A TOTAL of 1,620 pieces of gold leaf were used to create murals at a restaurant.

Artist Elizabeth Eade went into meticulous detail to redecorate the walls of the Street Thai restaurant in Brighton.

She was working on a mural in the new part of The Lanes and the owners of the restaurant in nearby Brighton Square were so impressed they asked her to work on their property too.

Owner Sue Addis said: “The history of creatives, street artists and mural painters in this wonderfully eclectic city is celebrated by Brightonians with huge support and pride for local artists.

“We wanted to update and revamp the “street” image in time to mark the new year and commissioned the wonderfully talented and award winning local artist Elizabeth Eade with the job of transforming the walls in the restaurant to reflect the new up and coming decade.

“We watched Elizabeth day by day as she painted her magnificent mural on the corner of Hanningtons Estate and saw how she transformed this expansive blank space into something magical. We knew then that we would love to have her create something equally special for Street Thai.

“If you visit Street Thai you experience authentic Thai food and view these amazing pieces of artwork that will keep you mesmerised and engaged throughout your dining experience.”

Elizabeth then agreed to adorn the walls of the restaurant with her Thai-inspired designs.

She said: “I have really loved making some art in Street Thai. Brighton is my hometown and getting to put some of my work in The Lanes is exciting as is getting to know Sue and her marvellous team.

“I have made murals around the restaurant, heavily influenced by traditional Thai design, but with my own twist. The tonnes of gold leaf have been a challenge – I have used a total of 1,620 leaves of metal. One of the staff turned on the air conditioning while I was working and the room was like a snow globe” laughs Elizabeth.

The result is impressive.

The beautiful and intricate designs took over a month to complete with some early 4am starts in order to paint sections and allow them to dry before the lunchtime trade came in.

Elizabeth added: “The secret benefit of this particular job is that I have eaten so much amazing food. I have always loved Thai food but this is something else.”

Street Thai has a three course Christmas party menu at £17.95 per person that includes an appetizer buffet with Thai favourites from spring rolls to prawn toast and fried chicken wings.

This is followed by mains including pad Thai and masaman. The dessert choices include Street Thai’s green tea cheesecake.