As many of us continue to spend most of our time at home this year, some people have poured all their free time into passion projects. For those who are looking for inspiration for their own side projects, this dad from Orange County spent only three months building a beautiful backyard coffee shop from the ground up, and the results are amazing.
Photos of Ed’s work were shared on Twitter by his daughter Julianna Astrid, a social media influencer with over 200,000 followers on TikTok and 84,000 followers on Instagram. The post, intended to be a Father’s Day tribute, has since received over 300,000 likes and nearly 37,000 retweets.
Building the coffee shop was a completely random decision by her father, according to Julianna. “One day, he was looking at houses on Pinterest and decided, ‘I think I’m gonna build a coffee shop in the backyard’,” she shared with Newsweek.
Little did they expect at that time that it would actually be built three months later. “[My dad] is truly an extraordinary builder. I’ve grown him watching [him] build amazing things for us and for other people,” she said. He managed to finish the project by only doing it after work and on the weekends.
Ed, a full-time contractor, intends the coffee shop to be a place where his family and friends can relax and bond. The small cafe, which Ed calls La Vida, is a standalone structure situated next to the patio in their backyard.
Outside, the structure features a painted wooden exterior. Chelsea lights add a charming atmosphere at the front of the coffee shop. Looking through the big glass windows, the interior features everything you’d expect from a cozy neighborhood coffee shop: coffeemaking equipment, a big clock, a pastry case, a menu board, bar seating, two chairs, a table, a chess set, and a television.
If that isn’t impressive enough: Ed used repurposed materials from previous projects to build the overall structure, the doors, and the front window. He also picked up items from thrift and antique stores to fill the place. “Something that really makes me proud is his eye for seeing beauty in everything,” Julianna told Newsweek
The coffee shop garnered hundreds of positive reactions on Twitter and Tiktok. Some expressed wanting to be customers at Ed’s family’s cozy nook, while others expressed feeling inspired to build one someday for their own homes.
Ed has since begun posting his work on Instagram. Inspired by his newfound fame, he also plans to share instructional building videos on his YouTube channel.
