This Mexico City Caf Is Decorated Entirely Using Waste Material

“Less is more!” exclaim the defenders of the minimalist architecture movement. However, at Minichelista, a charming coffee shop in the northern Mexico City neighborhood of Nueva Santa María, less is less and more is most definitely more. Decorated from top to bottom with odd and kooky objects, made entirely out of waste material, the café is the absolute antithesis of minimalist design.

This anti-essential style is embodied in the name, Minichelista, which owner Itzel Hernández Ross explains is a made-up term for “anything opposed to minimalism”. The unorthodox pieces dotted all over the café, which are both functional and decorative, give the place a unique and exciting feel, almost like a modern take on baroque design.

From the tables and chairs to the window fittings and the storefront itself, everything is made from recycled materials and no two pieces are the same. After Alfredo Hernández, Minichelista’s founder, began collecting these scrap objects, they began to be displayed in the café, either in their original form or after being adapted into something completely new.

Local artists have left their mark all over the café, donating their own works of art and decorating the walls with unique murals, and the décor is constantly changing, with new pieces being made or donated.

All of this makes Minichelista an exciting and truly singular spot in the city, and it should be on any tourist’s itinerary during a visit to the Distrito Federal.