According to Eater.com, one of the big restaurant design trends in the USA is to make your bar or restaurant look a little bit like a part of your family home. The site calls it “Rec Room Chic”.
“Oddly enough, your dad’s basement lair seems to be the inspiration for many of the season’s big new dining rooms. It’s a masculine look that’s loose and inviting, one that makes new restaurants feel like they’ve already been around for a while,” says a spokesman for the site.
If this look is for you, use dark tones, wood panelling, exposed brick and low ceilings. This will help recreate the comfortable place that Dad gets away to to crack open a beer and watch the game.
Don’t choose anything too bright since cellars are typically dark and sometimes mysterious places. Greens, browns, dark cherry, burgundy and navy blue tones work best for the vinyl booths and chairs.
Since we tend to put what’s “old” down in the basement; vintage décor, including paintings, posters, and photographs would be a good addition. Of course, the type depends largely on the audience that you are catering to. For a sports bar, vintage memorabilia like paintings of old stadiums, signed photos and jerseys of now retired players, and championship banners would all be ideal additions. Maybe add a pool table or darts to enhance the atmosphere. If you are catering to a crowd that is interested in theatre and the arts you could add promotional movie posters of the classics, like “Casablanca” and “Gone with the Wind”.
At Trent Furniture we have a wide range of furniture that will work for this look – just ask us for details or samples.