Before & After : London Cafe

I am so excited for today's Before & After post as it is very close to my heart!! Friends of ours in London have embarked on an incredible adventure and have come out on top.  Leyas coffee shop was born out of their dream of converting an old deli in London'd Camden area into an artesian coffee shop.  The vibe is fresh, fun and trendy, and  it is wonderful to see how the owners managed to turn their vision into reality. 

WIth the use of reclaimed materials, old furniture and some very creative thinking, this interior has become a hip spot in this ever trendy area of the city.  I had a chance to ask one of the owners a couple of questions to get an idea of where their inspiration came from and how they managed to put this amazing transformation together with a cery little budget.

Where did your inspiration come from?

Inspiration came from loads of other coffee shops , mainly in east london, and my love of antiques. also rummaging through scrap yards and reclamation yards finding the odd pieces and trying to build around that.

Where did you purchase most of the furniture?

Most of it came through a small antiques shop in north london run by a 60 year old japanese man who would always suprise us with his new finds. other places were ebay, collecting from all over London and a few odds markets here and there.

What is the front of the upstairs counter made from?

The upstairs counter was always going to be the first piece people saw so we wanted to make something unusual. we luckly came across loads of old fruit crates, some were broken but we bought them anyway. we decided to make a supporting frame and nail loads of these broken fruit crate slats all over, we were happy with the look, so it then became our signature look that we applied all over. to tie upstairs with downstairs, we also did a similar piece to "hide" our under staircase storage cupboard. 

The sop is decorated very creatively, and so many materials have been repurposed.  There are some great little details that really make the space - check out the old coffee grinders and the little easels and chalk boards displaying drink prices (see image above for both). 

There is a brilliant mural going up the stairs to the food service area which is not just a great piece of street art but it really helps bring the space together.  

Leyas has delicious food, perfect coffe and a fantastic atmosphere.  For all those in London you have to go now, and for those on their way, I highly recommend this stop.  You can link up with Leyas on facebook and twitter as well.