Grown-Up Cafe Meets Kids' Play Space at The Willow

"The Willow Play Cafe, in Toronto's Junction neighbourhood, is a hybrid of sophistication and whimsy. Local practices Denizens of Design and DS Studio transformed a dive bar into a warm, inviting coffee spot - with wood panelling, a coffered ceiling, checkerboard linoleum flooring, vintage bentwood chairs and soft lighting - that morphs into an Alice in Wonderland setting through a keyhole-shaped portal."

"Owner Christina DiAdamo was driven by her own experience - both as a tech entrepreneur and as a parent of young kids - when she decided to launch this new kind of gathering space. "This was never meant to be just a place to let your child run around," she explains, via the project's press release. "There is a huge focus on STEM-based play and educational philosophies like the Reggio Emilia approach. Every element is designed to support curiosity, creativity, and development.""

"A nice little café where parents can linger over a latte while their kids explore on their own - the setting embodies what the designers characterize as a "third space" for families in the city. For Denizens and DS Studio, the interior concept is captured in the motif of the willow tree, whose "presence is suggested through form, color, and movement." As the designers explain in the press release, "Objects appear to shift and transform. What reads as cafe millwork becomes play infrastructure. What feels decorative becomes interactive.""

The Willow Play Cafe converts a former dive bar into a cozy, design-forward coffee shop that transforms into a playful, Alice-in-Wonderland–inspired play zone through a keyhole portal. The front-of-house features wood panelling, a coffered ceiling, checkerboard linoleum, vintage bentwood chairs, soft lighting and round-edged millwork with shoe storage. The play area includes Lite Brite walls, green foam steps and a cherry-red slide, with a focus on STEM-based play and Reggio Emilia educational principles. The interior motif of a willow tree informs form, color and movement, so decorative elements also function as interactive play infrastructure.

Read at Design Milk