How to Style Your Home Like Richmond's Prettiest Cafes
Ever wished you could bring brunch vibes to your bedroom? These days, cafes rely on more than just excellent food to keep customers coming back - it's about character and style. Top cafes are specifically decorated and designed to leave a lasting visual impact on its patrons - creating an unforgettable experience.
We stepped outside the office and visited some of the most reputable and recommended cafes in Richmond searching for decor inspiration. Here are some cafe styling principles and ideas you can use in your home today to keep the good vibes and aesthetics going long after you leave your favourite breakfast joint.
Before we show you our favourite culinary destinations with our most appealing decor, here are some cafe decoration principles:
Types of Lighting
- Accent lighting highlights specific aspects of the interior you wish to highlight such as placing an accent light above artwork or ornament.
- Decorative lighting adds beauty through elaborate fixtures that complement the existing style of the establishment.
- Ambient lighting evenly spreads light, it's like foundational lighting that's essential for layering other lights on top of.
- Natural comes from open windows and skylights.
Stimulating Appetite through Colour Scheme
- The ketchup/mustard phenomenon states that it is possible to stimulate appetite through yellow and red tones - McDonald's use this colour scheme in their branding quite strategically and obviously, however for cafes this phenomenon is incorporated in a much more subtle way (deeper reds and muted yellows).
Balance of Function and Layout
- Always, whilst elaborate fixtures are beautiful and can add real monetary value to your investment, consider function as the prerequisite in cafe inspired decoration. Aesthetics add to an interior as an extra treat rather than inhibit the way you use your space.
Fifty Acres
www.fiftyacres.net.au/
Fifty Acres perfectly combines openness and cosiness with their French pastoral and Melbourne industrial fusion design. Here’s how we think they’ve mastered a perfect blend of rococo inspiration and industrial décor.
- A subtle and geometrically satisfying arrangement of bronze and cast iron lights create a refreshing ambience. The use of metals not only add texture to the space but accentuate existing, natural light. Golden/ mustard hues are also proven to stimulate appetite – a fitting choice for your kitchen then!
- The use of panelling lends optical intrigue and plays with texture, making the space feel eclectic but still balanced and open. Above beautifully upholstered seating is a row of perforated metal sheeting, enhancing the industrial atmosphere of the establishment and also its surroundings. Stunning black and white tiles add intricacy and a new texture/ focal point – giving the appearance of more space by grounding the tall walls with strong tiles. In your home, when trying to fuse two seemingly opposing interior aesthetics, strike a balance with subtly incorporating both so they work in tandem rather than compete for attention.
Reunion and Co.
www.reunionco.com.au/
Emulating exactly what we’re all after, Reunion and Co. is a relaxed oasis designed to feel just like your lounge room, where friends can reunite and enjoy a delicious hearty meal and good conversation. Maintaining and showcasing its unique period furnishings whilst adding a modern, fresh and natural interpretation strikes a balance of comfort and innovation.
- Walls lined with tall fiddle leaf fig trees and accented greenery spotted throughout the space lend an openness in the narrowly set interior. Check out our artificial plants post with all the information you need to know before purchasing your first artificial plant, however, for decoration inspiration look no further than Reunion and Co. their placement is perfection!
- Maintaining their heritage architecture, Reunion and Co display a beautiful embossed ceiling of decorative plaster and cornices. This adds a soft, muted intricacy without overpowering the space or clashing with the modern furnishings.
- The kitchen is enveloped in a raw concrete panel wall, adding texture, contrast and referencing the industrial origins of Richmond. Adding concrete to your kitchen whether it’s a benchtop or a feature wall adds softness, durability and density to a space.
Reunion and Co. give us exquisite living room inspiration, an open fire and a warm brunch is perfect for this bitter Melbourne Winter!
Jethro Canteen
www.jethrocanteen.com.au/
Jethro Canteen is focused on the future of food with innovative ingredients and a focus on sourcing nutritional meals for its patrons. Their interior however is classic with a slew of fresh decorative elements that enthuse the stylist in us all.
- Natural Plants dotted throughout the café contrast perfectly with the red brick interior wall and enhance exquisite natural street light – brightening any overcast Melbourne day.
- Jethro Canteen keeps its industrial feel alive by allowing the high ceilings with curved arches to create visual impact. If you're living in a house with stunning high ceilings like Jethro Canteen, consider their interior styling strategy - metal embossed ceilings draw the eye upwards and subtle pendant lighting accentuates this. Sometimes subtle decorating makes the largest impact.
Jethro Canteen is not only a culinary destination but a Richmond institution embodying the industrial fusion decor that is heavily trending today but also timeless.
Pillar of Salt
www.pillarofsalt.com.au/
Cosy and always bustling, Pillar of Salt is a true industrial cafe, with an authentic industrial sliding door, enter into a beautiful exposed brick, white tile and wooden table atmosphere that has you feeling comfortable and warm in an instant. How do they do it?
- One of their most striking lighting features is their gorgeous repurposed metal colander pendant lights. These add interest and also highlight the culinary prowess off the kitchen with an extensive menu.
- Showing off their exposed brick walls rather than conceal them with tiling or render gives a stunning texture and adds to the industrial yet clean ambience.
Notably, if you're looking to bring the Melbourne cafe atmosphere inside, the music is essential to set any mood, in fact, music can stimulate appetite (a perfect excuse to put a speaker in the kitchen). Tame Impala's 'Why Won't They Talk to Me?' set just the right mood for us at Pillar of Salt.
Friends of Mine
Filled with stunning French-inspired No 18 Bentwood Chairs and white table cloths, Friends of Mine serves up European, modern eclectic style, unlike anything we've seen. With a jaw-dropping chandelier and other accent lights.
- Their use of statement art really brings character and adds sectional spaces to make their generous dining hall appear divided yet still open.
- Using custom light fixtures and ad-hock decoration throughout the cafe whilst maintaining traditional French/ European dining settings gives this cafe a sense of familiarity and uniqueness.
And of course, the mood was perfectly completed by 'Sisters of The Moon', a Fleetwood Mac classic!
Whether you're a Melbourne local or just looking for cafe inspiration for your home, these establishments beautifully combine trend with timeless decor - no wonder they're loved by so many first time and returning patrons (including us).