Café Core Is Taking Over Interior Design—Here's How to Get the Look

Dining nook design — Credit:
Tessa Neustadt

Few of life's simple pleasures compare to starting the morning with a visit to your favorite local coffee shop. Whether you're stopping in for a quick bite or meeting a friend for a mid-morning latte, these moments stand out as warm, cozy, meaningful memories that encourage us to slow down and enjoy life.

That's why café core is shaping up to be one of 2025's biggest design trends. It's exactly what it sounds like: bringing the cozy vibes of a café or coffee shop into your own home. To help you embody this trend, we asked interior designers to share their favorite café core design ideas.

Jeanne Zamith, interior designer at Becoming Homebody
Catherine Shuman, founder of The Intentional Design Studio
Alexandra Peck, owner and principal at Alexandra Peck Design
Marcella Domonkos, owner of MD Design Co
Barrett Oswald, principal designer at Barrett Oswald Designs

What is Café Core?

Café core is embracing the slow, meaningful moments often had in coffee shops, while also introducing the warm, cozy elements of these places in your home. "There’s this desire to make everyday moments, even making your morning coffee, feel less mundane. It's romanticizing your life," says Jeanne Zamith, interior designer and home content creator at Becoming Homebody. "Café core isn’t just about aesthetics; it’s about the atmosphere and the vibes."

This trend is becoming increasingly popular as more people seek to infuse their spaces with warmth, connection, and a sense of ritual, says Catherine Shuman, founder of The Intentional Design Studio. She explains that the café aesthetic is inviting, layered, warm, and curated. It's everything people want in a place that brings them comfort and belonging.

Key Features of Café Core

Café core is all about recreating that cozy, gathered ambience of a coffee shop, so key features include welcoming seating arrangements that encourage relaxing and staying a while, elevated coffee essentials, and curated finds to add warmth and life. Café core-inspired spaces should welcome intentional moments that romanticize the simplicity of enjoying a cup of morning coffee. The goal is to bring in comfort, ease, and a sense of adding something special to the everyday.

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Create a Cozy Nook With a Banquette

A banquette and a small table — Credit:
Alexandra Peck Design / Christian Harder

Replicating the feel of a coffee shop in your home starts with thoughtful seating. "Create a dining nook with banquette seating around an eat-in-dining table," says Alexandra Peck, owner and principal at Alexandra Peck Design. This carves out a space where you can sit with a friend—or a few—and leisurely enjoy a cup of coffee. And, if you're enjoying a solo morning at home, spread out a newspaper or a journal and make this quiet moment feel like something straight out of a movie.

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Focus on Inviting Elements

Cozy corner with leather chair — Credit:
Barrett Oswald Designs / Tim Lenz

One of the best things about a café is its cozy corners that practically beg you to curl up with one of those wide latte mugs and a good book. Recreate that moment in your own home. "Transform a corner into a serene retreat with plush chairs, a well-stocked bookshelf, and a basket filled with cozy blankets, inviting relaxation at every turn," says Barrett Oswald, principal designer at Barrett Oswald Designs.

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Create Conversation Spots

Cozy seating arrangement in a living room — Credit:
Barrett Oswald Designs / Tim Lenz

Coffee shops invite people to slow down, spend time with each other, and enjoy the moment, but our homes don't always emphasize conversation the same way. Café core encourages you to bring designated conversation spots into your space. "Café core is all about fostering coziness and slowing down—creating intimate nooks is key. Embrace versatile layouts and multipurpose spaces," says Oswald.

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Incorporate Hospitality Elements

Cute kitchen view — Credit:
Alexandra Peck Design / Christian Harder

Part of what we love about coffee shops and cafés is that they remind us of relaxed, easygoing moments while we're on vacation or meeting a friend for an afternoon away from the computer. Recreating this at home is a key element of café core. "Bringing these hospitality elements into your home can instantly transport you back to precious memories or make you feel like you're on vacation," Peck says. "Try special moments like a fancy glass display for those indulgent pastries."

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Build a Thoughtful Coffee Space

Green coffee nook — Credit:
MD Design Co

The most obvious way to bring the café core look into your home is to designate a coffee bar area and thoughtfully build it out with your favorite accouterments and beautiful details. "Add some fun brass tipping rails, beadboard work, and a coffee mug stand to create the boutique coffee shop vibes," says Marcella Domonkos, owner of MD Design Co.

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Play Background Music

Cozy kitchen — Credit:
Alexandra Peck / Christian Harder

Part of what is so delightful about a coffee shop vibe is the soft jazz music playing in the background. It elevates a scene and makes every moment feel romantic and intentional. Look up coffee shop playlists on Spotify—you'll be surprised how many options there are.

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Add Café Curtains

Cafe curtains in a kitchen — Credit:
Michelle Gage / Brian Wetzel

As the name might imply, café curtains are a charming, cozy addition that can make your kitchen feel like a French coffee shop. "Café curtains are light-filtering curtains, often with a cute pattern, or light touch of color, that hang on the lower portion of the window for privacy while letting in the sunshine and beautiful views," says Peck.

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Allow for Multipurpose Moments

Island in a ktichen — Credit:
Alexandra Peck Design / Christian Harder

In a coffee shop, people gather for all sorts of reasons. They meet to discuss project plans, conduct interviews, or play a game of cards. Create spaces for that same type of multipurpose use in your home by adding a kitchen island or a game table in a living room.

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Install Open Shelving

Kitchen with open shelving — Credit:
Alexandra Peck Design / Christian Harder

Beautiful items add warmth and depth to a space, and when displayed via open shelving, they add to the café core look. "Open shelving displaying well-loved ceramics, natural stone countertops, and vintage-inspired hardware instantly creates a welcoming, gathered-over-time feel," says Shuman.

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Add Curated Ambiance

Cafecore look — Credit:
Kerry Kelly Design Lab

Cafés always have that perfect blend of not too cluttered but just cluttered enough. They have a warm, lived-in feel that comes from curating just the right amount of items on bookshelves and surfaces. "I usually keep a small stack of styling books on the coffee table, textured pottery, and fresh (or realistic faux) stems," Zamith says.