HOW TO FURNISH A RESTAURANT

Customers will pay the same amount of attention to the food as they do to the decor during their dining experience. This makes one of the biggest decisions when opening a new restaurant your furnishing and decorations. We’ve created the perfect guide to take you through the whole process of furnishing your restaurant.

Choosing Your Theme

Before you start furnishing your restaurant, you will need to decide on the theme and design you’re looking for; such as a vintage look, an industrial feel, or even a quirky atmosphere?

Using your theme, you must develop your ideas with the audience you want to attract. So are you looking to create a fancy, high-end restaurant or a more casual, laid-back experience? Do you want to attract the whole family or just couples? The space you’re working with will affect these choices.

Ensure you sit down and thoroughly research the different markets, competition, and any market gaps you could fill.

Once you’ve settled on your theme, make sure you stick to it! Diverging from your theme will make your restaurant feel incomplete and make the whole furnishing process more complicated.

Deciding On Your Décor

Now you’ve chosen your theme you need to start thinking about your décor.

Your furniture will need to combine style, functionality, and comfort. This will also add to the whole ambience of your restaurant, playing an important role in customer satisfaction and retention. Diners are looking for the full experience, not just the food itself. Getting the right ambience will allow your diners to enjoy themselves and soak in the atmosphere.

You can use sites such as Pinterest for inspiration or check online stores before you make your purchase. Ensure you have taken measurements and know the space you’re working with before you make your final orders. You could even look into bespoke furniture if you’re working with a unique space.

Picking Your Restaurant Tables and Chairs

The space you’re working with will affect your furniture choices, choosing large, decedent chairs might not be the best idea for maximising seating space.

Before you make any decision you will need to think about your client base. Booth tables will fit better for a family-based restaurant but elegant single chairs will work better for a romantic, high-class setting.

There is a wide variety of restaurant chairs so you must ensure they fit your theme. There are bar stools, benches, and even sofas.  Only pick high quality furniture to give your guests the best dining experience.

For restaurant tables, a critical factor is size. You need to buy a variety of sizes so you can cater for a range of groups. You don’t want to turn away large groups of diners because you cannot fit them in.

Table shapes are also a very important factor; square/rectangular tables are the most common shape that can easily cater for two or four guests and are great for romantic experiences. Round dining tables are seen as much more casual and sociable as there’s a sense that diners can pull in more chairs.

Figuring Out Your Layout

Your restaurant layout is important both for your guest and waiters as they need to move around the space freely, to avoid the risk of accidents or collisions.

On top of the safety aspect, you will need to give thought to the number of tables you want to include. If you pack in too many tables your space will seem cramped and your diners will feel overcrowded, but if there’s too much space your restaurant will look empty or unpopular

Although it’s a difficult balance to find, this will all depend on the ambience and client base you are targeting. If you’re aiming for a casual environment, you’ll be expecting a faster turnover with customers staying for shorter periods. In many laid back establishments seating is pushed closer together and sometimes tables are shared with other parties.

Whilst in a formal setting more room between tables would be expected, encouraging diners to stay longer without feeling pressured into leaving, they may be encouraged to stay for another glass of wine.

Now you know what you’ll be looking for, browse our unique decor and wide range of restaurant furniture.