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Why not take a seat this winter and play some traditional British pub games? As the nights draw in, there’s nothing better than taking a comfortable seat and playing a game with friends. British pub games are proudly embedded in history and we have listed our top four favourites to give you some inspiration.

Table-top pub games make for a sociable, lively atmosphere and it is important to provide the best comfortable seating for your guests to sit back and relax. As we relive some old-school British pub games, we have suggested some of our fantastic comfortable furniture that gives that extra bit of comfort and style.  

Backgammon

Tracing back to over 5,000 years ago, Backgammon is one of Britain’s oldest pub board games. The aim of the game is for players to move all of their fifteen checkers off the board whilst trying to block their opponent’s checkers. This historic game spans back to Ancient Egypt and is still popular today as a table-top game in pubs across Britain. 

Backgammon is one of Britain’s most famous board games, and one of our compact armchairs makes the perfect seat for this game. Our Portobello Autumn Tub Chair is a popular choice as a versatile and stylish addition to your pub seating. With its tartan-style fabric and strong hardwood frame, this chair is traditional and comfortable, making the perfect seat for this traditional pub game.

Marbles

Marbles is another one of Britain’s most traditional pub games, with evidence of its use in Roman Britain. To win, players can work individually or as teams to hit their marbles inside a circle. For centuries, Marbles has brought people together as a sociable, classic pub game.

With this in mind, you might need to accommodate several people around a table to play this classic game, and our comfortable chair selection might provide the perfect solution. Our Regent Chair in Brown Faux is available in dark or light finishes and has a solid hardwood frame, making an ideal comfortable option without taking up too much space. To add some variation and a pop of colour to your table, our Regent Chair is also available in our tartan Autumn.  

Three Men's Morris

Dating back to 1440 B.C, Three Mens’ Morris is an ancient game better known by pub-goers as ‘Noughts and Crosses’ or ‘Tic Tac Toe’. Using a grid of 9, the player who gets three of their counters in a row wins. Each player has three pieces and players can win using one of 3 horizontal lines, 3 vertical lines and 2 diagonal lines.

For this classic two-player game, a large traditional armchair makes the perfect seat. Our Madison Armchair is made of high-quality leather for comfort and style and is versatile as a one, two or three-seater.

Dominoes

The final popular traditional pub game on our list is Dominos. Originating from the 11th century, this game involves matching sets of rectangular dotted white tiles. It is a classic logic game which has been played as a table-top game across pubs in Britain for years. 

Perhaps your guests want to play dominos at a high table: in which case, our high-top bar stools provide the perfect seats. Our tall square back bar stools are available with the options of padding and upholstery to suit your colour scheme. Having different levels of tables and chairs on your premises provides a more interesting and eye-catching interior style, so why not encourage your guests to enjoy a game of dominoes whilst seated at their bar stool?

Trent Furniture are the experts in all thing’s pub furniture, from dining chairs and tables to sofas and outdoor furniture. With more than 60 years of experience in the industry, you can trust in us to provide high-quality, long-lasting and fire-retardant contract furniture for your pub, restaurant, café or bar. To find out more about our range of products, browse our site or get in touch on 0116 2989 335.

If you’re planning to open a fast food business or want to refit your existing space, there’s plenty to think about when it comes to furnishing. We’ve put together a guide to choosing the best styles and materials for your fast food restaurant.

Low maintenance and easy to clean furniture

Fast food restaurants rely on a speedy turnaround of customers, and this means cleaning surfaces and seating between each group. To keep this process as easy and efficient as possible, you should opt for styles and materials which can be cleaned quickly and require no special treatment or cleaning agents.

The best picks for this are metal and laminated wood furniture as they can be wiped down easily. If you want to add cushioning to your seating, make sure this is also wipe clean and stain resistant – faux leather is the perfect choice and Trent Furniture offers faux leather upholstery in a range of colours.

Furniture that matches your brand

Colour schemes and style play a big part in fast food restaurants; think of the yellow McDonalds arches, Starbucks green mermaid and KFC’s red styling to name a few. If you have a colour scheme, try and pick pieces that fit with this to reinforce your brand in the customer’s mind. If you have a particular style, choose pieces that have this aesthetic - for example if you run an American style fast food restaurant, opt for vinyl, booths and metal bar stools.

Compact furniture designs

Maximizing space is incredibly important in a fast food restaurant as it allows you to seat more customers and increase turnaround. You don’t need to sacrifice style or comfort though – simply choose more compact pieces of furniture.

Many fast food also outlets now feature communal seating areas, which allow you to seat more patrons without adding more table sets which can make the space feel overcrowded.

The right level of comfort

Fast food restaurants rely on a fast turnaround of customers to maximise profits. This is why fast-food seating may not be the most comfortable if you sit on it for too long. The trick is to strike the perfect balance. To achieve this, choose furniture which is inviting and comfortable for shorter periods (providing an instant gratification that many of us seek in a fast food restaurant), but no so inviting that it encourages customers to lounge for hours.

Our top fast food furniture picks

Tables

We recommend choosing pieces that offer excellent stability and are hard wearing; a fast food restaurant is designed for heavy footfall after all! Our Rectangular Chrome Pyramid Table does just that and it comes in a range of easy to wipe wooden finishes. If you want to choose a table with a pop of colour, laminate tables look great and are easy to maintain – our Chrome Pyramid American Diner Tables are ideal.

Chairs

Compact is key when it comes to fast food seating. Avoid bulky, heavy pieces and opt for something like our Small Dakota Chrome Bar Stool. Remember to ensure your seating can be fully and easily wiped down.

Booths

If you want to seat larger groups adding booth style seating like our American Diner Bench to your restaurant is a great option. These generally come with a faux leather finish which is easy to wipe down, making them especially good seating options for families with children.

Quality furniture for fast food restaurants

Trent Furniture offers a wide range of affordable, high-quality restaurant furniture. To find out more, please call us on 0116 4736 841 or fill in our contact form.

In many parts of Europe, the act of visiting a coffee shop is more of a ritual than a quick trip to get that caffeine buzz. Whether it is starting the day with a cappuccino in Italy or soaking up the Parisian sun sitting outside with an afternoon espresso, many European’s take their coffee seriously.

We’ve taken a look at the café culture of 3 destinations in Europe and how you can achieve a similar feel in your own café or coffee shop.

Italian Coffee Culture

Italians favour the faster approach to coffee, often standing or sitting at the counter to enjoy their morning brew accompanied by a pastry or biscuit before heading off to start their day. There is also a tendency in Italy to only drink milk-based coffee like cappuccino or latte during the morning and switching to espresso throughout the rest of the day.

To achieve this bar style in your café, opt for high tables paired with stools or even add high seating to your counter if room allows. Trent Furniture offers a range of stools perfect for this, including the aptly named Tall Italia Bistro Stool!

Swedish Coffee Culture

Swedes enjoy the tradition of fika, a break where they enjoy coffee often paired with pastries, buns and other sweet treats. Fika is generally enjoyed mid-morning and/or mid-afternoon and is seen as precious time to slow down and socialise with colleagues, friends or family. Whilst fika is commonly associated with the workplace, it can really be enjoyed anywhere!

If you want to encourage your customers to slow down to enjoy a coffee and a catchup with friends, try bringing a cosy atmosphere to your coffee shop. Lower lighting, relaxed music and comfy furniture are great ways to achieve this. Our Portobello Brown Faux Tub Chair beckons you to sink into it and relax!

French Coffee Culture

The French café culture is all about occupying a seat in the sun outside of your favourite café and enjoying a coffee slowly, whilst people watching and socialising. Often coffee is enjoyed with fresh French pastries (the croissant being one of the most popular of course!)

French café culture has existed for centuries, and for good reason. If you want to offer your customers an experience to rival the cafes of Paris, providing outdoor café furniture is the way to go. For this we recommend you opt for clusters of table and chair sets in rattan or metal as they will weather well outdoors. If you don’t have any outside space, you can always create similar feel indoors with elegant metal chairs like the Rio Black Side Chair or Napoli Black Side Chair.

Ultimately, European café culture is all about the experience of taking a moment to enjoy incredible coffee and delicious treats in a beautiful café setting. Encourage your customers to ditch the takeout cup and spend time in your establishment by creating a welcoming and comfortable spot for them to take a much-needed coffee break in our fast-paced world.

Where to buy furniture in the European Coffee Culture style

For top-quality durable furniture with designs customers will love, check out Trent Furniture's full range of café furniture all available to order online today.

While many bars and restaurants are choosing to opt for a more sleek and modern interior these days, featuring clean lines and understated colour schemes, retro and vintage furniture is silently making a comeback. From vintage 1920s inspired tearooms to rock & roll themed bars reminiscent of the swinging sixties, increasing numbers of venues are bringing back the trends of years gone by with great success.

Retro Furniture Trends

Forget the less is more approach used in today’s minimalist interior trends; when it comes to retro design, more is definitely more, with bold colours, big prints and oversized furniture being key to achieving the iconic looks synonymous with the 60s, 70s and 80s.

When choosing your retro furniture, velvet and suede upholstery on chairs, benches and sofas offers both classic style and comfort. Our Munich chair and Cologne chair are ideal for retro restaurants, cafes and bars, and look great together as well as combined with other styles of furniture. Wood or laminate tables and bars complete the retro look nicely and, with proper maintenance, can stay looking their best for years to come.

To take your interior design to the next level, prints, patterned rugs and neon signs work perfectly with the retro furniture. When finishing off the look, bright, clashing paint colours such as blues and oranges or bold patterned wallpaper will tie everything together.

Vintage Furniture Trends

Vintage and shabby chic furniture might make you think of your grandma’s living room, but when done properly it can create a simple but effective interior for any restaurant or café. A mix of dark woods and light pastels are perfect for achieving the vintage effect, as well as artfully weathered (but not damaged) furniture.

Our York cross-back chair in vintage oak is ideal for furnishing a more traditional venue, providing a rustic and classic look that will perfectly complement your vintage interior. Supplied with either a standard wood seat or a padded seat available in a wide selection of fabrics, these chairs are also stackable making them not only stylish but also versatile for use in any restaurant.

For the perfect vintage feel, try mixing and matching different furniture pieces or colours to create a more relaxed and less intentionally styled space. Subdued wall colours such as pale greens and blues will help to make the furniture the star of the show, while timely décor like paintings, embroidery and vintage knick-knacks make for a great final touch.

A more subtle approach

Retro and vintage restaurant furniture doesn’t only work well in themed venues. Using retro furniture within an otherwise modern interior, contrasting suede chairs or bold geometric patterns and animal prints alongside plain white walls and large glass windows can create a truly eye-catching design that could set you apart from other establishments.

Other ways to add just a hint of retro and vintage style include wicker furniture, monochrome flooring, wood panelling and unusual lighting fixtures.

Retro and Vintage Furniture at Trent Furniture

At Trent Furniture, our wide range of stock includes chairs, tables, stools and sofas for all manner of restaurant and pub interiors. Whether you are looking for shabby chic designs or classic American diner-style furniture, we are sure to have the perfect retro or vintage products to suit your needs. And, thanks to our range of contract furniture, you can ensure your furniture is durable and sturdy enough for daily use, as well as fire-retardant.

With more than 50 years of experience, we are the experts in all things furniture. Our friendly sales team are always on hand to answer any queries or questions about our products, just get in touch on 0116 4735 930 or fill in our contact form.

The placement of furniture has always been a key concern in pubs and restaurants as owners strive to create the perfect balance of using the available space to maximise covers while creating a comfortable and welcoming atmosphere for customers. Now that the hospitality industry is facing the new challenge of creating Covid-secure environments, it’s more important than ever to give careful consideration to the placement of furniture in your bar or restaurant.

The good news is there are plenty of ways to strike the right balance of style and practicality for your hospitality setting. Here’s how…

Planning is everything

If you are starting from scratch, you can plan the perfect room to your exact requirements using online software like Room Sketcher. However, if you don’t have the luxury of a clean slate you can still make the most of your space by moving furniture around and adding pieces as requirements change. Again, online tools will give you an idea what your furniture will look like without you having to physically move it around. This kind of software will also help you make smart choices when buying new armchairs, sofas, tables and other furniture.

First impressions count

When a customer walks into your pub or restaurant, they need to feel relaxed and welcome. Functional furniture like wooden bar stools and chairs will always be necessary in pubs, but it’s always a great idea to add a cosy feel to areas such as your entrance with softer furnishings like sofas and comfy armchairs. Trent’s Portobello Cappuccino Tub Chair, with its luxury feel and stylish checked pattern in neutral tones to match any décor scheme, is an attractive and cost effective way to create a convivial atmosphere to entice customers into your space.

A matter of proportion

Most pubs and bars will have different types of furniture for different parts of the space. For example, high bar stools at the bar, poseur tables with high stools near walls, armchairs at the fireside and low stools and tables in nooks and crannies. However, mixing furniture proportions only works in clearly defined zones; it’s important for furniture in the same area to be of a similar height and width to create a comfortable space for socialising.

For example, if you are making a focal point of two sofas facing each other across a low table, it’s vital to make sure they are a similar height and width. Trent’s stylish and functional brown leather Manhattan Sofa, pictured below, is a great choice for comfort, durability and versatility in any bar, pub or hotel lobby.

A moveable feast

Now more than ever, pubs and restaurants need to be able to reconfigure their layouts to balance their own needs with government regulations. Due to this, relatively lightweight, stackable club furniture is an excellent choice for your restaurant or bar.  Trent has a huge range of this kind of stylish, versatile furniture that ensures a change of layout is never a chore. 

Functional furniture

It’s a fact of life that constant use by lots of people means that pub and bar furniture will always be prone to wear and tear. That’s why when considering what looks good and where, it’s crucial to keep quality and durability in mind. All Trent’s contract grade furniture is designed to last the distance, providing great quality as well as timeless style as you adapt it to your changing requirements over the years.

Quality furniture for the hospitality trade

Whether you’re designing a pub or restaurant from scratch or updating your current space, you will find the furniture you are looking for at Trent Furniture. To find out more, please call us on 0116 4736 841 or fill in our contact form.