When Dreams Become Templates

Do you also want to have a café or a small coffee house?

We guessed it right, didn’t we? Don’t be surprised — we’re about to tell you everything.

Most of us working in corporate — spreadsheets, meetings, Slack pings, the whole deal. But in the quiet moments, we often find ourselves daydreaming. Not about a promotion or a raise. But about early retirement. About finally being done with the grind — done with corporate slavery — and opening a café.

Not a startup. Not a franchise. Just a small, beautiful space that feels like a deep breath.

Sunlight spilling through the windows — or the golden glow of Edison bulbs on rainy days. A few cozy corners with mismatched chairs that invite you to stay. Coffee that’s actually good, made slow and served warm. The smell of fresh bread or cinnamon drifting from the kitchen. Maybe a little record player humming something soft and nostalgic in the background. A couple of houseplants trailing from the ceiling, probably a little overgrown.

It’s not fancy. It’s not perfect. But it’s mine — a world I could build with care, shape with intention, and open up to others.

Sound familiar?

Maybe it should.

Because every time we bring it up — this idea of quitting and opening a café — we hear the same thing:

“Wait… I’ve thought about that too.”

Not just once or twice. From dozens of people. Different jobs. Different cities. Same exact fantasy. So before you scroll away — stay with us. Because I think something interesting is going on here.

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The Shared Fantasy We Think Is Unique

The café dream feels personal. Soft. Romantic. Like your own secret escape plan from the burnout and speed of modern life. But when you look around, you realize:

We’re all dreaming the same dream. Not just the idea — but the details.

Same aesthetic. Same vibe. Same neutral color palette. Same exact version of peace.

And that’s where it starts to get… weird.

1. The Aesthetic Fantasy

For most of us, dreaming of owning a café is less about coffee and more about curation.

It’s the fantasy of building a perfectly intentional space —where every stool, every spoon, every playlist is handpicked. You’re not just brewing espresso. You’re setting the mood for someone’s morning. You’re the creative director of calm.

And in a chaotic world full of noise, deadlines, and decision fatigue, this kind of control feels like freedom.

But the punchline is: Give a thousand people the chance to design their ideal café… and they all design the same one.

2. The Instagram-ification of the Dream

A big part of this comes from how we see cafés today — not in real life, but online.

We’ve all seen the grid posts: Sunlit lattes. Terrazzo countertops. Someone journaling beside a perfectly poured cappuccino. Dried florals in vintage vases.

It’s serene. Curated. Calming.

And since the rise of “soft entrepreneurship,” café ownership has evolved into more than just a business — it’s a lifestyle. A visual identity. A version of yourself that lives outside the algorithm; but still looks really good on it.

People don’t just want to run cafés. They want to be the kind of person who runs that café.

And Instagram has already taught us exactly what that person looks like.

3. Pinterest & the Death of Originality

If Instagram shows the final product, Pinterest gives us the recipe.

Search “coffee shop design” and you’ll find hundreds of nearly identical images: Sage green walls. White tiles. Matte black fixtures. Linen aprons. Filament bulbs. A neon sign that says something vaguely poetic like “But first, coffee.”

This is where the café dream stops being self-expression and starts becoming… duplication.

It’s not design. It’s a template.

And ironically, a style that once stood for independence, creativity, and rebellion now feels like the interior design version of a chain store —just with better lighting and more plants.

When Dreams Become Templates

That’s the part that hit us hardest. This dream we believed was unique — quiet, original, creative — might just be the new default. It’s the fantasy of freedom, but structured down to the exact stool and menu font. A moodboard dream mass-produced by algorithms and aesthetic trends.

Even our rebellions now follow a script.

And once you see that… it’s hard to unsee.

So… Is It Bad to Want This?

No. Absolutely not.

Opening a café — or wanting to — doesn’t make you basic or unoriginal. There’s nothing wrong with craving a slower, more beautiful life. Or building a space that people love being in.

That’s human.

But here’s what’s worth asking:

Are we dreaming freely, or are we just dreaming prettily?

Because the moment the dream becomes predictable, maybe it’s not a dream anymore —maybe it’s a lifestyle product.

What Would It Look Like If It Were Really Yours?

That’s the question we are sitting with now.

If we stripped away the Pinterest board… what’s left?

Would my café have weird chairs and too much color? Would it serve only one thing — but perfectly? Would it play loud music, or none at all? Would it be awkward and messy and real?

Because maybe the point isn’t to open a café.

Maybe the point is to create a space that couldn’t possibly belong to anyone else but me.

So if you are holding onto this quiet little café fantasy — hold onto it. But maybe shake it a little.

Peel it back. Make it strange. Make it yours.

Because in a world where everyone’s building the same version of freedom, the most radical thing you can do… is dream differently.