Page-Turning Spaces: 5 Cafés We Love To Read In
Coffee shops and reading are the perfect combination. Here are our favorites from across the country.
By Stela Razzaque, Superscript November 15, 2013
The thoughtful design of our environment has the power to bring people together, serve as a relaxing escape, and also inspire our creativity. Here are five of our favorite coffee shops and bookstores in the United States that provide a homey charm, and a sensational space to devour your favorite designer monograph.
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Caffe Streets, Chicago
The primary goal for Architect Brent Norsman was to create a space of inspiration and a memorable experience. The evocative design of Caffe Streets consists of floor-to-ceiling glass, which allows pedestrian views of the vibrant, bamboo interior, backlit perforated metal panels, communal tables, and a walk-up coffee bar. The focal point of the space is by far the organic, sculpted ceiling, inspired by the barristas’ cappuccino creations. This topographical layering of bamboo is a feast for the eyes, and invokes [is “invokes” the right word here?] the imagination of its design-loving clientele.
D’Espresso, New York
This quirky coffee bar, D'Espresso, on Manhattan’s Madison Avenue is inspired by its prominent neighbor just a block away, the New York Public Library. Designed by the Manhattan design firm nemaworkshop, the space is flanked with tiles running across the ceiling, walls, and floor, each glazed with images of books. Another wall is covered in herringbone-patterned oak flooring, creating the allusion of the cafe being flipped sideways, and inspiring customers to look at things from a different perspective.
One Shot Coffee, Philadelphia
One of the first coffee shops to open its doors in Philadelphia, One Shot Coffee boasts a newly refurbished space, adorned with family heirlooms, industrial antiques, and furniture designed by local artisans. The owner, Melissa Baruno, wanted to create a space that reflected the artistic passion of the community. The team at SL Design used a combination of salvaged wood and vintage elements to create a homely, European feel. Most of the seating is located on the second floor of the building where there is a communal table, public displays of art, and a living room at the far end of the floor. Book-lovers can recline on the vintage leather sofas, and browse the collections stacked on a unique plumbers-pipe bookshelf.
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McNally Jackson, New York
From intimate nooks with sumptuous lounge chairs for quiet reading, to a huge machine that prints, binds and trims custom-ordered paperback books, McNally Jackson is an aspirational place, where the act of reading and book-buying is celebrated. The translucent print machine named Espresso, draws from a cloud library of seven million titles, and churns out books like freshly baked cookies. Boasting more than eight thousand works of literature organized by geography, one can pick up a book and relax in the upstairs café designed by Front Studio where flying books dangle from the ceiling above.
Beachwood Café, Los Angeles
The new and improved Beachwood Café designed by architect Barbara Bestor, formerly known as the Village Coffee Shop, is a hidden gem nestled amid a strip of commercial buildings. The interior is cozy and stylish, with its vivid blue and yellow geometric flooring, whimsical wallpaper by local graphic designer Geoff McFetridge, exposed wooden beams, and mid-century style chairs. It’s a unique space, and one where a hip clientele can be found flicking through the latest design magazines.
Announcements
Total Armageddon: A Slanted Reader on Design edited by Ian Lynam
Total Armageddon: A Slanted Reader on Design
Edited by Ian Lynam
Publisher: Slanted Publishers
Published: March 2019
Total Armageddon is about design. And culture. And complexity, notably how we, as a global civilization, deal with science fiction, taste, social media, the cities we live in, aesthetics, PowerPoint, burkas, Big Tech, full-contact sports, and other thorny topics. The book celebrates 15 years of independent publishing and brings together a who’s who of authors and essays from 32 issues of Slanted Magazine.
A Field Guide to Color by Lisa Solomon
A Field Guide to Color: A Watercolor Workbook
By Lisa Solomon
Publisher: Roost Books
Published: August 2019
In this creative workbook you’ll discover fresh ways to connect with color in your art and life. Using watercolors, gouache, or any other water-based medium, explore color theory while playing with paint through a balanced blend of color experiments and loose color meditations. This inspiring workbook will change the way you relate to color
Five Oceans in a Teaspoon by Dennis Bernstein and Warren Lehrer
Five Oceans in a Teaspoon
Poems by Dennis Bernstein
Visualizations by Warren Lehrer
Introduction by Steven Heller
Publisher: Paper Crown Press
Published: September 19, 2019
“From a kidnap note for a world held hostage by an A-bomb, to a Holocaust survivor’s tattooed arms where the numbers just don’t add up, Five Oceans in a Teaspoon re-envisions a poetry memoir via a textual kaleidoscope... Bernstein and Lehrer are the Rodgers and Hart of Visual Poetry.” — Bob Holman, poet, poetry activist and chronicler, and founder of the Bowery Poetry Club
Ballpark: Baseball in the American City by Paul Goldberger
Ballpark: Baseball in the American City
By Paul Goldberger
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Published: May 2019
An illustrated, entirely new look at the history of baseball: told through the stories of the vibrant and ever-changing ballparks where the game was and is staged, by the Pulitzer Prize-winning architectural critic.
Charleston Fancy by Witold Rybczynski
Charleston Fancy: Little Houses and Big Dreams in the Holy City
By Witold Rybczynski
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: May 2019
Charleston, South Carolina, which boasts America’s first historic district, is known for its palmetto-lined streets and picturesque houses. The Holy City, named for its profusion of churches, exudes an irresistible charm. Award-winning author and cultural critic Witold Rybczynski unfolds a series of stories about a group of youthful architects, builders, and developers based in Charleston: a self-taught home builder, an Air Force pilot, a fledgling architect, and a bluegrass mandolin player.
Teaching Graphic Design History by Steven Heller
Teaching Graphic Design History
By Steven Heller
Publisher: Allworth Press
Published: June 2019
An examination of the concerted efforts, happy accidents, and key influences of the practice throughout the years, Teaching Graphic Design History is an illuminating resource for students, practitioners, and future teachers of the subject.
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