Letchworth Garden City-based interior design studio Design Command has completed the refurbishment of David’s Café, a much-loved independent café and shop at the heart of the local community. The redesigned space brings together the café and retail offer, creating a cohesive and welcoming environment where visitors can settle in with a coffee, browse books and gifts and enjoy a slower pace.
A long-standing part of the community for over 60 years, David’s Café combines a bookshop, music store, gift shop and café, making it a unique destination where books, good coffee, great design and live music come together. As a fellow Letchworth-based business, Design Command worked closely with the client to reimagine the interior, enhancing both functionality and overall customer experience.
The new layout carefully integrates seating with product displays, allowing the café and retail elements to work seamlessly together. This approach maximises the use of space while maintaining a clear and comfortable environment for customers, whether they are visiting to unwind or explore the shop’s offering.
The design draws inspiration from classic mid-century interiors, layered with warm textures and subtle pops of colour. Herringbone flooring, soft upholstery and relaxed, residential-style materials create a space that feels inviting from the moment you walk in. The overall concept was to design a space made for slowing down - somewhere customers can feel at ease spending time.
Soft, layered lighting has been used to enhance the relaxed atmosphere, creating a gentle transition between retail and seating areas while highlighting key materials throughout the space.
Clare McDonald, Founder of Design Command, commented: “We were delighted to work on the refurbishment of David’s Café, such a well-loved and established part of the Letchworth community. Being based locally ourselves made the project even more meaningful and our aim was to create a space that feels warm, inviting and easy to spend time in, while ensuring the café and retail elements work seamlessly together.”
Founded in 2013, Design Command is a Letchworth Garden City-based studio recognised for its thoughtful and creative approach to hospitality and commercial interiors. Working with clients across the UK, the studio delivers spaces that are both functional and engaging, with a strong emphasis on user experience and brand identity.
About Design Command
Design Command is a London and Hertfordshire based Interior Architecture Studio founded in 2013 by Clare McDonald. Since its inception, the studio has grown steadily, working across restaurants, hotels, student accommodation, residential and workplace environments throughout the UK and Europe. Our experience includes more than sixty restaurant projects and a wide range of hotel and living environments for independent operators and international hospitality groups, including Accor, Hyatt and IHG. Alongside this, we have delivered contemporary dining concepts, luxury student living for Collegiate AC and projects for developers such as Mount Anvil and Landmark Space, always with thoughtful planning and expressive materiality.
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In this week's interview with 2021 SBID Awards winners of the Restaurant Design category, design command share their tips on designing hospitality interiors with user experience in mind and talk about using natural materials in interior design projects.
SBID Awards Category: Restaurant Design
Practice: design command
Entry: Mickeys Beach Bar and Restaurant
Extremely important for us as an Interior Design Company that mainly specialise in hospitality design. To receive the recognition after the difficult years or 2020 and 2021 is an amazing achievement. Being recognised by SBID Awards introduces you to new contacts and you feel like part of a hospitality family.
We didn’t follow current trends and mainly focused on reflecting the amazing views and this was the inspiration for all ff&e selections and the colour palette. We think this made this restaurant's interior design unique.
The Interior has to be both captivating and a comfortable place to dine. Equally important is how it works operationally for staff as they use the space on a daily basis and we want to have an interior that they are proud to showcase.
We like to work with natural materials on most of our projects as we find they add more contrast and interest overall, whilst also being environmentally friendly.
We wanted to reflect the coast and surroundings as much as possible and chose a range natural materials to express this throughout. When choosing these materials it is important that you apply them to the correct areas within the space.
It was a big surprise and we are still taking it all in and looking forward to new opportunities in hospitality design for 2022. We are looking forward to working on new restaurant and hotel designs. I began my career in hotel design and am excited to bring that passion full circle.
Always believe in yourself and no matter how much experience you have never dismiss an idea - it could be the best one for that particular project.
Questions answered by Clare McDonald, Founder & Creative Director, design command.
Design Command is a multi-award winning London & Hertfordshire based Interior Architecture Studio founded in 2013 by Clare McDonald. Clare brought over 13 years expertise in hotel and restaurant interiors to projects across Europe; designing 5 star hotels and over 50 restaurants, as well as student hotels, high-end residential schemes and boutique offices. Design Command has quickly grown to several designers working on hospitality projects throughout the UK and abroad - offering the experience and flair to realise your design ambitions.
If you missed last week's Interview with the Fit Out Contractor of the Year – Residential category winner ALTER EGO Project Group, click here to read it.
Michael Caines’ much-anticipated new casual hospitality concept – Mickeys Beach Bar and Restaurant – has officially opened on Exmouth beach. With stunning panoramic views across the Devon coastline and up through the Exe Estuary, the venue sits in harmony with its surroundings, having been brought to life by interior designers, Design Command.
A landmark opening for Michael – Chef Owner of Michelin starred Lympstone Manor - this casual bar and restaurant offers a relaxed space for drinking and dining and is a welcome addition to the Michael Caines Collection. Across the backdrop of the Exmouth shoreline, Mickeys boasts spacious seating outdoors and a retractable glass terrace, as well as a bright indoor restaurant and bar with booths and cosy corners for cocktails and casual fare.
Inspired by the lively beach bars in Ibiza and Greece, Design Command have designed the interiors of both Mickeys Beach Bar and Restaurant as places to relax and unwind by the coast, evoking an overall sense of escapism.
Due to the proximity to Exmouth beach and its recognition as a place of outstanding natural beauty, it was imperative that Mickeys celebrated this notion through sustainable design choices. As such, environmentally low-impact products are used throughout. The tiles are made from 98% recycled material and reclaimed timber cladding has been used for the restaurant’s showcase ceiling and sunbeam feature wall.
It was of equal importance to utilise local businesses in the sourcing of design elements, with many of the lighting features, planting areas, table caddies and interior artworks all produced in the area. Continuing the sustainable ethos throughout the property, Mickeys has committed to reducing single-use plastics, sourcing products and packaging that are biodegradable and utilising the most local produce available to reduce carbon emissions.
On the ground floor, Mickeys Bar has found home, offering a more casual dining and drinking affair. Here, the layout has been designed to give the impression of being in the open air. Outdoor chairs combined with soft seating that has been upholstered in comfortable outdoor fabrics feature throughout. A tonal blue and white colour palette has been used to compliment the surroundings and create a feeling of calm, whilst pops of orange add vibrancy. Bamboo ceilings matched with the combination of both polished and textured natural stone make up the statement beach bar statement.
Connecting the two floors is a sand-coloured metal staircase, adorned with a statement rope chandelier. The metal finish featured here and throughout both the bar and restaurant have various patina effects applied to echo the non-polished finishes found along the coast.
Upstairs in the restaurant, the scene is bold and bright as the design looks to intertwine with the sweeping views across the bay. As such, the seating layout has been designed to maximise the views of the beach and lighting features throughout reflect the nautical through the use of linen, rope and weathered metal. With the adjacent terrace, Design Command opted for outdoor paving on the floor and the walls are clad in decorative framed mirrors to reflect the stunning views. A combination of interior and exterior furniture was chosen in this space to add extra comfort whilst dining beachside. In addition, the retractable roof opens up to provide a sumptuous al-fresco experience for all guests to enjoy, whatever the weather.
Together, Design Command and Michael Caines hope that guests are truly delighted by the design of Mickeys Beach Bar and Restaurant, whether they are visiting for the first time, tenth time or simply passing by.
About Design Command Design Command is an award winning London & Hertfordshire based Interior Architecture Studio founded in 2013 by Clare McDonald. Over 13 years Clare's projects included designing for 5 star hotels and more recently over 50 restaurants as well as Student Hotels, high-end residential schemes and Boutique offices. Since its inception, Design Command has quickly grown to several designers working on restaurants and hotels across the United Kingdom and Europe.
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