Your Living Room Away from Home

For those of us who work from home, the need to get out of the house is essential to maintain productivity and sanity. And while co-working sites are great, they often cost in excess of $300/month–pretty steep for people who are normally quite content at home. The café has always been the go-to destination for finding this temporary office space, but it can get kind of weird (i.e. inappropriate) hanging out there for four-plus hours after ordering your small, half-caff cup of drip.

Rather than charging for a cup of coffee, London cafe Ziferblat charges customers for the thing they really want: real estate. The café charges 3p/min (~$.05) to hang out in the space, which has unlimited self-service coffee; there’s even a self-service espresso machine. There are complimentary snacks and even a kitchen where you can prepare your own food. There is also the “opportunity” to wash your own dishes whilst there, but no obligation to do so.

Ziferblat, a Russian concept that it is trying to go global, keeps track of customer’s tenancy with alarm clocks it gives upon arrival. There is no minimum or, we presume, maximum time limit. The space’s décor looks like a bunch of people donated furniture–in other words, it looks like a real living room, which is a good thing.

Living in a smaller space is made much easier with lots of places to escape. These places, like Ziferblat, have the added benefit of being far more social than our living rooms. We wish them the best of luck and hope their outlets come to the States and beyond very soon.

Via PSFK and The Guardian