The owner of popular Rhode Island cafe Kaffeology wanted to expand the Garden City Center outpost to include an evening tapas-style menu. Massachusetts-based studio CO—G designed the space to accommodate this phase change with a warm, natural tone. Thus, the new material palette—terra-cotta, wood, site-formed concrete, and plaster—establishes an earthy, welcoming interior.

Within the 1,225-square-foot space, layers of curvature define and conceal functions. Around the perimeter, plaster walls billow out, creating a private nook for the owner to work and a niche where bulky coffee machinery can remain discrete from the warm, natural interior.

The adjacent wall houses the main service counter, broken into two staggered millwork pieces. One is supported on pillar-shaped legs while the other features a monolithic, rotund base. During the daytime, the counters serve as a place to display baked goods. In the evening, it offers high-top seating for the tapas menu.

Seating is likewise varied and flexible. In the middle of the space, fluted islands are stacked atop each other to create overflow seating but can also transition to retail display for local women-owned vendors. Other tables and stools float around the island, clad in terra-cotta and smoothed out with rounded edges. The hand-applied materials add depth to the space. Along the wall, a banquette curves around the perimeter with a large custom fabricated circular table anchoring the large sweeping corner of the existing building.

CO—G uses a minimal and muted color and material palette to inviting effect. As elements curve, project, and stack around each other, the design easily shifts for the cafe’s different needs.