer and Stephen Alesch of the AD100 design firm Roman and Williams created on Park Avenue South. "I love reintroducing old techniques into the cultural conversation," says Standefer, calling the bar chandeliers' handmade, ribbed, flowerlike glass shades "almost spooky but in the best way." Located inside an 1894 Renaissance Revival building that houses a branch of Stockholm's Fotografiska museum of photography (Veronica is the medium's patron saint), the eatery has a Mitteleuropean vibe, thanks in part to lighting that seems to reference the 1960s as much as it does Art Nouveau. Mushroom-shaped lamps sprout from the bar, vertical sconces cling to walls, and egg-shaped lamps powered by diode batteries stand on tables. Meanwhile, LED and incandescent bulbs—all in clear glass, with a mix of filaments—effect a warm, inviting glow. Each fixture poses a question that suffuses Roman and Williams's seductive oeuvre: Is it a period design or a complete invention? Says Standefer, "I love to play with that tension."
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