Working from home sounds like the dream, but the truth is that when you work for yourself (and with yourself), cabin fever is a very real side effect. Lounging on your sofa gets old fast, and it’s not always conducive to productivity. This summer, slip into a pretty summer dress, brush your hair and take yourself into society for a few hours. Here’s where you should go. London: Bulldog Edition, The Ace Hotel, 100 Shoreditch High Street Nestled between The Ace Hotel’s lobby, juice bar and restaurant, Bulldog Edition is a laid-back coffee shop that serves up a rotation of donuts, cakes and sandwiches, alongside a decent flat white. The main draw with working here, especially as a freelancer, is that almost everyone else is in the same boat, which makes the collective energy buzzy and motivating. The spots by the back wall are quietest with power outlets, but if you want to feed off the buzz or potentially network, we suggest migrating into the plush couches in the hotel lobby. Berlin: Westberlin, Friedrichstrasse 215 “Coffee, cake, lunch and magazines” reads the sandwich board stationed outside Westberlin, a bright, glass-front coffee shop located between Berlin’s Mitte and Kreuzberg neighbourhoods. Borrowing from its Scandi cousins, the aesthetic is clean and contemporary with a long shared desk to work from, as well as smaller tables for when you really need to get your head down. Pop there in the morning and stay all day if you want to- it’s geared up for working, so there’s no need to feel rushed or pressured to move. When your deadlines are met, be sure to check out the shop’s magazine collection—it’s one of the best in the city.
Dublin: Network Coffee, 39 Aungier Street If you’re going to make the effort to step away from the comfort of home - or if you’re treating yourself to a ‘work from home’ day (don’t forget the air quotes) - it better be worth it. Much of the payoff relies on the goods of course, but atmosphere and setting also play deep into how inspired and motivated you feel. A wonky table and bad vibes don’t promote productivity. Network Coffee is contemporary enough that just being there makes you feel part of something bigger and cooler, but not in an intimidating way. In fact, it’s one of the city’s friendliest places to work from. Paris: Café Craft, 24 Rue des Vinaigriers Café Craft describes itself as the “premier café dédié aux créatifs indépendants” which, if you don’t speak French, loosely translates as the “first cafe devoted to independent creatives”. It’s set up for working and that’s what we like about—your being there is the reason this coffee shop exists, so no need to feel bad for using the wifi and taking calls. It costs three euros an hour to share the space, but you can pay by consumption or connection, meaning a three euro coffee will see you straight for an hour’s work. Grab a spot at the long communal table and spark up a conversation with your fellow coffee-aficionados.
Barcelona: Skye Coffee Co, Carrer de Pamplona, 88 Working from home comes with serious bragging rights. There’s no run-down office building for you, no commute to work, no having to blast heavy metal from your earphones to deter your boss from another conversation—it’s just you, on your time, doing your own thing. That’s the image we like to send out at least, because the reality of chasing invoices and refreshing your email, isn’t very attractive - Skye Coffee Co is though. This large warehouse space houses Barcelona’s coolest cats alongside a refurbed CitröenHY van that sells some of the city’s finest coffee.
