Upsy Daisy is a shiny new kids’ hangout in Glen Huntly, Melbourne. Located opposite Booran Reserve, the café and frozen-yoghurt venue is designed to attract and accommodate kids who have been hard at play, with a turquoise and teal colour palette inspired by the playground and the fictional character for who it’s named. “The colourful and playful space is designed to be viewed as an extension of the playground and for kids to have just as much fun in the café as the playground itself,” says Nicholas Braun of architecture studio Sibling.

Upsy Daisy is a character from the trippy television show In the Night Garden, which explores the magical place that exists between waking and sleeping in a child’s imagination. Forever happy and optimistic, Upsy Daisy loves to dance through the garden, convincing other characters to join her. That optimism and happiness permeate the Upsy Daisy café with a colour palette full of joy, and geometric shapes covering the ceiling creating an almost kaleidoscopic effect.

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Sibling created a “metaphorical garden” on the ceiling.
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Using an arrangement of circles and squares, Sibling created a “metaphorical garden” on the ceiling with shapes and colours that reference the Booran Reserve playground and the magical forest where Upsy Daisy lives. Turquoise and teal circles and squares are painted on the ceiling with round pendant lights descending below. Shelving is enclosed with metal mesh and suspended above the tiled café counter.

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“The colourful and playful space is designed to be viewed as an extension of the playground.” – Nicholas Braun, Sibling
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While the upper portion of the venue is in bright and vivid hues to evoke the garden, everything below the datum recedes in colour yet retains the geometric shapes. The café and fro-yo counters have white glossy square tiles; small raised-circle tiles add texture on the walls; and timber bench seating extends the length of the venue with simple round tables. Light bounces off these surfaces to brighten the long, narrow space, while concrete flooring has contrasting aggregate to create the sense of gravel ground as if in the playground or forest

Upsy Daisy is a family-friendly, feel-good space designed to appeal to kids, but there’s no doubt it has a dose of magic for adults too. “It brings out the big kid in all of us,” says Nick.

Photography by James Whiting.

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