ET CLAIRE CAFÉ || Heinzel De Vries Redefines Small-Space Luxury in Antwerp’s Café Scene
The aroma of coffee, the sheen of brass, and the quiet hum of conversation, Et Claire Café turns a quick stop into an act of quiet luxury in Antwerp’s bustling neighbourhood.
Designed by Amsterdam-based interior architecture studio Heinzel De Vries, this compact café on Schuttershofstraat transforms an ordinary stairwell into a refined retreat where design, light, and indulgence converge.
A golden entrance on Schuttershofstraat invites visitors into Et Claire Café’s warm, light-filled interior.
Occupying what was once a vertical passageway, the café embraces its limitations as an opportunity for intimacy. A sculptural staircase anchors the space, rising in polished terrazzo and wrought iron, its curves echoed by a circular chandelier that bathes the walls in warm, amber light. Each element feels measured yet expressive, creating a rhythm that guides the eye upward and inward at once.
Where the Oudaan flagship glows in buttery yellow, Et Claire Café introduces a deeper palette of browns and golds that evoke the hues of roasted coffee beans and caramelized pastry. Glossy brown walls envelop the space, amplifying both light and warmth. The counter, made of brown-yellow honed marble, becomes a focal point where craftsmanship meets quiet grandeur. Every texture, from brass trim to terrazzo steps, adds a tactile dimension that makes the small café feel layered rather than confined.
This is small-space architecture at its most deliberate. Heinzel De Vries distills luxury into precision, proving that a café need not be expansive to feel indulgent. Thoughtful spatial choreography guides movement, from the narrow entrance to the softly lit seating area, ensuring every square meter serves both function and beauty. The layout reads like a study in compact café design, balancing proportion and intimacy with effortless composure.
“Designing both Antwerp locations allowed us to explore two sides of the same story. Where Oudaan is golden and indulgent, Schuttershofstraat is intimate and grounded, yet both share the same sculptural language and attention to detail,” explain founders Tinka Heinzel and Barbara de Vries. Through their practice, design becomes narrative, each project a new chapter that expands the brand’s visual and emotional lexicon.
The brass counter and marble surfaces form the visual heart of the café, reflecting the soft illumination above.
For visitors, Et Claire Café is more than a pit stop between shops. It is a moment of calm that invites one to slow down and savour: the glint of marble beneath sunlight, the reflection of a chandelier in a cup of espresso, the faint scent of pastry in the air. In a few square meters, Heinzel De Vries captures what many larger spaces fail to achieve: a sense of belonging through design.
Here, Antwerp’s café culture meets modern European sophistication. Every detail, from the brass-lined counter to the sculptural staircase, reflects an understanding of how architecture shapes experience. Et Claire Café may be compact in size, but its presence within the city’s luxury corridor feels remarkably grand—a celebration of how design can transform even the smallest space into a sanctuary of elegance.
An overhead view reveals the café’s geometric precision and the layered choreography of brass, marble, and light.
