• Charcoal/black structural steel
• Warm timber
• Natural stone
• Terracotta/paver flooring
• Warm outdoor lighting
• Green landscaping
• Large coffee/planting elements
• Simple cream or earth-tone walls
• Corrugated roofing retained but cleaned and painted

This would make the existing metal structure look intentional rather than temporary.

2. Front exterior transformation

A. Rework the main façade

The large metal doors currently dominate the view. Instead:

Left section

• Retain one large secure metal door for machinery/storage.
• Paint it matte charcoal.
• Add timber framing or vertical timber slats.

Centre

• Create the main pedestrian entrance.
• Install a timber-and-glass door or attractive steel-framed glass door.
• Add a small covered entrance canopy.

Right section

• Turn the open-sided structure into a veranda / outdoor sitting area.

A large sign above the entrance could dramatically change the appearance.

For example:

[YOUR BRAND / BUSINESS NAME]
Coffee • Training • Community • Innovation

3. Hide the industrial appearance

The biggest visual problem is the exposed sheet metal.

You don’t necessarily need to remove it.

Use a combination of:

Vertical timber slats

• 50–100 mm timber strips
• Small gaps between them
• Run them vertically along selected sections.

Natural stone

• Use stone only around the entrance and lower wall sections.
• Don’t stone the entire building.

Black steel

• Paint doors, frames and columns consistently.

Greenery

• Climbing plants against selected walls will soften the industrial appearance.

This creates a beautiful wood + black steel + stone + greenery combination.

4. Floor plan concept

I would divide the building into five functional zones.

                 BACK / TREES
        ┌─────────────────────────────┐
        │      STORAGE / WORKSHOP     │
        │                             │
        ├──────────────┬──────────────┤
        │              │              │
        │   MAIN       │   SERVICE /  │
        │   ROOM       │   KITCHEN /  │
        │              │   EQUIPMENT  │
        ├──────────────┴──────────────┤
        │                              │
        │       COVERED VERANDA       │
        │    TABLES / SEATING / BAR   │
        └──────────────────────────────┘
                  MAIN ENTRANCE
                      
          GARDEN / WALKWAY / PARKING

Possible uses

If this is intended to become a coffee-related facility, I would make it:

1. Coffee reception / retail
2. Training classroom
3. Coffee laboratory / roasting area
4. Equipment/workshop area
5. Outdoor coffee garden

That would work particularly well with a coffee-school/café concept.

5. Turn the right-hand section into the star attraction

The right side already has a roof and partial enclosure.

Don’t close it completely.

Make it a beautiful covered veranda.

Add:

• Timber decking or stone/paver floor
• Wooden tables
• Comfortable outdoor chairs
• Built-in benches
• Large planters
• Hanging plants
• Warm pendant lights
• Coffee tables
• A small outdoor coffee bar

This can become the part people photograph.

6. Compound garden

The current compound is overgrown, but that’s actually an opportunity.

Don’t make it a perfectly manicured lawn.

Create a naturalistic coffee garden.

Suggested zones

A. Entrance pathway

Create a curved walkway using:

• Interlocking blocks
• Natural stone
• Gravel
• Stepping stones

Instead of a straight concrete path.

B. Coffee garden

Plant actual coffee bushes around the building.

For example:

        🌳        🌳
     ☕ ☕ ☕   ☕ ☕ ☕
          ╲     ╱
           WALKWAY
              │
       ┌──────┴──────┐
       │   BUILDING  │
       └─────────────┘

This would immediately establish the coffee identity.

C. Indigenous tree zone

Keep some of the mature trees shown in the photograph.

Add carefully selected indigenous trees and shrubs rather than clearing everything.

This gives:

• Shade
• Birds
• Privacy
• Cooler temperatures
• Natural character

7. Create a small outdoor coffee garden

This could be one of the strongest features.

Imagine:

Coffee plants + timber benches + stone pathways + small tables + warm lighting.

Add a small sign:

FROM FARM → TO CUP

Or:

COFFEE GARDEN

You could even have small plaques explaining coffee varieties.

8. Ground/floor treatment

The current ground is probably the single biggest thing making the compound look unfinished.

I wouldn’t concrete everything.

Use three surfaces:

40% paving

For entrances and high-traffic areas.

30% natural stone/gravel

For pathways.

30% planted areas

For gardens and trees.

This will look much more expensive than covering the entire compound with concrete.

9. Lighting will completely transform it

This is particularly important because the structure currently looks much better as a potential evening venue than the photograph suggests.

Install:

Warm wall lights

Along the building.

Pendant lights

Under the veranda.

Pathway lights

Along the garden.

Uplighting

At selected trees.

String lights

Across the outdoor sitting area.

Use warm white lighting, rather than harsh bright white security bulbs.

At night, the building could look spectacular.

10. Boundary treatment

The wooden fence on the right can be improved without replacing everything.

Options:

Option 1 — Rustic

Clean and stain the existing timber.

Option 2 — Modern

Paint the timber a dark charcoal/wood tone.

Option 3 — Green

Add climbing plants and hedges along the fence.

I’d choose Option 3.

11. Add a feature sign

A large sign can become the visual anchor.

Something like:

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
       YOUR BRAND
   COFFEE • PEOPLE • PLANET
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Use:

Timber background + raised metal letters + warm lighting.

Avoid too many colours.

12. A small parking/drop-off area

Immediately in front of the building, create a defined parking/drop-off zone.

Use:

• Compacted gravel
• Cabro/interlocking blocks
• Stone edging
• Trees between parking spaces

Avoid allowing vehicles to park randomly against the building.

13. Add a firepit / social area

At one end of the garden, create a small circular gathering area.

Concept:

Stone circle → timber benches → firepit → surrounding coffee plants/trees.

This could work beautifully for:

• Coffee tasting
• Team events
• Training
• Evening gatherings
• Community meetings
• Small private events

14. Add a water feature

You don’t need an expensive fountain.

A simple:

stone basin + recirculating water + plants

near the entrance could add a lot of character.

15. My recommended colour palette

I’d keep it very restrained:

Charcoal / black
Structural steel and doors

Natural timber brown
Screens, doors, furniture

Warm cream / off-white
Selected walls

Natural stone grey/brown
Entrance and landscaping

Deep green
Plants and garden

Warm amber
Lighting

That combination would make the property feel premium, African, earthy and contemporary.

16. Most important: don’t renovate everything at once

I’d do it in this order:

PHASE 1 — Clean-up

Clear weeds, rubbish and unnecessary materials.

PHASE 2 — Structure

Repair roof, doors, walls, drainage and steelwork.

PHASE 3 — Exterior

Paint steel, introduce timber screens and improve façade.

PHASE 4 — Floor

Create proper entrance, veranda and pathways.

PHASE 5 — Garden

Coffee plants, indigenous trees, shrubs and lawn/groundcover.

PHASE 6 — Furniture

Tables, benches, outdoor seating and planters.

PHASE 7 — Lighting

Warm architectural and garden lighting.

PHASE 8 — Branding

Large sign, directional signs and interpretation boards.

The finished concept

I would aim for something that looks like a small Kenyan coffee estate meets contemporary industrial café/training centre.

The existing building doesn’t need to be hidden completely. Its industrial character can become part of the identity.

This is intended for Kenya Coffee School / Barista Mtaani, a further and design as a Coffee Skills & Innovation Garden with a training room, coffee lab, roasting/equipment area, outdoor coffee classroom, tasting garden and small café/veranda.