In order to create a "silent" interior for this Lithuanian coffee shop, designer Inga PieslikaitÄ— paired birch wood furniture with poured concrete flooring and white-painted walls (+ slideshow).
Located in Vilnius, the Crooked Noses & Coffee Stories cafe was set up with a focus on the drinks rather than the design.
PieslikaitÄ— aimed to reflect this through her design, and created a minimal interior that encourages visitors to enjoy the coffee being served.
"Coffee is very complex drink if you think about its tastes and aromas," she told Dezeen. "So if you have minimal or silent interior you can more clearly enjoy the coffee."
"As this cafe focuses on slow coffee culture and hand-brewing methods, it's nice to avoid active design elements and solutions which would distract barista and visitor from enjoying dark drink ritual," she added.
The space is divided into two main zones by a long white bar. One area is the baristas' working space, and the other has chairs and tables for visitors.
The long white bar can be moved, allowing the interior to transform into a single open space.
Birch wood was used to construct furniture throughout the interior. Floors are made from poured concrete, and walls are painted white to keep the space bright and clean.
Cups and mugs were designed by shop owner Emanuelis Ryklys, and are made from clay covered in natural bee wax and glazed from the inside.
"Clay is very typical material for old ceramic works in Lithuania, so I wanted cups which would have traditional and local feeling, but modern look fitting the interior," Ryklys told Dezeen. "I also designed the clay coffee dripper which we're using as one of the coffee brewing methods at our cafe."
Other minimal cafe interiors include a coffee shop and roastery inside a Tokyo warehouse by Schemata, and a timber-lined tearoom by Haptic that takes its design cues from Scandinavian architecture.
Photography is by Darius Petrulaitis.