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Architecture studio Al-Jawad Pike drew on wabi-sabi design principles for the Holy Carrot restaurant on London’s Portobello Road, which features stone, timber and clay plaster. More
Distressed concrete, rowlock bricks and worn plasterwork create an intentionally unfinished appearance at this cafe in New York City’s East Village neighbourhood, designed by Brooklyn studio Commoncraft.
For its expansion into Manhattan, New Jersey-based Kuppi Coffee Company secured a 350-square-foot space on bustling St Marks Place – its second location.
Textured concrete plaster envelops the interior of Kuppi Cafe in the East VillageThe compact interior has just enough space for a customer area and the cafe counter, plus a prep area and a WC for staff at the back.
Commoncraft approached the front-of-house space with an ethos akin to wabi-sabi, the Japanese art of “flawed beauty”.
Commoncraft chose materials for the space that appear purposefully rough and unfinished”Employing a range of rough and raw materials, Commoncraft’s design of Kuppi Cafe seeks out the beauty in imperfection,” said the studio, which was founded by Zach Cohen and Tony-Saba Shiber.
Textured concrete plaster curves up from two perpendicular walls and over the ceiling, enveloping the room together with the concrete floor.
The compact space features a small bench for customers awaiting their ordersWhere these walls meet, a vertical element is wrapped in bluish plaster that’s peeling away to reveal a whitewash beneath.
The Kuppi logo is applied faintly at the top, and stainless-steel shelves for displaying merchandise are cut into part of the pillar’s corner.
The cafe counter is faced in bricks stacked on their sides to expose their “guts”Zones for customer interaction – including the service counter and a small bench – are defined by terracotta bricks, which are stacked on their sides in rowlock courses “to expose their core and mortar ‘guts’.”
“Each terracotta volume is terminated by a course of cut bricks, further revealing the rough, imperfect cores,” Commoncraft said.
Commoncraft designs whimsical Gertie cafe in Williamsburg
In such a compact space, the designers have ensured that their concept carries through each of the cafe’s elements.
“The material honesty of the space is further reinforced by a number of small details,” said Commoncraft.
A corner element is wrapped in bluish plaster that’s distressed to reveal a whitewash underneathThese include floating stainless steel shelves behind the counter, a freestanding glass splash guard for baked goods and spherical concrete pendant lights suspended at different heights above the bench.
The cafe is highly visible from the high-traffic street through its fully glazed facade.
The counter is terminated by a course of cut bricksNew York City is home to thousands of cafes and coffee shops, including many independent establishments with unique interiors intended to entice customers inside.
Among them is another Commoncraft project: a Williamsburg eatery named Gertie designed as a playful tribute to the owner’s grandmother.
The photography is by Andrew Fu.
Project credits:
Client: Kuppi Coffee Company (Kevin and Vivian Kim)Architecture and interior design: CommoncraftPlumbing engineer: Alan R SchwartzGeneral contractor: LTI Construction Corp
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In this lookbook, we collect eight interiors informed by the Japanese design philosophy of wabi-sabi, which celebrates imperfection and impermanence.
Notoriously difficult to define, wabi-sabi is a concept rooted in Zen Buddhism that author Beth Kempton describes as helping us “to see beauty in imperfection, appreciate simplicity and accept the transient nature of all things”.
In interiors, it is often associated with the blending of rustic and minimalist elements as well as natural, earthy tones and raw surfaces. Below are eight interpretations of the aesthetic from around the world.
This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring Japandi living rooms, bedrooms with earthy colour palettes and calming organic-modern interiors.
Photo by Roberto RuizPalau apartment, Spain, by Colombo and Serboli Architecture
Barcelona studio Colombo and Serboli Architecture sought to highlight the “imperfect” features of this apartment in a renovation project.
Rough-textured wooden beams were left exposed, with the contemporary elements prioritising sturdy, simple shapes like circles and squares.
Find out more about Palau apartment ›
Photo by Harold De PuymorinImperfect Residence, Hong Kong, by NC Design & Architecture
Grainy wood and veiny marble come together as symbols of nature’s flaws at Imperfect Residence in Hong Kong.
NC Design & Architecture also introduced finishes such as oxidised bronze and textured plaster to heighten the feeling of a sanctuary in the city.
Find out more about Imperfect Residence ›
Photo by Andrey AvdeenkoKyiv apartment, Ukraine, by Sergey Makhno
Ukrainian architect Sergey Makhno is among the key European practitioners of the contemporary wabi-sabi style.
He applied the concept at his own apartment in Kyiv (top and above), installing oak beams in the living room alongside furniture specifically designed for the home to complement his collection of ancient Eastern European ceramics.
Find out more about this Kyiv apartment ›
Photo by Koji Fujii/TOREAL, Takashi YasuiC4L House, Japan, by Cubo Design Architects
Traditional Japanese materials sit alongside contemporary finishes at this house in Tokyo designed by Cubo Design Architects.
“We believe houses that are rooted in an understanding of Japan’s cultural context and a respect for the skills and innovations of our ancestors, which can nevertheless be passed onto future generations, are the kind of houses we should be building in Japan today,” said founder Hitoshi Saruta.
Find out more about C4L House ›
Photo by Daniel MulheranButterfly House, Australia, by Dane Taylor Design
This home on the coast of New South Wales was designed to have a therapeutic effect for its owner, who lives with multiple sclerosis.
Dane Taylor Design interpreted accessible design principles through a wabi-sabi lens, using a warm material palette and understated furniture pieces.
Find out more about Butterfly House ›
Photo courtesy of Tilden HotelTilden Hotel, USA, by Studio Tack
Brooklyn design firm Studio Tack decided to evoke wabi-sabi in its revival of this art-deco hotel in San Francisco.
In a subtle nod to the philosophy, clean lines were mixed with organic textures throughout the distinctly modernist interior.
Find out more about Tilden Hotel ›
Photo by Soar Design StudioWabi-Sabi House, Taiwan, by Soar Design Studio and Chen-Tien Chu
Taiwanese practice Soar Design Studio and architect Chen-Tien Chu created an open-plan layout when renovating this house in Taichung, allowing all the spaces to have a connection to the outdoors via a series of garden terraces.
In the lounge area, the wooden deck extends from the outside into the room, enhancing the feeling of nature being invited in.
Find out more about Wabi-Sabi House ›
Photo by Piet Albert GoethalsSilo apartment, Belgium, by Arjaan De Feyter
Belgian interior architect Arjaan De Feyter is another prominent proponent of wabi-sabi design, as seen in his renovation of this apartment that occupies the former silos of a distillery outside Antwerp.
Here, he left the structure’s curving concrete walls exposed and applied a micro-topping surface to the floors while installing bespoke oak furniture designed in collaboration with Tim Vranken.
Find out more about Silo apartment ›
This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring Japandi living rooms, bedrooms with earthy colour palettes and calming organic-modern interiors.
Read more: More
Local studio Colombo and Serboli Architecture has completed a clean and contemporary renovation of an apartment in Barcelona, spotlighting some of its “imperfect” original features.
The Palau apartment is situated a stone’s throw from the city’s Palau de la Música concert hall and backs onto a cluster of secluded courtyards.
Colombo and Serboli Architecture has completed the Palau apartment in BarcelonaIts owner, an Italian fashion designer, had initially asked Colombo and Serboli Architecture to upgrade only the bathroom and closet storage. But the practice suggested carrying out a more extensive renovation that indulged the apartment’s lofty proportions.
The practice also wanted to place greater emphasis on the home’s existing quirks in the spirit of wabi-sabi – the Japanese philosophy that celebrates the beauty of imperfections and the changes that come with the passage of time.
The hallway still boasts the apartment’s original stucco walls”We decided to face the project through a wabi-sabi approach that could easily incorporate original features and imperfections while retaining the charm of the apartment,” the studio explained.
“Shapes are kept simple and bold with recurring basic forms – squares, circles, spheres – while sturdy solid surfaces were used to combine the monumental language of existing elements.”
Hollow steps in the new staircase hold cooking paraphernaliaThe apartment is entered via a narrow hallway, where the practice left much of the original stucco walls exposed to reveal “layers of history”.
At the heart of the floor plan is a new multi-part staircase. It begins with a few suspended steps crafted from pale timber, followed by a micro-cement landing and a couple more timber steps.
White cabinetry was installed in the kitchenThe bottom block of steps is painted white and dog-legs around the wall to form a planted backrest for a white boucle sofa.
This small sitting area is dressed with a spherical paper lamp and a glass coffee table supported by terracotta orbs. Another large weathered patch of the apartment’s original stucco walls was preserved at the rear of the space.
A 3.5-metre bookshelf towers over the living roomThe bottom section of the staircase also extends in the other direction to form a bench seat for the arched travertine table in the dining area. Steps facing this part of the home were hollowed out to accommodate crockery, recipe books and cooking ingredients.
Nearby, an all-white kitchen suite is finished with a porcelain countertop and backsplash. A bespoke boxy kitchen hood made from brushed steel was installed above the stove.
Deep-blue cabinetry and coral-pink arches redefine Barcelona apartment
Just opposite the apartment’s sitting area is a larger double-height living room, illuminated by a tall corner window.
At its base, Colombo and Serboli Architecture created a chunky micro-cement platform where the owner can perch and take in views across the courtyards.
On the opposite side of the room, a 3.5-metre-high gridded shelf provides space for the owner to display his ever-growing collection of books and art objects.
The bedroom i up on the mezzanine levelThe bedroom can be found on the apartment’s mezzanine level. One side of the room is taken over by a closet, which the studio fronted with wicker doors to turn it into a “warm monolith”.
LED lighting fitted on top of the storage draws attention to the apartment’s time-worn wooden ceiling beams.
Wicker doors front the lengthy closetOne door of the closet has a diagonal cut-out that functions as a handrail for the stairs, while another can be pulled back to reveal a small nook containing a mirror and washbasin.
A third door hides the apartment’s bathroom, which is clad entirely in iridescent mother-of-pearl tiles.
“We played with different finishes, from glossy to rough, against the otherwise neutral palette,” explained the practice.
The bed’s wicker headboard doubles as a balustrade for the mezzanineThe same wicker used for the closet was wrapped around the bed’s headboard, which doubles as a balustrade for the mezzanine. Surrounding the headboard is a thick wooden ledge that forms two bedside tables.
The space was otherwise modestly decorated with a vintage orange leather chair and a wobbly-edged mirror.
The bathroom is concealed behind a closet doorColombo and Serboli Architecture, which is run by Italian architects Matteo Colombo and Andrea Serboli, has revamped a number of homes around Barcelona in recent years.
Among them is the Klinker Apartment, which features brightly-coloured paintwork, and the Font 6 flat where a porthole window peeps through from the kitchen to the bathroom.
The photography is by Roberto Ruiz.
Project credits:
Architecture: Colombo and Serboli ArchitectureStyling and art direction: CaSA
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NC Design & Architecture has applied an array of naturally flawed materials throughout this Hong Kong apartment, which has been designed in accordance with the Japanese philosophy of wabi-sabi. NC Design & Architecture was initially asked by Imperfect Residence’s owners to create a highly functional space that looks beautiful and ages well. The Hong Kong-based […] More
