Have you been to a cafe or coffee shop and thought to yourself, “I love the ambience of this place?” As much as I like the coffee from my favourite cafes, I like the vibe they serve up with it, too. Do you, as well? Why not try and recreate the ‘cafe’ vibe we so love, right in our homes? Here are some ideas to get you started.
1. Have a breakfast counterDo you wish to turn your kitchen into a place to socialise and hang out during snack times? If space permits, add a raised countertop or an island and line up some stools along it. In addition to providing extra seating space, breakfast bars are great at infusing a casual cafe feel to any space.
Here, a standalone high table adds the flair of a modern coffee shop in the corner of this dining space. These kind of seats also work well in dine-in kitchens and open sit-out areas. I love how the sleek metal legs, the yellow wall and the cartoon painting add a sense of lightness to the area.Check out 9 of the best eat-in kitchens, big and small
2. Install corner benches
Just like high counters, L- or U-shaped seating nooks are also standard fixtures in a cafe. You can always add stools, chairs or a bench at the open end of the table when in need of extra seats.
3. Add a chalkboard wall
Can a cafe-style decor be complete without a chalkboard? Black boards and green boards (and white boards too), covered with doodles and writing, are vital in channelling that informal quirkiness of cafes.
4. Go for open shelvingMany coffee shops take the advantage of open shelves to showcase their crockery, ingredients and merchandise. You can steal that idea to arrange your glassware, vases, books and personal knick-knacks to punch in a homely cafe feel in any area of the home.
5. Quirky wallpapers will do the trick
You must have noticed wallpapers printed with comics, street maps, stripes and checkers, quotes and other fun stuff in coffee shops and cafes. You can use similar highlighters to cheer up niches and corners of your home, too. Here are 9 bold wallpaper looks that will win you over
6. Get some indoor plants
From little tabletop pots to bigger planters, it is always good to see a touch of greenery inside a home. In addition to softening the design, indoor plants effortlessly infuse a cafe-like appeal, with the sense of refreshment they lend to a place. You can allow vines to trail over a doorway or hang pots near the window to create similar effects.
7. Go industrial
Industrial decor rightly exemplifies cafe-style interiors. Raw finishes, metal accents, exposed joinery, neutral colours and other industrial decor elements not only impose a classic theme, but also work together to provide a distinct warmth throughout the house, one that is reminiscent of coffee shops.
This compact kitchen space houses wired hanging pendants dispersing soft light, a small coffee station, white subway tiles with dark grouts, a framed coffee-inspired text and a wooden floor – all adding up to craft a sleek, personalisedspot with an air of cafe culture.
8. Try the formula: coffee = brown
Most cafes love the colour brown. I love it for the sense of warmth and cosiness it inspires. You can include rich brown hues through furniture, upholstery, rugs, floor, wall hangings and other wooden accent pieces. Take a cue from the abundant use of white that gives a subtle base to the different browns in this dining space.
9. Scatter patterns and motifs
Some cafes go for a rich-kitsch style of decor with unexpected hues, bold patterns, colourful motifs and more. To recreate such an ambience, you, too, can use Indian carvings, geometrical patterns, graphical or floral prints, and any other piece of art or crafts that give a bistro charm to the space. You can also opt for local handloom fabric for the upholstery or local paintings for a more individualistic approach.
