We have been a coffee shop interior designer for years. We have enjoyed adapting our approach as technology and trends evolve. Our latest design upgrade is designed with a more circular approach to our coffee shops. Chasing Rabbits in Hove is a coffee shop we have been able to apply some of our Circular Design expertise to.
Getting the layout right
The most important thing to get right was the layout, the client wanted to make the most of the space and this meant making the first floor more appealing. This meant moving the stairs and opening up the first floor ceiling which consequently meant more building work. The additional building work meant that we have utilised more of the space and we think the first floor is a rather lovely escape from the hustle and bustle of Hove.
Insulating the building
What we were able to do by a full sustainable coffee shop fit out was envelope the whole interior with 50-100mm of insulation before plastering the spaces. This will mean the interior will be warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer.
Circular design elements
FIxed seating
We now approach our fixed seating design in a way that it can be built off site and pushed into place. To achieve this we take site specific measurements and design 2 seats per section. There are so many plus points to designing this way I feel a list coming on.
- The seating can be made off site and delivered just before you open
- If you want to change the layout in the future you can more easily
- If anything gets damaged it is easier to replace / repair one section
- If one site fails for any reason the seating can be re used on another site
Bamboo and cork
We chose a bamboo flooring that worked well with the mid century teak furniture. The bamboo is not a composite flooring and therefore 100% natural. As well as being hard waring it grows very quickly which makes it more renewable. We used the cork on the back of the seating and on one of the columns. Cork is also renewable and the column with be used for fixing photos of some of the dogs that visit Chasing Rabbits.
Refurbished Furniture
In keeping with the mid century feel we refurbished some mid century furniture items. This included chairs, tables and display cabinets. All of the loose furniture was upholstered by Bespoke Upholstery in Hove and the furniture was supplied by Mid century Re find in Worthing. We love seeing all of this beautiful furniture being used in this way but would recommend getting the chairs re enforced if you can as Joe public will really put them through the mill. The image below to the left shows some new contract chairs that were upholstered to match in with the rest of the scheme.
Water based paints
We used mainly Farrow and Ball paint for the interior. It is easy to use water based paints these days and we personally love the new dead flat finish. What is hard to tell from the photos is that the ceilings and some of the walls are an off white / pink colour that gives a lovely warm glow to the interior.
Coffee shop interior designer
It really takes two to make the most of these sustainable opportunities when tackling a sustainable coffee shop fit out. In this case the clients (Matt & Laura) were just as keen to approach the interior sustainably as we are. If you are opening a coffee shop and would like to work with a coffee shop interior designer in this way feel free to contact us.