Apart from the food itself, your restaurant is all about experience and atmosphere. If you don’t have something unique to offer your customers, they won’t have a reason to choose your establishment over another. The most successful restaurants are those that understand how to combine quality food, service and environment. It can be easy to feel overwhelmed with all of the choices to be made and options available to you. If you’re in the process of designing your new restaurant but don’t know where to begin, here’s 5 useful tips to get you started.
1. Start with your Brand
Interior design isn’t just about making a space appealing; it’s about creating a branded experience for your customers. Customers need an idea or theme to buy into. They need a tangible, consistent brand that speaks to the kind of food and service they can expect at your establishment. All of the design choices you make should be informed by a strong sense of brand identity. Create a brand identity by deciding what themes, ideas and concepts you want to champion in your restaurant. Are you a high-end restaurant? A family -friendly one? A date spot? A late-night lounge? Once you’ve decided on a theme or category, you need to understand how to make your brand unique and memorable.
2. Consider Color
The colors you include in a space have a drastic psychological effect on your customers. You should be aware of how colors influence thought and emotion and choose colors that are consistent with your brand. As a general rule, your space should be inviting, not invasive. Loud, bright saturated colors should be used extremely sparingly. You should, however, have enough color to create the kind of emotion you want in the space; a cold, white space generally doesn’t attract repeat customers.
3. Lighting
You have a lot of options when it comes to choosing lighting for your space. Once again, your brand identity will determine how you use lighting to accent your space. No matter what your brand looks like, there are some things you should always avoid. The first in overhead fluorescent lights. Aside from making annoying buzzing sounds, these lights don’t create an attractive environment. They make it incredibly hard to relax and create a sense of unease. Your lighting should be designed around space and function. The spaces your guests gather around should be well-lit enough for them to see and interact.
4. Consider Structure
You might have the privilege of building your restaurant from the ground up. If that’s the case, make sure you hire a quality contractor to help with the project. Building from the ground up means you have a lot of creative control in the space.
5. Think about Details
The space of the restaurant itself is just one factor to consider. Employee dress codes, menu design, cutlery and dishware will all affect the overall impact your space has. If you nail the details, you’ll create a space that’s truly unique and memorable.