Coffee is now officially Britain’s favourite beverage. Every year, more than two billion cups of coffee are served in outlets across the UK, overtaking tea in the popularity stakes. Once famed as a nation of tea drinkers, we now drink around two and a half cups of coffee for every cup of tea. We've created this guide filled with tips, ideas and inspiration on how to best furnish your café.
High street coffee chains
Many of the two billion cups are served in big high street chains such as; Starbucks, Costa and Caffè Nero. But there is a thriving independent sector, too. Last year, experts predicted a 40% rise in the number of independent outlets by 2020, and a doubling in the number of independent cafés and coffee shops. And last year research suggested that consumers are beginning to experience “brand fatigue” with the big chains, perhaps leaving the door open for more expansion in the independent sector.
So, maybe you are planning on joining them or perhaps you already have your own café, which is expanding or needs refurbishing. Whatever the case, you will need to think seriously about issues such as costs, staff and whether to lease or buy your equipment.
Some of these issues are explored in greater depth in a helpful website from the wholesale coffee bean supplier Limini, where for instance you will discover that it’s best to situate your coffee machine at a 90-degree angle to the counter: no one wants to look at a barista’s back because the coffee machine itself and the making of the coffee have become part of the experience of buying coffee and should be in view of the customer.
Coffee shop furnishing
You will also need to think about furniture. This is not as straightforward as it might seem. Café furniture is not just a functional affair – your choice of furniture will reflect and project what kind of café or coffee shop you are running, it can help you stand out from the competition and help enforce your brand and styling.
Cafés generally fall into one of four broad categories, and your choice of furniture will reflect and reinforce this:
- Trendy
- Traditional
- High Street
- Individual
Trendy coffee shops
The “trendy” café, or “hipster” outlet, should be cool and quirky, with an emphasis on authenticity by using:
- Raw wood surfaces.
- Chalkboard menus.
- A wide choice of fair-trade coffees from far-flung corners of the world.
- Suspended filament bulbs.
Traditional coffee shop
The traditional café will cater for a more mature, conservative clientele, people who want to sit at chairs and tables, rather than benches, served perhaps by uniformed staff. Tea will be served by the pot. With a delightful afternoon tea available offering a selection of scones, cakes, sandwiches and more. There may well be doilies and cake stands to compliment the overall decor.
High Street café
The high street café is a more mainstream, corporate affair. Even those high street cafés that are not part of the big chains will echo their style and their approach: smart but functional furniture, surroundings that are efficient rather than characterful.
Individual café
The individual café is a one-off, in which everything about the place – the pictures on the walls, the furniture, the decor, perhaps even the name – reflects the owner’s personality and taste. There might be a mish-mash of diverse types of furniture, but this can work well if it is done with real care and affection.
Whatever type of café you have – and perhaps yours falls into more than one category such as high street or traditional, this guide will help you through the process of choosing the right furniture. But what are the basic types of café furniture?
It might seem obvious, but it’s worth pointing out that restaurant and café furniture will differ in many respects. Restaurant customers will be staying for longer and will therefore expect tables and chairs to be larger, more substantial, more comfortable. The café is about popping in for a drink or a snack. Tables will be smaller, to accommodate more customers; chairs and stools will be more lightweight, with surfaces that are easy to clean, and comfort will be less of a priority.
Seating to suit duration of stay
Because some café customers will nip in for perhaps a few minutes, while others linger for an hour or more, it’s important to offer different kinds of seating to suit these different needs: stools and “poseur” tables for the in-and-out customers; normal-height chairs and tables for those with more time to spare; low-level tables and perhaps tub chairs for customers that are staying longer.
Your choice of furniture will also depend on whether your café is mainly serving beverages, or if there will be a more substantial food menu; it’s not easy or comfortable to eat plates of food from a small table designed only for drinks.
What are the different types of café furniture?
A side chair is simply a chair without arms. This makes it easier to move the chair around and will save space by fitting under tables if necessary when not in use. It might be made from wood or metal and be traditional or contemporary in style. Armchairs: In café furniture, this does not mean an “armchair” of the kind found in a domestic living room; it simply means a chair with arms. Again, these can be traditional or contemporary in style, in wood or metal. Armchairs will take up more space but offer customers greater comfort.
With their curved plywood forms and light, natural wood finishes, these chairs often echo the classic styles of great furniture designers such as Arne Jacobsen. They are strong, comfortable and stylish, giving a “continental” flavour to an environment.
These can be high or low. If you have a counter where customers can sit, high stools with footrests will be needed; these are often metal/chrome, with cushioned seats, though more traditional wooden styles are available. Stools can also be low cubes, cylinders or in triangular shapes; these can be useful for more informal environments, for filling awkward corners, or for children.
Café tables are generally smaller and lighter than restaurant tables. It might be wise to use a café space flexibly, rather than sticking to a rigid layout, and lighter, smaller tables will help you to achieve this, being easier to move around. As well as conventional four-legged tables, there are pedestal tables and pyramid tables – these are supported by a column, rather than legs, and with a substantial, solid base. “Poseur” tables are higher and smaller, generally big enough only for single customers or, at a push, two.
If you are using your café space for other purposes, you will probably need stacking chairs. Stacking chairs are now available in a wider range of styles than many people realise. Many stacking chairs are aluminium, or with aluminium frames, with seats perhaps in wicker or wood-effects slats, though wooden models are also available.
If you have an outdoor space, at the front of your café, or in a terrace or garden at the rear – the furniture for this space will need to be hard-wearing and weatherproof. Metal is a common choice, though today’s synthetic wickers and wood-effect finishes are also durable and withstand the weather. If your outdoor space is used only in the warmer months, it’s probably best to use stackable furniture for this space so that it can be stowed away when not in use.
Furniture trends
So, what’s new in the world of café furniture? What are the hot new trends? Well, there seems to be a move away from the raw and reclaimed wood interiors that have been popular in “hipster” establishments; these are now seen as rather dark and gloomy. And the filament/Edison lightbulb trend – also common in hipster hangouts – seems to have had its moment in the spotlight.
The biggest trend now is to choose a timeless, classic look and stick with it. Most of the furniture styles at Trent Furniture are durable, both physically and aesthetically. They will not look out of date in a few years’ time.
Here are our suggestions for furniture styles and models that would be suitable for the four main café types listed above.
Trendy café furniture
For this kind of environment, the key is “authenticity”: furniture needs to be solid, honest and as natural as possible. The trendy café aims to offer a cool, relaxed experience, which often means low tables, benches and chairs. To achieve this, a mixture of styles could be used. Trent Furniture’s Shaker coffee tables, for instance, are sturdy low tables with solid wood tops. Alternatively, Trent Furniture’s Farmhouse tables are a normal height and are made from solid oak throughout. Mixing things up is the key to this kind of environment; the aim is to avoid anything that looks in any way “corporate” or uniform.
Traditional café furniture
Here, your customers will expect, more than anything, to be comfortable. Side chairs such as Trent Furniture’s Rio or Napoli styles, made in welded steel with a padded cushion, would work here (Trent Furniture’s team of upholsterers can finish chairs in the fabric of your choice). Or you might consider using a traditional chair such as the Italia bistro chair, the Fanback armchair or the loopback side chair, and adding your own cushions.
Trent Furniture’s Farmhouse tables, in solid wood or in a Shabby Chic style, would also fit into this environment. For smaller tables, the Bentwood table would be ideal. If you are using tablecloths, the style of table is less important as it will largely be concealed, so you could choose more or less any style.
High Street café furniture
This is a relatively straightforward look to achieve. The key here is for furniture to be unobtrusive. A consistent “look” is important; across your interior, furniture should have a similar style. Trent Furniture’s Pyramid tables, in a variety of styles and finishes, are solid and stylish.
These are available in normal heights but also in lower models. The low-level versions would work well along with Tub chairs or perhaps even a sofa. For a “lighter” look to an interior, Trent’s pressed plywood chairs such as the Corsica, Remo or Zebrano could be matched with metal pyramid tables with tops in solid hardwood or light veneer. (Trent offers a choice of finishes with these tables.)
Individual café furniture
The key here is personality: these are cafés that reflect the personality of their owners. They are quirky, homely, full of detail. There might be original artworks on the walls or photographs of the neighbourhood. The crockery and cutlery might not all be from a single matching set. There will be home-made food and cakes on the menu. It’s almost like a home-from-home. So, the furniture will need to be quirky and original.
This means mixing things up: using a mixture of second-hand and reclaimed pieces alongside new items. Trent Furniture’s Crossback, Loopback or Fanback side chairs would fit in well in this kind of scheme, with their classic curvy designs. Farmhouse tables, in particular the Shabby Chic model, would also work well here.
Coffee with a Theme
Finally, there has been another development in the world of cafés that is worth mentioning: themed cafés. For instance, Bethnal Green in east London saw the launch in 2014 of London’s first “cat café”, Lady Dinah’s Cat Emporium. This truly unique establishment serves drinks and snacks in premises where a multitude of the owner’s cats run free.
Its owner, Lauren Pears, revealed in an interview how she had used crowdfunding to help set up her café. Much of the furniture and many of the fixtures and fittings in her Emporium are designed with the comfort of the cats in mind as much as the customers’.
Also launched in London in 2014 was Draughts, a café in Hackney, east London, which has a library of 600 board games. Located under a railway arch and funded in part by a Kickstarter campaign, Draughts is furnished with simple chairs and tables, a few higher poseur tables and stools, and some button leather armchairs and sofas. Alcohol and food are also served here.
Another “themed” café idea that has been popular for some years is the American diner, and Trent Furniture has several items available that would be ideal: diner benches, stools, tables and chairs.
For more ideas about how to give your café individuality and personality, Pinterest is a treasure-trove of suggestions – not just for furniture, but also lighting and decor.
Just One More Thing...
Don’t forget that the hospitality business is much friendlier towards families and children than it used to be. So: make sure you have comfortable, supportive chairs with arms. And ensure that you have cushions and high chairs for the little ones. They might even be your customers of the future.