Café design and rebranding of a family-run West Cumbria Department Store food offer. The clients brief looked to double the size of the existing offer to over 300sq m encompassing a new kitchen, male & female WC’s and an upgrade of the existing staircase entrance. From the outset, it was fundamental that the venue appealed to a younger, informal crowd without alienating their core clients. A full rebranding was required to pull the interior setting look and feel together, including menus, signage and staff uniforms.

The design focused on the history of Whitehaven with its strong connection to the Shipping industry, this story is reflected within the large bespoke graphic lining the conservatory area of the café, while a simple material palette of natural timber, slate and heritage colours were combined throughout to create a comfortable, relaxed and welcoming environment.

Within the layout, it was important to create zoned areas of relaxed informal sofa and tub chairs, banquette seating and individual dining tables this served to give customers the flexibility to enjoy relaxed catch up’s with friends or accommodate larger family get-togethers.

Another key feature of the interior scheme was the ‘island’ banquette seating set within a beautiful large format geometric tiles floor area which acted as an aid in effectively zoning the space and breaking up the large footprint of the Café space. While a row of bespoke pendant lights in a delicate ‘fleur de lis’ pattern matching the wallpaper created the perfect contrast for a more relaxed seating area for friendly banter.