Failing to keep up with the latest trends can prove to be a death knell for even the most robust of eateries. After all, customers firstly eat with their eyes rather than their mouths, and if they notice that your furniture has been out of style for years, it would be a miracle if they choose to stick around for more than a single course.
The thing is, these trends can change dramatically from time to time. Just a few years ago, it really seemed like minimalism was the name of the game, but this just doesn’t happen to be the case anymore. In this article, we are going to be breaking down some of the latest restaurant furniture trends that can help you bring your eatery into the 21st century!
We are going to start off by discussing the increased emphasis on sustainability. This is a term that gets thrown around a lot, mostly due to the enhanced importance of living sustainable lifestyles whenever and wherever possible. However, what does this mean in the context of restaurant furniture?
For starters, eco-friendly raw materials are starting to see a real renaissance. Wood is generally thought to be the least environmentally destructive material out there, since you can just grow a new tree in place of the one that was just chopped down. Now, you can take this even further by opting for recycled or repurposed wood.
This wood would have just gone to waste, but you’ll be putting it to good use in your eatery. You can use this as an excellent marketing tool, since customers would be lining up around the block to get the chance to eat at a restaurant that is taking such bold initiatives to operate more sustainably in the long run.
That said, people often assume that wood is the only eco friendly material out there. We would beg to differ. As surprising as this might seem, plastic can be an exceptionally environmentally friendly material as well! After all, there is already a significant quantity of plastic in the world. Rather than letting it end up in landfills or the ocean, it’s much more sustainable to reshape this plastic by melting it down and turning it into furniture for your restaurant.
Finally, it’s fairly likely that your furniture will be covered in fabric at least in some areas. This fabric can also be made sustainable by sourcing it ethically. Certain fabrics are more likely to biodegrade if left in the great outdoors, and you can bet on customers appreciating it if you went for the more biodegradable options.
The emphasis on sustainability is also impacting aesthetics in a multitude of ways. Organic materials are fast becoming the most popular options for furniture manufacturers, and this can significantly alter the visual appeal of your diner.
Bamboo and rattan are superb choices if you want your eco-friendly and naturalistic viewpoints to shine right through. They are some of the most sustainable materials out there, and they also have the added advantage of looking pretty nifty when you arrange them properly.
Now, not all of your choices would necessarily have to do with eco-friendliness. Visually speaking, naturalistic elements are becoming an expectation among consumers. Even if they don’t necessarily make your business more sustainable, they will send the message across through a visual medium, and that is a trend that you can’t afford to ignore right now.
Naturalism is seeping its way into restaurant furniture aesthetics like never before. People are starting to eschew industrial and minimalist vibes in favor of seating arrangements that make them feel like they are in the middle of a forest.
Roughly hewn wood, stone table tops and jagged edges are therefore rising in prominence, and you would do well to factor this in while choosing furniture for your own establishment. Try to take as much inspiration as possible from nature. This would help you see the value in having water features in certain corners, along with optimizing the furniture to enhance that organic vibe we have been talking about.
Ironically, technological innovations are also more important than ever before. It appears that the latest trends are combining naturalism with a futuristic outlook. What this means is that your furniture needs to have charging ports and potentially even tablets that customers can place their orders on. Finding the right balance between these two competing aesthetics and factors will bring you to the sweet spot that will make your restaurant come alive!
Alternatively, you can choose to go in the exact opposite direction as well. Naturalism is all well and good, but there’s nothing wrong with a bit of bold color here and there. Vibrant hues are becoming all the more popular as customers get sick and tired of the muted pastel colors that defined the 2010s. The 2020s will be the decade where colorful designs make a comeback, so you can choose to go this route if you feel like it might be a better fit!
Also, bear in mind that industrial vibes are still fairly well received, but they need to be on the rougher side of things. Distressed wood might not seem all that organic, but that doesn’t stop customers from loving it to death. Exposed brick and concrete also pair well with this aesthetic, so try to find furniture that corresponds to this if you want the industrial aesthetic to up the ante.
To summarize, the rapidly changing landscape of furniture trends has made it essential for restaurateurs to keep their eyes on what’s happening. All of the trends we have described up above look like they are set for a solid decade of prominence, but that could change at the drop of a hat and you need to be able to get with the times.
