Project Overview

Bluestone Lane’s Upper East Side Café is the most unique and interesting cafe we have created. Located in the heart of Museum Mile, with a 5th Ave address and opposite the E90th Street entrance to Central Park, this store is housed adjacent to the beautiful historic Church of the Heavenly Rest.

Situated in a historic 19th-century church, this spot — designed by Julia Sullivan of Caswell Design —offers Bluestone's Australian-style espresso and stellar avocado toast, served from a sea-blue subway-tiled counter (hand-crafted tiles made by Mercury Mosaics) under soaring sandstone archways.

Project Commissioner

Bluestone Lane

Project Creator

Caswell Design

Project Brief

Due to the tile glaze’s unique quality of rich variation in color and tone, each store has its own character and pizazz while maintaining a consistent design aesthetic.

The team completely the extensive renovation from scratch including exposing the glorious archways to maximise the natural sandstone exposure, combining a minimalist feel that is operationally functional and pragmatic, yet is warm, light and consistent with the broader Bluestone Lane brand aesthetic.

We were very prescriptive with our lighting plan, focusing on up-lighting the natural archways and the accentuating ceiling features such as stained glass windows. Everything was focused on stripping back to expose the natural sandstone and interlaying our brand palette of sea foam green, turquoise, blue bell and brass to capture the eye and give it a youthful presence.

Project Innovation/Need

Consistent with our brand aesthetic designed by Sullivan is the focus on bringing the Australia urban beach and seaside style to New York, counteracting the dominant use of dark reclaimed timber and steel, with the use of blonde, white-washed timber, and bright, feminine hand-made pastel tiles.

This is a prime example of Bluestone Lane’s talent in activating non-traditional retail locations in the most inspiring way, through creativity, innovation and passion. This is truly a store to discover and escape to.

Bluestone Lane CEO, Nicholas Stone quotes, “We are located on 90th and 5th Ave, which is opposite Central Park, quintessential Upper East Side, on the Museum Mile, next to the Church of Heavenly Rest. It’s a very unique collaboration. [The church] was looking for something new and were interested in thoughtfully designed, progressive and socially conscious coffee shops that were considered about their food. We introduced them to our design, brand, menu and what we do from a philanthropic point of view, and that really resonated.”