An all-female team gives Ghent's Café 't Kanon a timeless makeover

Swooping ‘Streamline’ curves and a rich coffee-bean colour palette combine inside Ghent’s Petit Grand Cafe ’t Kanon, which has been revamped by an all-female team on its 35th anniversary.

The cafe is located in heart of the Ghent, a stone’s throw from the medieval market square, and is a well-loved local spot. Its owners turned design practice Altu and creative directors Studio Stories to take ’t Kanon into a new era – while nodding to the ‘golden age’ of European cafes from which it’s born.

Original terrazzo floors and ‘guillotine’ windows have been expertly restored, while the interiors have been dressed in rich mahogany wall panels and ceilings ’borrowed’ from the 1950s. A new horseshoe shape bar, inspired by the building’s original curving facade, has a hand-polished metal front and mirrored back anchors the space.

The furniture inside Café ‘t Kanon is similarly simple: think wooden tables and Parisian chairs and buttery leather banquets. Meanwhile, globe lighting scones and eclectic tiles add a 1970s touch, while the bathroom sink and fixtures are vintage.

Meerseniersstraat 17, 9000 Gent, Belgium