At first glance, this coffee shop on East 6th street might look like any other coffee shop. After all, the place is small and cozy with cocoa hues and bright accent colors. But it's in the details of this local espresso bar that give it the distinction of being our first ever favorite Austin designed space.
Very rarely can a place mix warm, earthy colors and materials with modern industrial materials and get it right, but Hot Mama's does. The floors are reddish-brown stained concrete with subtle texture to ground the space and the ceiling is an industrial grid work of soft, matte silver/gray metal. Modern orange pendant lights add color and warmth to the space.
The circular counter bar is wrapped with a light faux bamboo material and topped with a locally made concrete counter top in a warm hue.
This is where the beautiful details start. A tile of exquisite color and depth is placed unassumingly in the center. Surrounding it and all over the counter top are bits of green mixed into the concrete.
Embedded in the edge of the counter top are, appropriately, coffee beans.
The furnishings are a good mix of wanna-curl-up-in-it comfortable couches and some locally (John Newbold of Newbold Stone) made concrete, metal and wood bistro tables and chairs. Again, it's the details that make this place so special. In the tops of the local bistro tables etched in the concrete is Hot Mama's flower logo. Delightful.
The accessories and the local art combine to finish off the comfortable and funky atmosphere. Natural material baskets and lamps give warmth and texture. Soft and subtle pillows add comfort. An African-esque mask on the wall gives interest. And local art adds the finishing touch. Currently, artist Doug Weber's work can be seen.
And that's just the inside.
From the interior you can spot Hot Mama's courtyard. A heady mix of rusted metal, foliage, stone and concrete, it stands as a perfect example of Austin's pension for working with nature, not against it. Large rusted metal pendants hang from the trees like umbrellas and accents like old metal cans and an oriental rug add that level of detail so integral with Hot Mama's design. With live music every Thursday and events almost every weekend, the courtyard serves this east side neighborhood well, creating a place not just to drink coffee, but to foster community.
--adrienne P.S. They don't just serve coffee:
Hot Mama's
2401 E. 6th Street
Austin, Tx
Relevant links:
Map to Hot Mama's
John Newbold Stone
Doug Weber art
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