La Petite Cafe in Abu Dhabi by Bone Studio.

A large rectilinear counter stretches its chalky pink body across the dining space of Bone Studio’s La Petite Cafe in Abu Dhabi. The soft interior offers a different voice, the timber furniture and subway tiles of the typical ‘café aesthetic’ nowhere to be seen. Instead, exposed concrete and metal chairs offer a fresh interpretation of café design.

The 85 square metre coffee shop had been a popular meeting place in Al Ain’s Al Tiwayyah neighbourhood for years before its interiors began to show their age. Bone Studio injected new life into its walls, creating a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere. A layered simple material palette of natural wood, sandy-beige plaster and creamy soft furnishings combine to create a sense of comfort. Shadows become additional decorative features as they dance around vases filled with wildflowers. This generates an atmosphere that is closely aligned to the familiarity of a home rather than that of public space. The colours act as a subtle celebration of Al Ain’s desert landscape, the rawness of the scheme nodding to the natural beauty of the surrounding environment.

Quiet, refined moments encapsulate the raw minimalism and simple beauty of the project. The chunky pink service counter becomes a sculptural centrepiece, dominating the interior space. The raw, unpainted plaster is illuminated in the early morning light, it’s functionality not to be overshadowed by its beauty.

3.2-metre-high glazed panels frame the moment interiors begin to bleed into the exterior courtyard. Beige flooring softly encourages movement throughout the space, exposed concrete giving way to natural-toned pebbles like an ongoing carpet. The deep orange of rusted steel planter boxes is offset by the lush greenery of their plants, forming a protective wall of foliage. The result, a space that simultaneously allows its guests to celebrate the natural beauty of their community, whilst falling into the unique rhythm of life created within its walls.

[Photography by Oculis Project.]