6 Tips for Designing Your Restaurant Interior

If you’ve found the perfect spot for your restaurant, it’s now time to roll up your sleeves and start designing your place in ways that’ll make your establishment stand out from your competitors. Let’s face it! It’s not just about food now. A good restaurant is not just a place to dine anymore, people come here to relax, connect and have a luxurious time.

Your restaurant interior should be customer oriented, something that agrees with the functional needs of the customer as well as something that’s aesthetically pleasing. Good decor and architecture are one of the most effective ways of marketing your food. Come up with a theme that compliments the food you serve and create an ambience that stands out. Your goal here should be to enrich your customer’s dining experience and make it memorable so that not only do they keep coming back, but gladly recommend to friends and family. Looking for affordable restaurant kitchen maintenance in Saudi Arabia? Get it through Raqtan.

Your staff can only do enough to make good food and good customer service happen but your restaurant’s environment is what will make your guests feel comfortable. Here are six interior designing tips that can make your business reach its full potential.

Style/Concept

The first step, when it comes to designing your restaurant interior, is determining a concept. Is your restaurant going to appear as trendy and modern? Or are you looking for a more intimate style? Is it going to be a fast-casual one? Or are you looking for something formal? Will your restaurant serve food from a specific type of cuisine? Because a cuisine from a foreign country combined with its unique atmosphere is bound to make you stand out.

Establish a vision for your brand. This might sound like something you already know but the fact is, most restaurant managements never seem to come up with something definite in mind. Aim to create the perfect balance between a unique inspiration and a typical restaurant setting. People are always looking for something new. Get creative and go crazy. Restaurants with themes like airplanes, cruise, tree-house, rainforest, jungle, Halloween or robots are bound to attract customers.

Once you have a good idea of the style you’d like to have, everything else becomes so much more easier. Everything that you’ll now buy such as furniture, lighting, decor, staff uniforms, as well as the music you play, will add up to the overall atmosphere of your restaurant.

Layout/Seating

Having a nice layout or a good floor plan is the next step in any interior designing. Your layout should enable an organized circulation of staff and customers without continuously getting in each other’s way.

Your seating arrangement depends not only on the amount of space you have but also on the theme you want to create for your customers. Your goal here is to pack in enough customers for good profit all the while making your customers feel at ease. Fast casual restaurants tend to focus more on seating capacity whereas fine dining restaurants emphasize on creating ambiance. So if your restaurant is going to be fast-casual, the customer won’t bother sitting closer to other people or standing in lines even. But if you’re looking for an intimate experience for your guests, you’ll need to keep your seating units further apart from each other to let people have private conversations.

Do your research and also determine the right blend of tables that you’ll need. Many restaurants place a variety of 2, 4 and 6 top tables. Usually, 6 top kinds are placed in family restaurants whereas more 2 tops are needed in places like pubs, bars, and casuals. Pay attention to the needs of every customer, such as privacy for couples, open areas for family and private corners for business meetings. Whatever you choose, make sure your seating is comfortable, accessible and practical.

If you want to maximize seating, focus on tables and chair designs also. Some designs are more accommodating. You can also change or adjust the position of your counter to improve space benefits.

Lighting

Lighting is the most underestimated thing in a restaurant’s interior. A variety of lights are available for commercial purposes and each presents a different atmosphere. Lighting creates that mood and sets an ambience in the restaurant, ultimately contributing to the foundation of customer experience.

So what are trying to create here?  Lighting can either be used to highlight spaces, draw attention to some details or make some cozy corners. A bright neutral lighting will make the place look light and airy whereas a pendant light hanging at certain individual tables will appeal as a romantic dining area. The right kind of lighting can beautify furniture, hide flaws and boost your customer’s overall dining experience.

Lighting also tends to be the first thing to attract a passing-by potential customer into your restaurant. Incorporating bright eye-catching lights can hook a passerby. It is highly recommended to get help from a lighting consultant if you don’t have experience with lighting layouts.

Decor

Your concept also decides the kind of decor you get. Elegant decor can boost the general theme of your restaurant and add to the atmosphere. A good color theme represents luxury interior designing. Your restaurant theme should be in line with the colors you choose. Family restaurants are usually designed in pastel colors whereas pubs and bars look good in vibrant, bright hues. For example, if you’ve decided on a historic London theme, including some distinct historic paintings, relevant art, and vintage furniture will compliment the theme pretty well.

Get creative and try unique ideas like putting gigantic artwork on walls. Graffiti is another cheap way to create unique decor patterns. You can also try some water features. Whatever you choose, do it wisely, keeping in mind that it compliments the feel of the restaurant.

Heating and Ventilation

A very important thing to consider for any restaurant is its HVAC. Kitchens release a lot of heat, smoke, and smell that can interfere with your restaurants ambience. To avoid this, it’s not only crucial that your commercial cooking range has good ventilation but also that the air-conditioning and ventilation of your seating area is in good condition and well maintained at all times.

Providing comfort to your customers has to be every restaurants first priority. A non-air conditioned seating area will drive your customers out especially in summer. Yes, it’s expensive but improper ventilation and air conditioning can cost you way more than that in the long-term.

Music

Music also defines your restaurants appearance. It should compliment the style, menu and the decor of your restaurant as it tends to have a significant effect on customers. Studies show that not only does background music make happier employees but it also boosts the image of a restaurant and increases the customer’s appetite. If you have a big dining room that tends to stay a little empty at times, then background music is a must for you.

Experts suggest that rock music can raise appetite and also make you eat faster and empty tables quickly whereas classical, soft and symphonic music increases the desire for refined and sophisticated foods.

Try getting live entertainment in your restaurant. Although it tends to be expensive, it creates a luxurious ambience that might just give you the edge. You can also feature live music on weekends or special nights if you’re on a tight budget. Radio is another cheaper option for casual restaurants. If you’re going to use CDs or a playlist, just make sure they are not repetitious.