When the team behind HOITB dropped us a line, we were instantly hooked by their brilliantly offbeat brief. Smack in the heart of Crystal Palace’s bustling high street, they needed a space with a proper split personality. By day: a boujee bakery turning out fresh loaves, flaky pastries and coffees worth lingering over. By night: cue the curtain — the place transforms into a Japanese-inspired ‘listening bar’, spinning curated vinyl and serving cocktails as smooth as the basslines.

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Now, if “listening bar” sounds a bit niche, it’s a concept born in Japan, a kind of music sanctuary where vinyl lovers gather to soak up records played through top of the range speakers.

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Our challenge? To disguise the space’s double life so the transition felt seamless. We solved it with a ceiling-mounted curtain system, a touch of theatre that flips the setting from croissants to cocktails without missing a beat.

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To finish it all off, we leant into a retro 70s aesthetic: rich woods, acoustic panels, and plenty of room to showcase the client’s vast vinyl collection. The outcome? Something that exceeded all expectations, a truly one-off addition to Crystal Palace, grooving happily from sunrise through to last orders.