“I have to go to Alfred,” is what friend of mine said as she prepared for her visit to LA. That’s Alfred Tea Room for those of you not yet on a first name basis with the cafe.
A couple months back my girlfriends and I convened at the Grove for a catch-up dinner. Of course our visit was not complete without a stop by the newly-opened Ladurée. The long-standing Parisian bakery recently opened a number of locations worldwide, including one in Geneva Switzerland as well a second LA location in Beverly Hills (designed by Paris-based architect and designer India Mahdavi).
Spent much time on Instagram this summer? Then you’ve no doubt come across photos of the eye-popping San Diego-based Holy Matcha, located in the city’s hip North Park neighborhood. It's plying patrons with its namesake Japanese green tea drink.
What do all these new cafes have in common (besides tea, that is)? Its design. Here are the cafe design trends we’re loving right now:
A Pink and Green Color Scheme
Holy Matcha via Eater
Go to any one of the establishments mentioned above - or even the new MeMeMi cafe location in Seoul, South Korea - and you’ll find a common color combo. Pink and green. Voile Pink by Benjamin Moore was the foundation for Holy Matcha’s interior says Susan Work of San Francisco-based design shop HOMEWORK which designed the space.
There’s something about a pink and green design scheme that exudes elegance, whimsy - it magically transports visitors to another time and place. Depending on the particular palate that time and place can be 1800s Paris, post-war Miami Beach, or the oh-so-rad 1990s.
Laduree Beverly Hills. Photo by STRUKTR Studios.
Laduree Beverly Hills. Photo by STRUKTR Studios.
Jungalow Vibes
Bar Botanique via The Spaces
Just try to avoid the overbearing palms upon entering Alfred Tea Room. I dare you. Try to take your eyes off the palm frond wallpaper at Holy Matcha. And while it’s not a tea establishment I’d be remiss not to mention the bold leaf print wallpaper stealing the show at San Francisco’s Leo’s Oyster Bar. Then there’s Bar Bontanique in Amsterdam. With “botanical” in the establishment’s name it will probably come as no surprise that plants both dangle from the restaurant’s ceiling and rest in virtually every corner of this pink and green art-deco inspired space. I must also mention the recently-opened Caffé Palladio inside the Hotel Narain Niwas Palace in Jaipur, India. Muted pastel hues of pink and green dance alongside the deliriously whimsical wallpaper filled with palms and peacocks and all other manner of jungalow-nip.
Leo's Oyster Bar via Architectural Digest
Neon Signs
Mr. Holmes Bakehouse via Cheeky Biscuits
There’s MeMeMi cafe’s neon logo situated on their live plant wall and Holy Matcha’s “You, me, matcha” signage. Then there’s Alfred Tea Room’s signature pink neon “Tea, yes. You, maybe” emblazoned above the cash register and of course the “I got baked in San Francisco (or Los Angeles)” neon sign at Mr. Holmes Bakehouse. Neon is one cafe design trend that’s hard to miss. It’s also worth noting that all of these neon signs - save for “I got bakes in Los Angeles” - are pink neon.
Alfred Tea Room via The Hollywood Reporter
MeMeMi Cafe via Retail Design Blog
Pink and green is trending right now, but the color combination is, by no means, new. Check out these other long-standing pink and green icons:
Camellia Grill (mmm...pecan waffles) - New Orleans, LA
Fountain Coffee Room / Beverly Hills Hotel - Beverly Hills, CA
Cadillac Jacks (aka The Pink Motel) - San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, CA
Madonna Inn - San Luis Obispo, CA
Royal Hawaiian Hotel - Waikiki, HI