Creating a Joyful, Safe Space for the Next Generation to Thrive: Hospitality Design for Y Stryd Coffee Shop, Llanelli
A hospitality interior design case study from SA1 Interiors, serving Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire and across Wales.
When I was approached by Llanelli MIND to help shape their new coffee shop, it felt like such a privilege. As a hospitality interior designer working across Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire and the wider Welsh coast, I take on projects for hotels, restaurants and cafés all the time — but this one was different from the start.
Meeting the Team Behind Y Stryd
Meeting Llanelli MIND's Community Engagement & Fundraising Officer filled me with complete awe and enthusiasm. Chris has made such an impact on this centre — his creative entrepreneurialism, motivation and dedication got me hooked.
Chris and the team had a vision for the space next door to their main advice centre: somewhere vulnerable young adults could gather. A comfort. A joyful, lifting space that encouraged them to blossom.
This is such an important place in the community, so it was crucial the design delivered on that brief.
Designing for Purpose, Not Just Profit
Typically, any coffee shop, restaurant or commercial project I take on has a main purpose of business profit — a design that drives sales and delivers return on investment. Something built entirely around the target audience, with an atmosphere created for a specific experience. It's never just about choosing furniture from a supplier catalogue; it's always about the user. That's my fifteen-year career in marketing showing up in the work — what does the customer need, and what problem will this space solve?
But this project had far more important needs. It's a coffee shop, but one that needed to feel like a safe space — somewhere that felt enlightening rather than intimidating the moment you walked in. Somewhere that offered a sense of belonging, even if you don't always feel like you fit in.
So these were my hooks: safety and joy.
But I had bigger questions to answer first:
How do you project joy in a space?
What makes you feel safe in an environment?
What feels less intimidating for a teenager?
What would encourage someone to feel secure enough to open up?
The Research Behind the Design
I discovered a brilliant TED Talk by Ingrid Fetel Lee, who also wrote a book called Joyful: The Surprising Power of Ordinary Things to Create Extraordinary Happiness (2018).
She suggests joy isn't purely internal — that the physical world around us, our objects, spaces, shapes, colours and textures, has a real, measurable effect on our emotional lives. That makes complete sense when you think about it.
It was never going to be a joyful space painted all grey — it needed sunshine. Colourful rainbows and an abundance of bright shapes and colours, without limits or restrictions. Without typical symmetry and coordination, even.
The key elements of joy, as she identifies them, are:
Energy — vitality, colour and light
Abundance — richness, life, clusters of colour and plenty — think bubbles, balloons, confetti
Freedom — spaciousness, flow, clarity
Harmony — repetition of lines, patterns, tones, complementary colours
Play — curves, sculptural forms, softness, fun textures
Surprise — moments of delight, pops of pattern and colourful clashes
Magic — bits of sparkle, light, nostalgia
Celebration — gatherings, appreciation
Renewal — life, flowers, daylight, woods and plants
Creamy comfort of milk. Sunrays. Your grandmother's chair. Homely touches of flora, bookshelves and cake.
There was so much opportunity to create joy in this space.
Designing for Safety as Much as Style
But what about safety and security? I had to think back to where I felt safe as a vulnerable teenager. What made me feel secure and relaxed. What I still find intimidating in coffee shops, even as a grown adult.
Coffee shops with their formalities, their industrial aesthetic, their plug sockets inviting professionals to work — that's intimidating. Like you have to be a certain type of person to sit there. Like you have to earn it.
What feels like the opposite is going to your grandmother's house for a cup of tea. Nothing matches. You're not being judged. Everything around you is aged, worn, a little broken — but well loved. There's comfort in knowing those things are okay. And there's nothing quite like a grandmother's love.
The concept for the café had to be just as simple: no complicated menus, no decision anxiety. Simple warmth. Nostalgic food.
That's what I wanted to bring to this design — grandma's house, colourful bursts of joy, mismatched furniture, freedom, nothing intimidating. An abundance of colour, bright sunshine-like interiors, and preloved, homely pieces that make you feel like you belong.
Bringing the Design to Life
The implementation was a heart-warming day of teamwork — people giving up their time for a project built entirely on passion.
There are three pillars of happiness: joy, satisfaction and meaning. This project delivers on all three.
So much heart and soul has gone into this space, through donations and commitment — the venue is built with devotion. A community effort to support the young people who need it, putting the foundations in place for them to move forward.
This is a community gathering space where warm food and hot drinks become the grandmother's equivalent of "would you like a cup of tea and a nice sandwich?"
The colourful, inviting interior will hopefully draw locals in and support this wonderful charity, so it can continue supporting the young people who need it.
Why the Process Stays the Same, Even When the Client Changes
Whilst this project had a different meaning, the design process was the same one I bring to every hospitality or commercial project across Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire and the rest of Wales. I purposely set out to understand the users of the space — it's rarely about implementing pre-conceived ideas from the owner alone. I use my background in business strategy and marketing to make sure your venue works for you, because it works for your customers first. The only thing that ever changes is who that customer is.
Y Stryd taught me not to be afraid of colour (I questioned myself on this more than once), to break the rules when the brief calls for it — most of the furniture came from other charities — and to always, always stick to the brief.
I'm forever grateful for opportunities like this one, to create, reflect, and do something meaningful. Come in for a piece of cake and some sunshine.
We hope you enjoy the coffee shop. I want to do it all over again.
Planning a Hospitality Project of Your Own?
I do this so that hotel, restaurant and café owners across Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire can hand over the creative thinking and trust that the finished space will work exactly as hard as they do.
If you've got a hospitality or commercial space in mind and want an outside eye on the direction before committing to a full design, my Style & Moodboard Consultation and Design & Direction Session are built for exactly that — creative input and a clear vision, without needing to hand over the whole process.
Book a Style & Moodboard Consultation or Book a Design & Direction Session
SA1 Interiors is a Swansea-based interior design studio working on luxury residential and hospitality projects across Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire, the Gower and the wider South Wales coast.
