However with this project we are starting with a little cash from the off so are just trying to plan it to be as perfect as possible. Obviously we have our experience and knowledge that helps from the previous set up, but well worth reminding myself of this advice you just gave.
I feel this - our first two locations (and expansions within them) were always naturally constrained in some way (budget, pre-built spaces, etc). When we moved ~18 months ago, it was the first time we got to step back and design everything from scratch. The best part is that you can do anything! But the worst part is…you have to figure everything out. And if you get it wrong, you can’t blame “well, that’s the way it was.”
At the same time, I’ve seen lots of places with more resources ($$$) than we had make the mistake of approaching their design more focused on first-impression than the lasting one.
So instead of making “perfect” the goal, we focused on choosing a few key areas that we knew were painful in our previous spaces and improving on them in some measurable way. But beyond that, we made a somewhat counterintuitive decision to build everything else to be slightly unfinished and imperfect.
I’m not talking about the shabby-chic aesthetic that seems popular…we genuinely want the space to communicate to our members (current and future): this is a work in progress. Your ideas and effort will make it better.
As a result, within weeks after moving into our new space, we had lots of members feeling a strong sense of connection to the space AND lots of feedback about the environment “feeling like home” - directly attributing the fact that it looked and felt more lived in.
So even when you have more resources, it’s a really good idea to give yourself some constraints (even if they’re artificial) that encourage your community to get involved and let the space evolve with them. 
-Alex
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On Fri, Jan 19, 2018 at 9:39 AM, [email protected] wrote:
I like this advice a lot!
I think the daunting thing is when we first opened we boot strapped it and so could only build as and when, which meant it was easier to make decisions about where things would go relative to the current set up.
However with this project we are starting with a little cash from the off so are just trying to plan it to be as perfect as possible. Obviously we have our experience and knowledge that helps from the previous set up, but well worth reminding myself of this advice you just gave.
On Friday, January 12, 2018 at 5:20:26 PM UTC, Tobias Schwarz wrote:
When it comes to design, you should do whatever you like. This shows what kind of person you are and this well help you not only to attract people that like coffee, but the “right people” that will fit in better to create kind of a community.
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