I absolutely love café culture. There's something so special about finding a cute neighborhood café, ordering a latte and a pastry, and enjoying a bit of people-watching. But you know what I don't love? The cost.
If you're like me and need to cut back on your coffee and sweet treat spending, there's a new TikTok trend that promises to satisfy your cravings without draining your wallet. Enter 'home cafés', a trend where individuals create their own coffee bar ideas in their home, and invite friends over to enjoy it.
It's a fun idea, right? It encourages socializing and entertaining in environments where you don't feel pressured to spend so much. And there's so much potential to play in terms of design. For inspiration, plenty of creators have already jumped on the trend, including Amelia Simin (@lokezey), who designed a home café I honestly wouldn't mind visiting myself...
Amelia's video demonstrates how the 'home café' trend doesn't just mimic the vibe of a traditional café — it enhances it in a way that feels so much more personal, comfortable, and wholesome.
It certainly allows you to get crafty with your food and drink recipes, too. But it also opens up a world of opportunity when it comes to decor. Think about it this way: if you were to open up a café tomorrow, what would it look like? How would you decorate it?
Of course, your home café can be decorated with things you already own, but it's always fun to add a few new touches. With that said, here's my list of nine items to get your home café ready for business. Even if your coffee and pastries aren't 5-star quality, at least you'll make up for it with some stunning home decor.
No café is complete without the coffee cups. This is a ceramic version of the iconic disposable New York City coffee cup, which gained popularity in the 1960s and has now become a pillar in the city's café culture. Adding a few of these cups to your coffee cup collection will certainly make your home feel like a café straight out of a NYC sitcom.
At your home café, you'll need a place to display pastries and other snacks for your guests. An elegant wooden cutting board is the perfect option — plus, it's a practical kitchen tool. After using it for prep, clean your wooden cutting board and transform it into a serving tray that you can carry over to the dining table or keep on the kitchen countertop for easy serving.
Although rare, non-coffee drinkers do exist! And when hosting your home café, you'll need to have drinks available for those folks aside from lattes, espressos, and cappuccinos. This carafe could be the perfect vessel to store some freshly squeezed orange juice (or store bought, we don't judge). Its sleek glass body is topped off with a stylish blue glass-blown cork. This carafe will certainly be an elegant addition to your home café .
One of my favorite features of my local café is their collection of plates — some are colorful, others are plain, and some even feature cute little designs, like these plates with small fish motifs. Your home café will certainly benefit from a collection of plates as well. Mix larger dinner plates with smaller dessert plates to create that non-uniform feeling that the best cafés always seem to have.
Aside from the useful kitchenware that you'll need in your home café, you'll want to make the space come to life with a seasonal floral arrangement. Opt for a unique vase like this crinkled style to hold your flowers and make your home café feel more personal. This vase resembles a paper bag, like something that might hold pastries from your local café, just in ceramic form. It would be such a unique piece of decor to add to your home café.
If you're interested in adding some branding to your home café, consider getting yourself some personalized napkins. This set of 50 napkins is completely customizable — you can choose to add text or an image in a variety of colors. In a way, custom napkins can make your home café feel like an actual café, just in the comfort of your own home.
These glass cups aren't home café-specific — they're a buy I'd recommend for any purpose. Every home needs a good set of cups, and I can confirm that these ones are an ideal choice. I have them myself, and I use them for everything — from water, to juice, and even espresso, these little glasses are a home necessity. Since they come in a set of six, they'll certainly come in handy when hosting your friends at your home café .
Of course, if you are going to create a café in your home, you'll need a coffee machine with all the bells and whistles. This Breville model is just that — and it's easily one of the best coffee machines on the market. It features a sintered-steel burr grinder with 15 settings to customize the grind as well as a 360-degree swivel steam wand with a frothing nozzle. Plus, this model is highly rated, with one reviewer calling it a "life enhancement". I'd say there's a good chance this machine will enhance your home café setup.
Aside from the coffee machine and cups, there's one feature that always makes an appearance in home café videos — kraft paper. If you're planning on serving a big spread at your home café, cover your kitchen island or table with a layer of kraft paper. Neatly place your food directly on top of the paper and use a marker to write the name of the dish you are serving in front. Plus, you can use this paper to create your 'menu' — simply tear off a sheet, write what your café will be serving, and hang it on your wall. Kraft paper will truly help transform your space to a home café .
Surely, your home café won't be open for business 24/7. So when you're not brewing coffee and baking pastries, consider storing your café necessities in a hosting closet — an easy solution to minimize excess clutter in your kitchen or dining room.
