Hygge Life Café Design
The Hygge Life Café is open!
Opening a café has been a dream of ours for quite some time now. We love sharing the home decor products that we collect and helping people create a hygge home but we've always wanted to create an environment for people to actually experience a hyggelig moment. We've been creating these moments with our Hygge Dinner series (and plan on continuing these) but now we have the opportunity to create these moments daily in our café.
As some of you may know, the café buildout took longer than expected, as do most projects of this kind, but it turned out beautifully and was well worth the wait!
Our vision for the café was a space that encourages slowing down to have a contented moment by yourself or with a friend. Preferably an unplugged moment - without technology but rather with connection and conversation. In order to further encourage these types of hygge moments, we decided not to offer wifi. The bench seating and low coffee tables create a comfortable living room atmosphere that naturally discourages working on a laptop but encourages conversation and relaxation.
We have copies of our favorite hygge and home decor books out in the cafe, and you'll find the The New York Times and Vaily Daily hanging on wooden paper rods to enjoy.
With 300 days of sunshine a year in Colorado, we are excited for our little outdoor patio space as well. With plenty of sunshine and views of the mountain above EagleVail and the slopes of BeaverCreek Mountain it's a great place to relax. For the patio we found the most comfortable, wooden, Finnish lounge chairs. Come try yourself!
Design and build out
Our local friend Matt Hansen and his ECE Build construction team built the café framework and bench seating and Koen got his hands dirty a fair bit too. We used Stuga Studio scandinavian flooring in Oak Aspeland to build the bench seating and the base of the bar. We love the modern yet rustic feel of this natural wood and the click in system is so easy to install!
The furniture, including the shaker inspired three-legged black wooden barstools, coffee tables and sleek black countertop were designed and made by our friends and incredibly talented furniture makers - Jon & Deana of New Collar Goods. Read more about New Collar Goods on our last story in the Meet the Maker series.
One of our favorite design features in the café is the tiling behind the bar. We installed black star and cross terracotta tiles - one of the few designs in the Belgian Reproduction line by Clé Tile. The pattern is eye catching and the deep black hue is calming and dreamy.
Coffee, Tea and Pastries
The house coffee of the café is by our favorite local Denver roaster - Huckleberry Roasters. Founded in 2011 by two friends, Koan Goedman and Mark Mann who shared a desire to make an impact on Denver and its' community. In 2013, they opened their first coffee shop in the historic Sunnyside neighborhood of Denver and recently opened a second location downtown on the Dairy Block in the Milk Market. Huckleberry - "Huck" for short - is all about tasty coffee, happy people and a welcoming space for all to enjoy. We relate to this motto and their delicious coffee is a perfect fit!
We will also be bringing in our favorite coffee from Amsterdam and Copenhagen on a rotating basis. Our first guest roast is Bocca coffee from Amsterdam. So yummy!
The loose leaf teas that we are serving are by our Vail Valley Wellness - an acupuncture, herbalist and all around wellness studio in EagleVail, right across the street from the shop! The tea will be served by the pot to sit and enjoy for a while or share with a friend or by the cup if on the go. The pot of tea is served in a black cast-iron teapot made by Westbo of Sweden, a Swedish company that has been making traditional Scandinavian wood burning stoves and fireplaces for decades.
Pastries are coming soon too, baked by The Rose, a locals favorite restaurant and bar in Edwards, CO. We could not be more excited for all the partnerships with so many amazing small local businesses.
The café is designed as a place to slow down, to gather, to connect and to truly enjoy. We hope that you will treat this space as an extension of your home and will come to say hello, bring a friend, sit in the sun on the patio or sit by a candle inside during the colder months. Welcome!
Our ultimate dream is opening a hygge hotel, shop & café - we are one step closer and doing our best to soak in every step of this process and journey. Until then, we hope to see you in the Hygge Life Shop & Café sometime soon!
Saturday, June 15th, we will be celebrating the cafe's official opening! With $1 coffee drinks and treats, 10am-5pm!
