Lazari in Vredehoek, Cape Town, is a popular coffee shop which reopened this April with a brand new look.
Hanno de Swardt from Onnah Design was tasked with the renovation, and he notes that the owner's interior design brief was clear from the get-go and in line with his vision for the space. “They wanted a warm and inviting space, lighter and brighter than before. A space that was relaxed and comfortable, encouraging customers to linger longer. The circulation and flow had to remain easy and practical whilst retaining a maximum seating plan. The introduction of a new banquette seat and a bar counter along one length of a shopfront were the obvious design interventions here,” he says. The need to charge mobile phones or work on a tablet or laptop were met by introducing plug points in various easy-to-reach areas.
The client also added some new and exciting Mediterranean dishes to the menu which had to tie in with the new look. This was successfully accomplished through the use of all the different finishes, colours and design elements. “A final requirement was to resume trading as soon as possible, so the project team had a rather challenging deadline to meet. However, with proper planning and project management we met this part of the brief and the shop was soon trading at full capacity.
De Swardt created a lighting brief for the client based on a site survey and assessment. “The only lights retained were a few decorative pendants that complemented the new scheme. As for the rest, we introduced new lights throughout. The idea was to improve the general lighting levels in the space and create a fine balance between efficient task lighting and effective decorative lighting,” he explains. The proposed furniture layout and new lighting layout had to make practical and aesthetic sense and complement each other as opposed to compete with each other. Task lighting was introduced where required and the more decorative lights were used to celebrate the volume and specific design features.
“Blessed with ample floor to ceiling height I could celebrate the volume with woven wire pendants and terracotta pots with dried Eucalyptus Populus, hung upside down, just for fun. Tall, thin black pendants along the shopfronts replaced old and outdated fittings and added some drama to the space. An existing cantilever slab was extended over the front of house kitchen counters allowing us to hang 75 coffee cups, lit by small star lights, introducing a super fun element and focal point to the shop. Furthermore, the use of concealed LED strip lighting was introduced to highlight certain important elements in the space. A cosy lounge corner in the space now boasts a bright neon sign on a blue wall creating a fresh new ‘Instagramable’ look,” says de Swardt.
Furthermore, star lights were used within a cantilevered bulkhead to highlight 75 suspended coffee cups. Thin black pendants along the shopfronts were added, fulfilling both roles as decorative and task lights. The back-of-house kitchen received a new fluorescent light whilst the old, unsightly, ceiling mounted fittings outside were all updated with new contemporary fittings.
Even though the space is relatively small there were fortunately enough opportunities to create a visually appealing and exciting space, which was de Swardt’s main goal. “As Lazari is such an iconic venue in Cape Town, we thought it wise to keep some of the old items in the space and just spruce it up. I took the approach of 'something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue'. In line with the client’s brief, I drew further inspiration from the Mediterranean, introducing warm blues as the main accent colour, offset against calm, relaxing, earthy tones,” he says.
The new Cemcrete floors were the main point of departure, replacing the previous black slate tiles. Oak lookalike melamine was used for the new table tops and to define the new custom-made banquette seat, by Bespokeliving. The front-of-house kitchen counters were enhanced with cladding in the form of thin vertical oak strips on a black backdrop, giving it a completely fresh contemporary look. An interesting mix of dining chairs were procured from Patio Warehouse and Chair Crazy, in line with the desired look and feel. Three walls were identified as feature walls and were treated as such through the use of colour and neon signage, applying wallpaper and lastly wall decoration in the form of colourful plates, tinted mirror cladding and shelving.
De Swardt says emphatically, “Never underestimate the importance of good lighting for both architectural and interior projects.” In this project, in conjunction with all the other design elements, the lighting plays a crucial part in defining and celebrating the space. “Without the lighting the scheme would 'fall flat' and become insignificant. This is a prime example of where a sensitive approach to lighting and the considered implementation thereof contributes immeasurably to the pleasant experience of a space and the successful visual definition of an interior.”
PROJECT TEAM
Interior designer: Onnah Design
Electrician: NBN Electricals
Lighting suppliers: Light Enough and
Photographs: Karl Rogers