Scratch posts & spiral staircases for new Kitty Café
Our interior design team has recently worked with the Kitty Café to transform an existing restaurant unit at Birmingham’s Grand Central Station into a 4,170 square foot space, creating a natural, biophilic café.
Having designed the Kitty Café’s second site in Leeds, we have created a cat-friendly interior following a £250,000 refurbishment. The café is complete with 200 meters of bespoke cat runs made of large scratching posts, Indiana Jones-style bridges and hammocks, carpet-clad columns and birch log screens, as well as a cat-sized spiral staircase.
Kate Charles-Richards, who runs the Kitty Café, said: “We love CPMG Architects’ quirky design of the Kitty Café, particularly how it develops with every project. Each one is unique and has a nod to the local area which is such a great touch as we want to be in the heart of every community we are in.”
Creating an environment in the West Midlands’ first cat-friendly café that suits both cats and humans to enjoy has certainly had its challenges. It is important that the cats can’t get into the kitchen, so we have installed a sealed serving hatch for food to be passed through.
Bringing the outdoors in
The café was designed with biophilic design elements to ensure the wellbeing of both its human and animal guests. The space is made to feel like an outdoor space, the café’s ceiling has a night sky effect, and there is reclaimed timber panelling, greenery and vinyl transfers applied to glazing to create the effect of ‘growing’ ivy.
The wellbeing of users is key in any environment, particularly when the space is going to be used by animals, so we needed to make sure the space was as natural as possible. Biophilic environments increase the happiness of their inhabitants, especially when they are able to play with animals at the same time!
Natural colours
We have created a new colour palette which is a combination of pastels and brights for the finishes, furniture, ceilings, lighting and branding.
K-I-T-T-Y-C-A-F-E lighting
Local shoppers will have noticed a new sign in the window of the Grand Central Station unit, which spells out the brand name and the logo using a bespoke multi-coloured light.
Cat-friendly furniture
Fireplaces, sofas and bespoke cat shelves made with logs are all feline-friendly and there are animal print fabrics to make them feel even more at home.
Anything for cats
Most of our design team is allergic to cats! Project director Paul and Cristina sneeze any time they come into contact with a cat. However, our graphic designer and brand consultant Jess has her very own cat named Kitty.
New branding
Birmingham’s new site sets itself apart from the brand’s existing cafés in Leeds and Nottingham, with a new, bespoke colour palette in line with CPMG-designed branding, which is reflected in the new signage, finishes, furniture and lighting, including a new multi-coloured lit-up sign spelling out the Kitty Café letters.
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