Mum creates chilled Scandi style play cafe that parents will love as much as kids!

A mum-of-two has created a chilled Scandi-style play café which she says will appeal just as much to parents as to kids.

Caitlin Devaney swapped her career as a beauty therapist to open The Nest Play Café in Ormskirk after her own experience of other soft play centres.

She wanted to ditch the usual noise, bright colours, plastics and ball pits for something much more calming. And, instead of grabbing fast food and not-great drinks, mums and dads can have fresh-ground Crosby Coffee and there’s a healthy menu for everyone.

Caitlin, who lives on the outskirts of Kirkby, had the idea for an alternative kind of play after her son Jude was born two years ago.

She said:

“I was always taking him to different play centres and they were never that enjoyable for me to go to. I loved all the wooden toys rather than plastic ones or battery-operated ones so I just thought I could make my own play café that was very neutral with pastel colours and more of a Scandi vibe.”

The Nest, which opened last month, is aimed at newborn to pre-school, with different areas over two floors for babies and toddlers.

Caitlin and her partner Sean found the property in Ormskirk at the end of 2023, but then she was pregnant with their second child, daughter Delilah, so the business was delayed.

Now Delilah, who is seven months old, can go to work with her mum and have fun at the same time.

27-year-old Caitlin has fitted out the space with natural toys from companies like Zara Home and Scandiborn and designed the interiors to create a relaxing environment that stimulates’ little imaginations.

“We have wooden toys, role play, a dress-up area, a cosy book nook with soft seating so kids can lie down to read, a teepee, little fairy doors, and a sensory area for the babies.

“It’s totally different to what people might be used to, the soft play centres which can be a sensory overload. So many people come in and say their children don’t play like this in other places because they’re overwhelmed whereas they feel calm and welcome here which is exactly what I wanted. 

“On the café side we’ve got a small menu at the moment with healthier options like Greek yoghurt bowls, granola and pancakes, as well as paninis and salads for the adults. We’ve also been trained by Crosby Coffee so all the coffee is really nice which is good for parents and we get a lot of compliments about that.”

In addition to its regular play sessions, currently limited to 12 booking slots, Caitlin hosts parties at The Nest at weekends and she’s about to start regular ‘messy play’ for under-ones.

“We’re launching that this week with a beach theme, using food-based ingredients,” she adds. “We have tough trays, and we’ve made sand out of ground up cereal and seafoam from chickpea water with food colouring which has toys in. Babies can play and just get messy in it, and it’s an exploring sensory experience.”

Although it’s only just opened, Caitlin has already had families travelling from as far as Huddersfield to visit, and she’s got another idea in mind for mums specifically.

“I’d like to introduce other regular sessions and I want to do a mum community get-together, maybe one evening a month. There’ll be no kids, it’s just for mums to connect with other new mums, over picky bits and prosecco.”

Find out more about the Nest here.

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