As specialists for the pub, club, café, bistro, restaurant, hotel, conference and holiday park furniture industries, we are always keeping a look out for innovative and aesthetically pleasing ways to use furniture to create an atmosphere that is perfect for our customers. Trends in domestic interior design can often be adapted or used as inspiration for commercial premises and so we have put together some of the articles from the past year that we have enjoyed reading - and which will hopefully help to inspire your business with the next furniture project.
The remainder of this article provides you with our top reads and a summary of what we liked most about them.
Title: Not Your Grandma’s Kitchen: 17 Modern Designs for the Discerning Cook
Includes examples of how a kitchen can be made to look truly different, whatever the theme or essence of your business or home. From modular designs, to designs featuring aquariums, there are some stunning designs featured covering everything from cute and contemporary to functional and traditional.
Top tip for hospitality businesses:
If your kitchen area is on display and you decide to make it look special and exciting, expect people’s attention to be drawn to it. Whilst it’s not great if your pizza chef is shy, it will certainly add to the atmosphere and uniqueness of your establishment if they’re the kind of chef to flip pizza bases in the air or set things on fire!
Title: Eye on Interior Style: Bohemian Influences
Ever fancied a bohemian theme? Or just wondered what bohemian actually means? This blog provides some excellent examples of how to mix bold colours, patterns and styles in ways that never go out of fashion.
Top tip for hospitality businesses:
If you’re not sure whether bohemian would go down well with your clientele, try starting with accessories to transform your existing furniture or complement a staple statement piece such as a new leather sofa.
Title: Time Capsule for Sale: 1970s Modernist Property in Peebles
Do you love 70s style? If so, this article featuring a 70s ‘time capsule’ for sale in the Scottish borders will give you some excellent, retro inspiration - as well as being a treat for your eyes!
Top tip for hospitality businesses:
To achieve 70s style, you don’t necessarily have to deck out your rooms with really old furniture. The chances are it won’t be comfortable or in good condition. Instead, use new furniture that has 70s style influences and classic pieces of furniture complemented by 70s decoration.
Title: Farmhouse Chic
This whole site is fantastic for country style inspiration, but this article in particular shows a quintessentially British country pub seating/dining area. It’s a great example of how mixing new furniture like bright white chairs with comfy armchairs and traditional dark furniture can look cosy and welcoming.
Top tip for hospitality businesses:
If you’re looking to create a country pub atmosphere, mixing new and old furniture can achieve this in a far better way than starting from scratch and buying everything new. Ask yourself whether an item of furniture looks like it would fit in a country pub and if it’s a no, replace it with a new item that does.
Title: Instagram Tips for Decorating Your Living Room
Abigail Aherne’s popular blog provides top tips on how to take photos that people are more likely to interact with on Instagram. As the most popular platform for advertisers (a statement backed up by an article by The Independent) Instagram is ideal for gathering inspiration for décor, interior design and new furniture ideas.
In this article, Abigail gives readers tips like ‘go big with plants’ and taking photographs from a bird’s eye view to make a living area look cosy and welcoming.
Top tip for hospitality businesses:
If you have an area of your bar or restaurant that is cosy and relaxing, perhaps with couple of Chesterfield sofas by an open fire, Abigail’s tips can help you promote this to potential new customers using social media.
Title: 20 Hotels we’re Dying to Stay in in 2017
One thing that most of the images in this Lonny article have in common is seating. Almost every photo contains a chair, sofa or stool – whether inside or outside. This goes to show that when people are choosing where to stay or where to visit, comfort and style go hand in hand as an important desirability factor.
Top tip for hospitality businesses:
There are so many different types of chairs and sofas to choose from for your pub, bar, café, restaurant or hotel. When you’re investing in new chairs, don’t just choose according to your existing colour scheme; decide how long you want people to stay sitting comfortably for and whether the types of chairs you like will fit in with the atmosphere you’re trying to create. From traditional to modern chairs, those suitable for outside or for banqueting, whether leather, metal or wood, Trent Furniture supplies a huge range for every establishment.
Title: 7 Apps That Make Interior Design Easier
An excellent article that recommends apps to help with visualising furniture in a specific room and providing inspiration for products or colour schemes.
Top tip for hospitality businesses:
Keeping all of your ideas and project costs in one place can help to keep a renovation project on track. It’s always best to shop around for products, especially if you intend to buy in bulk.
A guide to buying new furniture for your pub, café, bar or restaurant
If you’re considering a revamp for 2017, or adding a few key pieces of furniture to freshen up your café, pub or restaurant, Trent Furniture has a huge range of products to add style and comfort to your business. View our free furniture guides for ideas or visit the Trent Furniture website to search for furniture products by industry.