Wooden cafe furniture has been the go-to option for many years, and not without good reason, as it combines the visual appeal of natural materials with a familiar general style, and even a familiar sensation for customers as they take a seat on a typical wooden cafe chair.
But modern cafe furniture can offer even more versatility, with realistic woodgrain effects on chairs and tables made from real wood, or from laminates, or from polymers into which the pattern of the grain is printed, and each has its own advantages.
Real wooden cafe furniture is the most traditional option and can include the types of patterns you might expect to see on pub furniture too, for example spindleback and fiddleback chairs, or bentwood furniture where straight rods of wood have been physically bent to create curves.
Laminates combine this visual aesthetic with the enhanced performance of having a different material hidden away on the inside, for example if you want a table top made of a single solid piece of material, rather than individual timber slats that have been joined together.
And if you don't necessarily need actual wood in solid or laminate form, you can get the same visual effect with artificial materials instead, and much of this kind of cafe furniture is more lightweight and easier to move or stack, as well as being more resistant to liquid spills or rainwater if placed outside.
If you do have an outdoor terrace or seating area, choosing this type of bistro furniture is especially useful not only in rainy conditions, but also to protect against wind.
By having a table top made of strong but lightweight manmade materials, it is easier to add weight to the base of the table, lowering its centre of gravity and making it much less likely to blow over in a sudden gust - ideal for pedestal designs where the table's support is a single central leg rather than one at each corner.
In every respect, real and artificial wooden cafe furniture continues to serve every purpose asked of it, making it no surprise that we see it day in, day out in cafes, bistros and tea rooms nationwide and beyond.