Create a café corner at your place — and find out which affordable home coffee machine makes the best cup of coffee.

Styling Amber Armitage & Alice Lines     Photography Alex Wallace

French for yum - Ready for café au lait with your friends? An iron table turns this corner into a chic and charming Parisian café.

Here are a few tips to create a similar look at home.

1. Combine relics of the past with contemporary furniture, such as vintage trunks and an iron table with these modern black chairs, for an eclectic French style.

2. Create contrast and drama with dinnerware by stacking solid black plates with striped plates of varying diameters. Continue this look through the café corner with other items, such as striped curtains or tea-towels.

3. Use the strong contrasts of black and white as your base palette. When you’ve established a monocromatic scheme, add hints of red and earthy tones to complement the look .
 
4. Have fun with your Parisian room by upcycling an old picture frame with blackboard paint. Take the glass out of the frame, paint the backing board with blackboard paint and then chalk up your menu. You can carry this look through your tableware, like we did, by painting  blackboard tags onto recycled glass bottles and labelling for your milk jug, teabags and teaspoons.

5. Plant rustic boxes with herbs to add fresh colour. Just snip a few stalks if you’re making savoury scones or a cheese tart .

6. Sharpen up the room by adding a stainless steel coffee machine and antique teaspoons.

To see the rest of our Cafe at Home feature pick up a copy of the lastest issue of homestyle. On sale now at supermarkets and book stores nationwide.