Uncaged design at Cape Town caf\u00E9

LEGANT, FEMININE AND atmospheric, the café brings to life the charm of Paris in a space that’s completely unique to the Mother City. The blue swan logo at the core of the graphic identity designed by Heidi Chisholm is also the central interior design concept. Owner Jessica Rushmere has always identified with the swan. A graceful and majestic creature with mythological significance, these attributes play into the brand identity and the interior design, using the swan as an emblem and feminine oval shapes throughout.

Haldane Martin and Jessica Rushmere, owner of Swan Café.

Photo: Micky Hoyle

Leonardo da Vinci’s Leda and the Swan transformed into monochromatic dark blue and white on the front wall forms a centrepiece wallpaper feature. The famous Renaissance painting tells the controversial tale from Greek mythology of how Zeus disguised himself as a swan to seduce the unsuspecting Leda. On the back wall, Jean-Léon Gérôme’s Leda and the Swan shows the curvaceous nude bathing in the lake with the swan and their half-mortal, half-divine offspring flying above. Mythology and symbolism associated with love, music and poetry are also typically French characteristics.

VIVE LA FRANCE!

France is the home country of its owner. The blue, red and white of the French flag is artfully interpreted into dominant dark blue, grey, pinkish timber finishes and dashes of red highlights. The colour scheme extends to the waiters’ uniforms, crockery and merchandise on display.

The last brand attribute the space conveys is typical of Parisian attitude, playful, cheeky, sexy and oozing with French flair. From the wallpaper pattern with its repeated swan motif that doubles up to reveal a nude woman in the negative spaces, to large-scale murals of voluptuous nudes.

The back wall featuring Léon Gérôme’s Leda and the Swan.

Photo: Micky Hoyle

CAFÉ CULTURE

Furniture, lighting and finishes pick up the brand’s signature colours. The furnishings pay homage to traditional French cafés, with marble bistro café tables and bespoke chairs, a contemporary steel and wood version of a bistro chair typology in striking red. Linear seating layouts draw people into the space, with a large couch nook at the back formed from casual couches upholstered in denim and pinstriped denim. Light pinkish toned timbers are used in table tops and shelving.

Copper and brass metallic vintage lights hang throughout, with brass pendants above the main counter, Artemide Egg pendant lights at the back wall, and single Edison globes above the seating. Birdcage lights in copper with red cords reinforce the avian concept.

BONJOUR!

Custom blue and white hexagon tiles with the swan logo decorate the crêperie entrance, set into simple concrete screed flooring, with a large ‘Bonjour’ doormat welcoming customers. Blue feather-shaped ceramic tiles create a handcrafted detailed finish on the main bar and back bar wall in the open-plan kitchen, where crêpe-making is on show in the front of the café. A rounded chalkboard for quotes or menu specials is flanked by a wire and plywood adjustable shelving system on each side displaying the beautiful crockery. The same shelving system appears deeper in the space for displaying branded tins of tea and accessories for sale.

The Swan Café kitchen.

Photo: Micky Hoyle

The long working space opposite the corner entrance creates a strong visual impact from the street and as you enter. This is framed with an overhead bulkhead, which hides the ventilation system. The bulkhead is made from a perforated, patterned, acoustically treated board in dark blue. The carefully engineered acoustics create the perfect balance of a lively yet conversational atmosphere.

In the bathroom, blue and pink swan wallpaper forms a feature with white Victorian tiles below and a simple arched mirror, sign-posted ‘Toilette’.

ATTENTION TO DETAIL

Sophisticated and inviting in both its interior design, menu and ambience, all of which pay extreme attention to detail and reinforce the concept behind the brand identity, Swan Café is a must-visit destination venue in Cape Town’s rapidly burgeoning creative district, as well as providing a regular favourite stop for a quick tea or coffee and a bite for locals.

Design trends for 2019 with Haldane Martin

Q: What are the biggest restaurant trends at the moment?

A: Trends are tough to define. I’d encourage people to discount décor trends in favour of considering the global lifestyle consciousness trends. Right now the overarching trend is awareness. Looking at our impact on the earth. There’s also a meta-trend, not just décor, of subcultures based on the kind of food you eat. Vegans, vegetarians, conscious carnivores, Banting etc. One can either offer all options or build your brand around one food subculture. Each subculture has an ideology ripe for expressing. It’s interesting to explore these eating, lifestyle trends from an interior design perspective.

Q: What colours are popular right now?

A: Part of the success of Swan Café is the bright, happy colours. (Cape Town is saturated with dark, woody, industrial spaces prominent five-10yrs ago, when we did Truth coffee). Bold colours are quite key, but with a sophisticated slant to them. I use the South American Modernist trend in my new outdoor collection the ‘Hula’ chairs: Coral red with burnt orange in it and turquoise-infused greens. Southern hemisphere colours, African colours, southern European colours. This trend suits our South African outdoor lifestyle and climate. It references the design language of Pancho Guedes in Mozambique and Angola. Another trend I responded to with my new furniture designs is the very current trend of geometric forms and bold colours. As with the ‘Plat/O’ table collection there’s a trend towards pure geometry – oblongs, circles & diagonals (often combined with bold pattern, zig-zags, black & white). Another trend would be country living, the traditional folk style trend. It is a reaction to the fast pace of our world. I utilise furniture archetypes that bring back a sense of homeliness and belonging in my ‘Neo Spoke’ collection created for aboutique hotel project in the UK countryside.

Q: What about lighting?

A: Lighting is crucial to creating mood in any space. First and foremost natural lighting is important in restaurants and cafes. There’s a definite lighting trend towards LED everything because they are energy efficient and quality of light curve is pretty good. I always use warm lighting for restaurant spaces to make the space feel cosy. It stimulates your appetite whereas cold lighting doesn’t. It makes people linger longer.

Q: Is communal eating becoming more popular in South Africa?

A: Communal eating is an interesting trend on the increase. South Africans are quite open to the communal eating layout. It suits our social, hospitable local culture where people don’t mind sharing a table. I often use it in conjunction with other seating options like two-seater tables for couples and bar seating like at Swan Café, Kunjani Wines, Mad Giant Brewery. Restaurants need flexibility. I include multiple styles of seating and multiple levels of comfort.

Q: What materials are dominating in restaurant interior design?

A: We’ve seen a lot of eateries covered in plants and a lot of rattan or cane furniture, which ties into the South American relaxed tropical trend. Both reflect the trend towards sustainability and awareness. In terms of materials, practicality and trends can never be divorced form one another. When cleverly used, a basic building material like the humble brick can be a durable and stylistically strong material in an interesting pattern. Function, comfort, trends and budget are interwoven. If I was creating a fine dining space I’d take contemporary art deco references, If it’s an ice-cream shop I’d maybe pull from the Memphis trend or, for example, for a bar I did in Botswana I looked at South American modernism.

Haldane Martin – www.haldanemartin.co.za