AIA Coffee & Restaurant by Inês Aia

Portuguese designer Inês Aia has inserted a coffee shop and restaurant inside a nineteenth century townhouse in Porto (photographs by José Campos).

Visitors have to walk though a shop to get to the AIA dining rooms, which are furnished with a mismatched selection of second-hand chairs and tables.

Wooden partitions with green patterned windows separate individual dining rooms, while an assortment of convex mirrors, picture frames and newspapers hang from the walls.

We've featured a few simple but interesting Portuguese interior projects on Dezeen - see our earlier stories about a poet's house converted into a writer’s retreat and an apartment with a yellow wall of storage.

Here's a few more words about the project from architect and critic Carlos M Guimarães:

The AIA design coffee and restaurant is a bright new space in Porto's food and cultural scenario, located in the artistic area of the city, between the Cedofeita commercial area and Miguel Bombarda art galleries street.

To get there you should cross the Arts in Parts conceptual store located at the ground level of a XIX century house reaching the inside patio of the quarter.

One of the main ideas behind this restaurant is to reveal these fantastic inner courtyards of Porto, a forgotten space of the city.

The interior space was romantically conceived to create a simple but charming atmosphere, using light colored glasses and natural materials, mainly wood.

The entire design and furniture choice is from the exclusive responsibility of the owners and in order to do the most without huge expenses almost all furniture was directly bought at 2nd hand stores.

Although a specific collection of wooden chairs were made by a specialised local carpenter.

The AIA food statement is: Light meals, wine bar, fine groceries, and we can say that resumes it all!