Perhaps the biggest challenge that new and aspiring restaurateurs might face in their pursuit of success is the fact that there is no single best answer to the questions they might be asking. Considerations like what type of furniture color they should go for might seem straightforward, but this is a subjective matter so it depends largely on how you want your restaurant to look and the type of experience you’re looking to provide your patrons with.
Since this is not a decision that you can make based on qualitative data, it might be useful to understand the effect of various colors of restaurant furniture so that you can better understand which options would be suitable for you. If you are going for metal furniture, your color options are a bit less diverse because metal furniture usually comes in shades that are one extreme of the color spectrum or the other. That means that your furniture would be some shade of white, gray, or black, so by going for metal you can make your options very minimal which would make the decision easier for you.
However, if you feel like metal furniture would not serve your restaurant’s target market well enough, you should move beyond it by exploring wooden furniture options. This results in a veritable explosion of new choices which can make matters decidedly more confusing, but there is no need to worry because each shade has a proven impact that we will be getting into.
Generally speaking, wooden furniture comes in shades that resemble the color of the trees they come from. Hence, you would likely find wood-based options that come in shades of brown. Darker brown hues are famous for making restaurants seem classier. That has a lot to do with the associations that people make with such shades. Oak furniture is highly durable, and that has led many to associate longevity and permanence with furniture that uses shades that are similar to it namely dark to medium brown.
If you want to start a restaurant that offers haute cuisine, dark brown furniture would be your best bet. Lighter shades usually offer a more casual vibe that is better suited to cafes and eateries that are designed for lunch menus instead of extended dining sessions for evening meals. Fancy restaurants that offer expensive entrees are usually reserved for customers that are looking for a high-end dinner. That’s why dark wood tones are truly beneficial because they can clearly convey the premium vibe that you want people to connect with your eatery.
On the other hand, lighter tones that are reminiscent of textured grey patterns can also be a viable alternative for restaurants that aren’t trying to appeal to the upper-class market. Many eateries are trying not to be so formidable and entertaining, and they do so by using colors that are not usually associated with the upper classes which makes gray a popular choice for restaurants in this category.
Another thing to consider is what kind of lighting your restaurant would be offering. If you mainly intend to serve diners during the evening when there is little to no natural light, you would likely turn incandescent bulbs on which would give off a yellow glow that is similar to the middle stage of a sunset. Dark wood tables and chairs look beautiful in such lights, so it’s clear that that is the option you should go for in situations where you would be mainly relying on artificial light sources.
That said, many restaurants prefer to maximize their use of natural sunlight because of the sunny ambiance this can create. Eating a light meal with the light of the sun is a great way to stay healthy, and most people that are looking for a solid lunch option wouldn’t want to be cooped up in a cramped space that doesn’t give them enough sun. Since you would want to provide their required dose of solar light, you need to prioritize buying furniture that would look good enough in this kind of lighting.
Furniture that uses dark wood tones can work well enough when exposed to sunlight, but shades of cream, grey, and off-white might be even better. A great idea would be to buy two sets of furniture. One of these can be used during the lunch hours, and you can replace them with heavier and darker toned tables and chairs when your restaurant starts shifting to the dinner menu.
Don’t take this to mean that these are the only color options you can look into, though. These are just some of the popular variants that restaurant owners have been shown to prefer. Tables come in a variety of different colors, and you can choose black, red, or really anything else. Opting for chipboard tables with vinyl tops allows you to branch out of this dark to light dichotomy, enabling you to go for much brighter colors that can be particularly great for restaurants that are targeting children and their parents.
Whatever choice you make in this regard, just keep in mind that it is an important one. Even if your furniture is extremely comfortable and aesthetically pleasing, a lack of focus on its color patterns can make it less effective. Different colors can have surprisingly distinct impacts on how your customers would perceive your indoor spaces. Darker tones can constrict the space and make it seem more confined which is useful for larger locations. Lighter tones are great for smaller locations because they can increase the perception of space and make your restaurant look a lot roomier than it actually is. A combination of the two would work nicely in most cases.
