Bayleaf cafe

Bayleaf Café, Byron Bay

A local institution, reimagined twice over.

When whitewood first took on the Bayleaf Café in 2015, the challenge was one of restraint as much as vision: how do you refresh a beachside institution without losing what made it beloved? The brief called for a full reworking of the floor plan, including the transformation of a long-forgotten storage room into a new brew bar — a change that lifted workflow and spatial efficiency for staff and customers alike.

The design honoured the café's heritage while carrying it into a new era. Deep greens and natural timbers were paired with original details — exposed beams, white-washed brickwork — and elements of the old space were given new life: a communal table crafted from the original counter cladding, a new counter clad in salvaged pressed-metal tiles. A full kitchen and services upgrade ensured the café could keep pace with Byron's peak summer and festival seasons.

Five years later, whitewood returned to extend that story into the tenancy next door, uniting the café with its adjoining retail and takeaway offering, Leaf and Grain. The brief this time was connection — visual, spatial and experiential — across three tenancies. Existing materials were reworked rather than replaced: new timber veneer panelling and French doors and bi-fold windows opened the shopfront to light, while two long custom timber tables tied the spaces together, physically and symbolically. An internal wall was opened up to link the tenancies, and a custom Tasmanian oak display unit with reclaimed iron handles gave the retail offering a home worthy of its gourmet fare. New deck seating, timber and greenery extended the Bayleaf welcome outdoors.

Across both phases, the same principle held: honour what already exists, and let its character lead. The result is a Byron Bay original — updated for today, unchanged in spirit.