Located in a former bank on a prominent corner site, Captain Grey is an elegant art deco-styled cafe in Essendon’s main shopping strip. The project’s colour palette draws inspiration from the lush two-tone facades of Miami’s art deco buildings, reimagined here as a dusky burnt orange offset by a powdery indigo.
The centrepiece is the cafe’s streamlined brewing station and counter. A custom La Marzocco coffee machine makes it clear that the art of coffee-making is a what this venue is all about. Brass chandeliers in organic forms are suspended overhead, continuing the sleek brass finish of the counter-top cake display.
The counter itself is finished in a custom speckled grey tile from Fibonacci which continues underfoot.“The colour palette – burnt orange, soft indigo and sandy beige – is a really important part of this project. It picks up on the building’s art deco heritage and gives it a distinctive but subtle identity.” .
