This week’s Wylde insight is going to take you through the process of designing a beautiful cafe space on a small scale. The key to dreaming up successful designs in small spaces is careful consideration of every element. A successful project starts by gaining a good understanding of what is needed within the space – what is the purpose of the space, practicality and functionality first and aesthetics to back them up! Clarifying priorities and ambitions within the space informs the initial design process. Once the overall objectives are outlined and the practical requirements defined we can get to the fun part! At Wylde HQ we’re not afraid of putting pen to paper – we’re a whizz with all your design programmes and CAD but sometimes a quick sketch allows us to get those initial ideas straight out.
With many years of experience we call on our creative flair and explore what mood and aesthetic we can achieve in the space explore the options through sketches and mood images. It’s important to have a defined look and feel that we want to achieve within any scheme, but these details are especially noticeable when there’s less room to play with. We love colour and always pull on our knowledge of colour theory and how palettes affect the space users’ mood and energy. We map out the areas and start to evaluate what furnishings, materials and colour palettes can be implemented. It’s never just about colours, curtains and cushions, it’s a complex puzzle of how best to fit people into spaces, functionally and ergonomically.
We develop layouts, sketch visuals and often create CGIs that allow us to visualise the final concept, including finishes, colours, branding and acoustics, and an established a furniture strategy. Being able to digitally move through the design we’ve dreamt up allows us to develop a fully cohesive scheme. At this stage we start thinking about the details, specifications and coordinated approach to turning the design into a reality, this can include realising floor plans, specialist joinery, acoustics and branding, together with key design elements, finishes and materials.
