6 Brentwood Avenue previously operated as a fashion retail unit, the concept for the Urban Coffee House stemmed from both the location and demographics of the area. The premises are located within the urban area of Jesmond, a quite affluent and style conscious area accommodating a large population of students interlaced with young professionals. When the client approached Quay Shop Fitters his desire was to cater for the local community by providing comfortable and stylish surroundings for customers to enjoy his speciality coffees and snacks. We created a quirky environment with multiple styles of seating to give an injection of warmth and fun, the scheme was kept neutral and natural in colour with accents of red inspired by the Italian coffee machine. As durability was paramount for this project we sourced metal furniture and solid oak tables these, complimented with bespoke handmade cable drum coffee tables, created relaxing seating areas for the customers. A low level band of dark olive green was used to waist height in order to disguise day-to-day dirt and scuffs, allowing the paintwork to appear fresher for longer. Wall tattoos adorn the walls to offer unusual focal points, with softness and privacy being provided by artificial bamboo planting. Another of our objectives was to create plenty of display space with flexibility in mind for the provision and presentation of new trendy products. Within the tight confines of a landlocked former retail space storage was a major issue, however the inspired use of storage areas behind blackboards and under seating coupled with retail display shelving now provides ample storage capacity for the business. Detailed operational advice was also offered to the client as to the layout and operation of the counter equipment so as to optimise performance, drawing on our many years of experience within the coffee house trade. The project was run on a tight timescale and a tight budget, Quay Shop Fitters were very aware of these aspects and liaised closely with the owner and the manager of the business to ensure effective communication at all levels in order to meet the agreed deadline and budget.
A pleasing warm mocha colour was used to improve the existing shop front and rich red pendants were used to catch the eye of passers so as to attract them into the business.