V1 Design Concepts

Coffee Art & Foto Art Renovation
Design Concepts
V1 | april 2026
concept framework
evolving design
This presentation is the first working design concept for the Coffee Art and Foto Art project, beginning with Version 1 | April 2026. It is intended to be a living design document that will evolve as the project moves forward. As new needs, ideas, and decisions emerge, future versions will build on this foundation by adding further design development, layout refinements, feature considerations, material direction, and other key elements. The goal is to create a clear and consistent format for communicating the design over time, so the project can be shaped thoughtfully and cohesively as it progresses.
version 1 focus
initial spatial direction
This first design concept establishes the initial spatial direction for the Coffee Art and Foto Art renovation. The emphasis of this version is on the areas of the project that are the most influential to the the overall function, flow, and identity of the space, while allowing other elements to develop further over time.
Unified Space
Develop an overall spatial concept that allows Coffee Art and Foto Art to feel cohesive, connected, and intentional as one shared environment
gallery integration
Explore how the relocated photo gallery can feel like a natural extension of the café experience rather than a secondary or separate zone.
space planning
Begin shaping the overall layout through circulation, zoning, storage solutions and practical planning considerations that support daily use of all spaces.
Accessible Restroom
Introduce initial layout guidance and design considerations for an accessible restroom within the rear portion of the space.
brand translation
Reflect on how the existing Coffee Art and Foto Art brand identity can begin to inform the material direction, finishes, and atmosphere of the interior.
Kitchen Expansion
It has been note that the kitchen is a reduced priority for the time being, with potential for later development.
unified space
cohesive, connected and intentional
The goal of the unified space is to ensure that CoffeeArt and FotoArt feel like two expressions of one larger experience rather than two neighboring businesses simply joined together. The combined layout should feel natural, welcoming, and cohesive from the moment someone enters, with a clear sense that coffee, photography, culture, and gathering all belong together within one environment.
This does not mean both sides need to feel identical. Rather, the design should create a shared visual and emotional language across the entire space while still allowing each zone to serve its own purpose. The café can remain the more active, social, and street-facing part of the experience, while the gallery becomes a quieter and more immersive extension of that identity.
The overall concept is to create a space that feels connected, intentional, and layered, where visitors are invited not only to stop for coffee or browse photography, but to move through the space with curiosity and ease. This unified approach also supports the long-term vision of the project by allowing the combined venue to function as something more than a café or gallery alone: a cultural and community-oriented destination rooted in hospitality, storytelling, and atmosphere. This aligns closely with the existing CoffeeArt identity, which already positions the brand around coffee, art, culture, music, and gathering.
gallery integration
an inviting extension of the café
moveable gallery walls
storytelling feature
Transitional Display
Transition zone between café and gallery
A defined transition zone should be created between the café and the gallery so the connection feels intentional rather than incidental. Instead of functioning as simple pass-through circulation, this area can serve as a threshold that gently shifts the visitor from the social energy of the café into the quieter, more reflective atmosphere of the gallery. This is a natural place to incorporate books, small merchandise, and curated display moments that support both businesses while also helping unify them. If handled well, this zone becomes an important bridge within the overall layout, reinforcing that the gallery is part of the experience from the beginning rather than something hidden at the back.
Strong visual draw into the gallery
The gallery should be visually present from the café side so that visitors immediately sense there is something to discover beyond the front room. This can be achieved through a clear focal point that draws the eye inward, such as a featured photographic piece, a statement display wall, layered lighting, or a framed view into the back space. The intention is to create curiosity and invitation. Rather than relying on signage alone, the space itself should encourage movement by making the gallery feel visible, purposeful, and worth exploring. This visual connection is especially important in an L-shaped layout, where part of the challenge is making the back area feel active and connected to the life of the café.
Curated exhibition-style display
The photography should be presented with a stronger sense of curation so the gallery feels elevated, intentional, and immersive. In the larger new room, the work will benefit from breathing room and a clearer visual hierarchy, allowing individual pieces to hold greater presence. This approach helps shift the gallery away from feeling densely merchandised and toward feeling like an exhibition that still supports sales. The goal is not to strip away character or make the space feel precious, but to allow the photography to speak with clarity and confidence. A gallery setting with thoughtful spacing, selected groupings, and moments of pause will help the work feel special while creating a calmer and more memorable visitor experience.
Movable gallery walls for flexibility
Movable gallery walls are proposed as a key element within the new space. Because the gallery room is significantly larger, relying only on the perimeter walls could leave it feeling too open, undefined, or overly dependent on the outer edges of the room. Introducing movable walls would create additional display surfaces, help shape circulation, and make the gallery feel architecturally composed rather than simply filled. They would also support the client’s desire for flexibility, allowing the room to adapt for open mic nights, gatherings, and other community events when needed. These walls should feel intentional and integrated into the design language of the space, not temporary or improvised, so that even in their flexibility they contribute to the overall quality of the gallery.
Subtle story element
A concise storytelling feature should be integrated into the gallery to give visitors context for what they are viewing and to communicate the deeper roots of the business. A simple interpretive layer can highlight the family’s connection to Mijas and the broader perspective behind the photographic collection, helping visitors understand the gallery as something shaped by place, history, and lived experience. This could take the form of a short timeline, introductory wall text, or a discreet story wall integrated into the overall gallery design.
Warm, inviting gallery atmosphere
Although the gallery should feel curated and exhibition-like, it should never feel cold, formal, or detached from the hospitality of the café. The atmosphere should remain welcoming and accessible, inviting people to linger without making them feel as though they have entered a space that is overly serious or off-limits. The design should support a natural rhythm of movement, browsing, reading, and conversation, while still giving the artwork a sense of presence and respect. This balance is important to the success of the unified concept: the gallery should carry a quieter tone than the café, but it should still feel fully part of the same world.
Overall integration strategy
Taken together, these moves create a gallery that feels embedded within the identity of the project rather than secondary to it. The transition zone, visual draw, curated display approach, flexible gallery walls, and subtle storytelling layer all work together to make the back space feel intentional, inviting, and distinct in the right ways. The result should be a gallery that supports artwork sales, community use, and brand storytelling while strengthening the overall experience of CoffeeArt and FotoArt as one connected destination.
space planning
layout and function
Functional zoning
The layout should be organized according to how each part of the business needs to function on a daily basis. This includes defining the café zone, the gallery zone, the transition area between them, and the locations of key operational elements such as the restroom, service areas, and points of sale. Each zone should have a clear role so the space feels well organized, efficient, and easy to use from both a customer and staff perspective.
Operational flow
The plan should support smooth day-to-day movement throughout the space. This includes how customers enter and orient themselves, how they move between café and gallery, how they access the restroom, and how staff circulate between service areas without unnecessary crossing or interruption. A strong layout will help the space feel intuitive in use and reduce friction during busy periods.
Storage integration
Storage should be built into the planning from the beginning, especially because a significant portion of the gallery’s operation depends on housing photography inventory, framing supplies, packaging materials, and extra pieces that are not on display. A key part of this should be integrated storage behind the gallery point-of-sale area, where these materials can remain accessible for daily use without visually spilling into the customer-facing experience. This will be especially important in keeping the gallery functional while still allowing it to feel calm, considered, and visually resolved.
Event adaptability
Because the back portion of the space may also be used for open mic nights, gatherings, and other community events, the layout should allow for temporary reconfiguration without major disruption. Open floor area, movable elements, and flexible display strategies should all be considered as part of the planning so the space can support occasional events while still functioning well in its everyday setup.
Overall planning direction
The overall planning approach should create a layout that is practical, efficient, and adaptable over time. In addition to supporting current priorities, the plan should leave room for future development, including the possibility of later kitchen expansion. That means making thoughtful decisions now about adjacent space, circulation, and layout so future changes can be absorbed without undoing the logic of the overall design.
brand translation
visual identity in space
A shared visual language across both spaces
The interior will carry a consistent visual language across both CoffeeArt and FotoArt so the two spaces feel unified within one environment. That cohesion will come not only through logos, typography, and signage, but through color palette, materials, finishes, texture, and atmosphere. The brand should be felt throughout the space, not only seen in graphic form.
Brand palette translated into materials and finishes
The existing brand palette will directly inform the physical direction of the interior. Earthy tones such as espresso brown, olive, cream, terracotta, and charcoal create a strong foundation for the space and can be reflected through reclaimed wood, warm plastered or painted walls, exposed brick, dark accents, and other tactile, grounded finishes. The result should feel warm, creative, and rooted in the character of the business.
Consistency without uniformity
The café and gallery do not need to be designed identically, but they should clearly belong to the same brand world. Core materials and finishes should carry through both spaces in a consistent way, even if they are used differently depending on function. This will allow the café to feel warmer and more social, and the gallery to feel quieter and more distilled, while still maintaining overall cohesion.
Typography, signage, and graphic integration
The brand identity should also be expressed through carefully integrated graphic moments within the space. Menus, wall text, signage, and branded touch points should follow the typographic and visual language already established in the existing branding. CoffeeArt already has a distinct graphic identity, and bringing that language into the interior will strengthen recognition and help the space feel intentional and complete.
A blend of local character and collected influence
The material direction should reflect the layered identity of the business, bringing together the warmth of Mijas Pueblo with the richness of the African photography collection. Rather than treating these as separate themes, the interior can blend them through natural materials, earthy texture, and a collected visual sensibility that feels authentic to both. The goal is a space that feels distinctive, grounded, and fully aligned with the story the brand is already telling.
Brand atmosphere as part of the experience
Ultimately, the branding should shape how the space feels as much as how it looks. The atmosphere should reflect the identity they have already built: creative, grounded, welcoming, and cultural. By translating the brand into material choices, finishes, and graphic language across both spaces, the full interior will feel cohesive, memorable, and unmistakably theirs.
accessible restroom
non-technical guidance
Preliminary planning note
Based on the current concept of the space as a mixed-use café and photo/art gallery, and based on the approximate areas of 50 m² for the café and kitchen and 50 m² for the public spaces of the gallery, the project should proceed with the preliminary assumption that a minimum of one accessible restroom will likely be required. There is also the possibility that additional restroom or staff facilities may be required depending on the final technical code review.
Occupancy and restroom requirements
Occupancy would likely be assessed by use zone rather than by applying one blanket number to the entire premises. In other words, the café area and gallery area would likely be considered separately when the formal occupancy study is prepared. Using rough planning assumptions only, total occupancy would be expected to fall somewhere around 50 to 75 occupants, depending on the final layout, the proportion of seated versus standing café space, and how much area is allocated to customer use versus service or back-of-house functions.
Design assumption at this stage
As a result, it is prudent at this stage to design with the expectation that the premises will likely require public restroom provision, that accessibility requirements will almost certainly apply to that restroom, and that the final number and configuration of restrooms should be confirmed through the formal technical review process. This means allowing sufficient space from the outset for an accessible layout, proper circulation, and the fixture clearances typically associated with accessible restroom design.
Design integration
Although the restroom must respond to technical and accessibility requirements, it can still be integrated into the broader visual language of the project. The space does not need to feel sterile or disconnected from the rest of the interior. Through thoughtful material choices, finishes, lighting, and detailing, the restroom can remain aligned with the overall atmosphere of the café and gallery while still meeting practical and regulatory needs.
This should be understood as a preliminary design assumption only, not a formal regulatory interpretation. Final compliance should be verified once the layout, usable floor areas, and activity classification are confirmed by the appropriate licensed technical authority responsible for code analysis and permit documentation.
These visual references show a typical accessible public restroom layout in Spain, with metric clearances and fixture relationships. These images are illustrative planning examples only, used to help communicate likely space requirements at concept stage. Final restroom layout, clearances, and code compliance will need to be confirmed by the project architect according to the applicable regulations in Andalucía and Mijas.
moving forward
Initial direction and next steps
This presentation represents an early design iteration intended to begin shaping the overall vision for the unification of CoffeeArt and FotoArt. The ideas shared here are meant to establish a strong conceptual foundation and highlight key spatial opportunities, while still leaving room for further clarification and refinement as the project develops. As the layout, technical requirements, and operational needs become more defined, these concepts can continue evolving into future design iterations with greater detail and resolution. Please let us know if you have any questions, thoughts, or feedback. We’re excited to keep building on this together and to continue shaping a space that feels thoughtful, distinctive, and true to your vision.
Warmly,
Carolyn & Justin Lubbe
Casa Driftwood