Photography by Juli Daoust Baker, courtesy of Mjölk.
We’ve been followers of Toronto-based John Baker and Juli Daoust Baker since 2010, when we first featured their design shop, Mjölk (see our original, now pretty low-fi Shopper’s Diary post).
Since then, we’ve kept a close eye as they built out their Scandi meets-Japanese apartment above the shop (including one of our favorite all-time kitchens) and overhauled a whitewashed cabin on the shores of Lake Huron; and we’ve sought their expert advice on getting Scandi-style floors.
The 2.0 version of Detour Café is in the one-room cafe’s original space, a “picturesque historical building,” as John and Juli describe it, in the off-the-beaten-path town of Dundas (often used by Hollywood as a filming location for its old-school charm).
The primary design updates in the dining area: wood paneling by Sandy Todd from Dundas-based Subfield Renovation, painted in a pale green (Farrow & Ball’s Vert De Terre), along both walls; textured white walls painted in Fresco Lime Paint in Bone by Pure & Original Paint, and a new floor in wide-plank white oak.
The paneling reads like a high-back bench; on the top shelf are mix-and-match antiques, “all sourced in the many antique shops within a couple blocks of our shop [Mjölk],” the couple says, including Smash, The Art of Demolition, and Post & Beam Architectural Reclamation.
“We brought in some special objects that you won’t see in any North American café (as far as I know),” John writes.
Looking toward the back of the café. The coffee counter is an antique wooden counter from the late 1800s that was original to the space; the team moved it to the back and topped with marble.
To the right of the coffee counter, custom shelves painted in Hay by Farrow & Ball topped with marble slabs stock provisions for sale.
Weck jars, aligned on a windowsill, house the café’s “grain library.” “We hope to expand on this in the future to show the many beautiful variations of grain,” John and Juli say.
Behind the sink are shelves with a few Mjölk finds (like the brass Land’s End Trivet by Swedish company Skultuna), plus the café’s own selection of Japanese coffee goods like ceramic grinders by Hario.
The view from behind the counter, looking toward the other side of the cafe, a self-serve water station, and the hallway, painted in Setting Plaster by Farrow & Ball, that leads to the bathroom.
The corner of the counter has a few simple essentials: napkins held in place with an Oji Masanori weight, a Small Ikebana Vase (available from Mjölk for $150 CAD), and a cutout in the counter that leads to a waste bin.
A Stack Tray by Wednesday Architects for Fritz Hansen (and inspired by Nordic bentwood boxes and Shaker boxes) corrals milk and cream.
John and Juli designed a self-serve water station “inspired by the spindles used in the Companions Bed by Ilse Crawford.” Glasses and glass water jugs are stored on shelves below; a small sink with an antique brass faucet that John and Juli found in the UK provides a convenient hand-washing place.
A Tray Notturno by Josef Frank for Svenskt Tenn corrals the water glasses.
On the other wall, the team designed a wide recessed archway to offset the painted bench and add to the historic feel.
A geometric Fundament Brass Candle Holder and a Long Brass Candle Snuffer (available for $80 CAD from Mjölk) mix with a vintage painted mirror on the high shelf.
Little vignettes on each table include simple flowers and Kin Tealights in dusty pink by Claesson Koivisto Rune.
A new sign in the window touts Dear Grain, the café’s new bakery and heirloom breads offering.
No changes were made to the dark storefront; “it was already perfect,” John and Juli say.