Chez Mademoiselle

Chez Mademoiselle is an unflinchingly feminine French café / deli in the heart of Greville Street, Prahran. She is high-end but quirky, playful yet bold, and quite unlike any café experience currently on offer in Melbourne with her neutral café space in front and unexpected plush retreat at the rear.

Our clients wanted to create a French Deli that truly represented the modern French woman. It was to exude elegance but also have a strong sense of playfulness. Adequate representation was also to be given to the food and retail so the clientele would not only feel like they were stepping into a café but also a place that represented something quite different and unexpected. 

Chez Mademoiselle proffers colourful macarons, fresh croissants and sumptuous wines in the front browsing area which is quite neutral with bold line work and soft tones. But the interior personality changes as you move through the space. The rear of the cafe is a surprisingly plush ladies' lounge adorned with floral wallpaper, velvet upholsteries and ravishing pink hues. Acting as the ‘dressing room’ or ladies lounge, it is the space which shows the alternative ego of our strong, feminine modern woman.

Our challenge was to create a retail space within a café environment but with the ambience of a high-end fashion boutique. To achieve this, we displayed Chez’s retail offerings on well-lit, recessed, arched shelving, and interspersed their macarons, croissants and wines, with fashion accessories. We further referenced French fashion with mesh screens inspired by lace and quirky pendant lights in a chic floppy hat shape.

Coco Chanel’s legacy informed the personality of the space. The front café / deli space speaks to her androgyny with its bold line work and neutral tones while the rear ladies’ lounge showcases her femininity with its layering of floral wallpaper, velvet upholsteries, pink hues, custom wall lights and rose marble back plates which provide a perfect companion to our hummingbird wallpaper.

There are elements of the unexpected in both the fashion stylings of the cafe and in the surprising plushness of the lounge.

The innovation here is in the harmonious juxtaposition of the androgynous café space with the feminine ladies’ retreat.

The front café / deli space features bold line work and neutral tones while the rear ladies’ lounge showcases the alternative ego of our strong, modern woman, with its decadent, feminine colours. There are surprises in both the high-end fashion boutique stylings of the cafe space and the unexpected plushness of the ladies’ lounge which isn’t immediately visible to visitors.

We really loved how the palette manifested overall and how soft furnishings sit amicably beside bold steel work.

Being a heritage listed building there was very little we could do to the bones so we were sensitive not to alienate the site. Our end result is a sassy interpretation of the site’s Victorian Charm and a material interpretation of the modern French woman who served as inspiration for the cafe itself.