Collingwood café
Café fit-out: counter, seating and lighting
Commercial
Service 04 · Commercial spaces
Commercial spaces
Small commercial fit-outs where the room is part of the service: independent cafés, allied-health and dental clinics, and studio offices. Calm, durable, accessible and built to a schedule that respects your trading.
Book a consultationIs it right for you?
Best for
- Independent cafés and small restaurants
- Allied-health, dental and wellness clinics
- Studios and small offices up to around 300 m²
- Shopfronts in heritage streetscapes
What’s included
Everything drawn, nothing assumed
Each stage ends with something you can hold: a brief, a drawing set, a schedule, a finished room.
- 01
Brief and operations review
We watch how staff and customers actually move (the coffee queue, the waiting room, the hand-off at reception) before drawing anything.
- 02
Concept and brand fit
A layout and material direction that feels like your business, working with your brand designer if you have one.
- 03
Joinery for hard work
Counters, reception desks, display and storage designed for daily wear, cleaning and the equipment that goes in them.
- 04
Finishes and lighting
Durable, cleanable finishes and lighting for both mood and task, from the espresso machine to the treatment room.
- 05
Consultant coordination
We work with your building surveyor, services engineers and builder, and set access and amenity requirements out early.
- 06
Documentation and site
A drawing set for building permit and tender, then site visits through the fit-out to keep detail and schedule on track.
Typical timeline
How long it takes
From first meeting to opening is often four to six months. Lease dates should be planned around that.
- 01
Brief and review
Including a visit during trading hours.
1–2 weeks
- 02
Concept
Layout, palette and budget check.
3–4 weeks
- 03
Documentation and permits
Permits are issued by your building surveyor.
4–8 weeks
- 04
Fit-out
Staged around trading where possible.
6–12 weeks
In practice
Related projects
Commercial spaces
Questions we’re often asked
Can the work happen around our trading hours?
Often, yes. We stage the documentation so builders can price after-hours or staged work, and plan noisy or dusty work for closed days where we can.
Do you look after building permits?
We prepare the design drawings and coordinate with your building surveyor, who issues the building permit. If a planning permit is needed (for signage in a Heritage Overlay, for example), we help you put the application together.
How do you handle accessibility?
From the first plan. We design to the access requirements of the National Construction Code and the Premises Standards with your building surveyor, so the accessible route, counter heights and amenities aren’t afterthoughts.
We already have a brand. Will the fit-out match it?
Yes. We’ll work from your brand guidelines or directly with your graphic designer, so signage, colour and materials read as one thing.
Consultations
Talk it through first
A 90 minutes consultation is the best first step for commercial spaces. In your home, at the studio or by video call. Credited to your first stage fee if you go ahead.
