The Horniman Cafe

Our first cafe in the Colicci collection to be connected to a museum.  We are thrilled to have partnered with the Horniman Museum and Gardens to operate their cafe space alongside the Bandstand kiosk situated in the gardens.  The Horniman Museum and Gardens opened in 1901 as a gift to the people in perpetuity from tea trader and philanthropist Frederick John Horniman, to ‘bring the world to Forest Hill’. Today the Horniman has a collection of 350,000 objects, specimens and artefacts from around the world.

 The interior scheme references the heritage features of the original architecture by Charles Harrison Townsend with a contemporary, timeless approach synonymous with the established Colicci cafe style. 

Opened in 1901, the original Horniman Museum building is a unique example of the “Modern Style”.  The limestone “Tree of Life” motif, as an emblem of nature in design, provided inspiration for The Horniman Cafe’s bespoke metalwork screen.  This surrounds a set of new island booth seats to the centre of the cafe, upholstered using recycled wool fabric.  Foresso Timber features once again for the Colicci cafe table tops. The sustainable timber terrazzo material captures waste timber to create a natural and textured finish.  The central floor has received an eco Cork finish which is carbon negative and also has acoustic properties to allay noise levels in the bustling cafe.