Open plan is out at this historic villa turned restaurant in Changzhou’s Tianning District, which instead offers up a succession of 16 individually designed dining rooms.

Bob Chen Design Office oversaw the transformation of the 100-year-old Songyun Villa, maintaining its existing structure but bringing in new colours and materials such as marble, velvet and leather to give it a second life.

Patterned wallpaper, ceremonial tea sets, bonsai trees and antique pieces all add to the restaurant’s layered interiors and atmosphere.

Guests enter the restaurant via an imposing stone gateway, which leads through to a lobby blending Chinese design elements with glossy art deco touches – including a golden archway and interlaced, black-and-white tiled floor.

Songyun Villa offers open-air dining in the villa’s courtyard and a large dining space in what was once a ballroom, as well as a series of private rooms. Each is subtly different from the next, although all are steeped in the same richly detailed aesthetic.

Take a closer look at the decadent dining rooms in the gallery above.

No. 53 Yanling West Road Tianning District Changzhou China

Read next: Go to Forest for the earthy, sun-splashed interiors

Noma is bringing its experimental cuisine to Kyoto for cherry blossom season