As a residential interior designer, most of my focus goes into designing the places we call home. And over the last few months, I’ve also been devoting time to the design of my new workshop space for our Austin interior design studio. Most folks spend the majority of their time split between their home space and their work space. And with the rise of remote work, now even more people are combining these two spaces into one. However, there are important places we visit in between the two — the third place. In an effort to better understand the third place and why certain shared public spaces foster a sense of reassuring comfort or community outside home and work life, I took time to look back to some of my old haunts around Austin. 

What is the Third Place?

If the “first place” is home and the “second place” is work, then the “third place” is the spot folks can gather and socialize over a shared interest or pastime. Sociologist Ray Oldenburg coined the term in the early 90s, describing it as a vital space for social interaction and community building. Think the corner bar in Cheers or the neighborhood coffee shop in Friends. The third place is simply somewhere we can connect with strangers, acquaintances, or close friends over something other than work or the family calendar. It’s the spot where you can have your “regular” order or bump into connections without the grating back and forth of trying to find a time to meet. 

During the 2020 pandemic, we all lost our third places overnight. And in a world that is continuously moving online, leaving the first place of the home becomes an option rather than a necessity. However, as I reflected back on the third places I used to frequent around Austin in my younger days, I realized how important these spaces and their design are to providing us with something we can’t recreate at home or work. They give us a sense of belonging, whether our space is a pub, the tennis courts, or for me, a coffee shop. 

My Favorite Third Places are Coffee Shops and Bakeries 

I love the opportunity to pass time in a third place that is not home or work but an in-between zone to transition between the two. But it must be comfortable and informal for me to love it. That’s why I am so drawn to cozy coffee shops and bakeries. And when it comes to third places in Austin, I think Quack’s and Texas French Bread have done it the best over the years. A good coffee shop provides a spot where you can feel comfortable, whether you’re alone or with a group. It offers connection, without demanding too much in return. 

Original Captain Quackenbush’s Intergalactic Cafe

Growing up, I frequented the original Captain Quackenbush’s Intergalactic Cafe on Guadalupe down on The Drag at UT. I thought I was so cool going there at the age of 17 to do my high school homework in the evenings while pretending to be a college student. A few years later, when I actually was a college student at UT Austin, I made Quacks, as we all called it, my home away from home. I walked there every morning, and between many of my classes, for coffee or lunch. And I spent roughly 75% of my college evenings there studying and talking with friends. In those days, no one worked on their computer and there were no cell phones at all, so we wrote in our notebooks and talked or read to entertain ourselves in between croissants and coffees.   

There were so many things about that particular Quack’s that were appealing to me. I have thought about it many times over the years, from the incredible coffee served up by Leo the barista (that was not a thing people called a coffee server then) to the black beans and rice to the muffins. It was all heavenly and affordable for a college student! The baked goods are still remarkable at the remaining Quack’s locations, but the vibe of the original on The Drag seems to be gone forever. If I had to break it down, I think the appeal for me was in the size and comfort level of the big wooden tables and large wooden chairs that adorned the cafe. You could really spread out on those tables! 

The Texas French Bread

The next best place to hang out and study was one of the Texas French Bread locations that existed in Austin back in the day. They also had large tables and wooden chairs, good lighting, and obviously the smell of baking bread was a plus. The original building burned down in 2022, taking away this third place that I knew so well. However, it’s under reconstruction to provide a new gathering space preserving remnants of the old charm I fell in love with.  

Brewing Coffee and Baking Bread Just Feels Homey

I gravitate towards coffee shops and bakeries as my third place because they actually remind me of my homey first place. Baking is one of the most cherished of the home arts, and smelling fresh baked bread and having a warm muffin instantly creates that feeling of a home away from home. It’s why I also love to play the Great British Baking Show and read Martha Stewart articles in my home. The design and feel of a third place will resonate differently for everyone. Maybe you’re like me and appreciate the old wood tables in Quacks, or perhaps you connect more to the grassy knolls along Barton Springs. Either way… 

The third place is our home away from home.