After completing interior design work for their Bunbury cafe, Merge was approached to totally transform a vacant tenancy in Australind into a rustic, relaxed and eclectic space to house the new Benesse cafe.

With the Bunbury Benesse being located in a heritage building and oozing character and charm, the challenge was to bring this same feel into a modern, featureless tenancy. Layers of texture were introduced with chalky rendered walls enveloping the space, practical yet beautiful raw concrete bench tops, feature pressed tin walls to highlight the counter zone, rough white-painted brickwork to delineate different seating zones, weathered timber-look ceiling cladding & feature chunky beams to add warmth and character. A palette of deep green, brass, pink, nude and terracotta add pops of fun colour and create an eclectic feel, complimented by hanging indoor plants which inject life and freshen up the space.

A feature skylight over the large communal table clad in penny round mosaics is an important feature to help bring in streams of natural light and creates a casual dining option and waiting area.

Custom bench seats provide an opportunity for fabric upholstery to soften the space with material selections including worn tan leather, textured linen and soft pink.

Careful lighting placement ensures a soft glow to create a cosy, welcoming feel.