Whether you are opening a new restaurant, bar, café or club, or renovating your space, the choice of furniture is an important decision to make.
Through your furniture search, you might have come across commercial and domestic furniture and wonder what exactly the difference is. There’s no questioning that you want your establishment to look as good as possible, but with potentially tight budgets, some buyers have the tendency to go for the cheaper options of domestic furniture when in the long run this isn’t the best decision.
Before you make your decision, here are the reasons why commercial grade furniture is needed over domestic furniture:
What is commercial furniture?
Put simply, commercial (or contract) furniture is fit for the job. Commercial furniture goes beyond the appearance and consideration is given to what the item will be used for on a daily basis. As such, they are put through extensive testing for safety, flammability, strength and durability, stability, and fabric and foam performance.
Why is it necessary for commercial environments to use contract furniture?
Fire safety
It is a legal requirement that furniture used in a commercial environment meets strict UK fire regulations. Whilst domestic furniture must only meet a couple of fire standards, commercial requirements are much more stringent.
Contract furniture is manufactured to a high standard and uses material that withstands tough conditions, helping them to pass fire safety standards such as CRIB5. A certificate must be produced by an establishment when requested by a fire safety officer. If your establishment is found to be using furniture that doesn’t adhere to these regulations, penalties could be enforced.
At Trent Furniture, all of our chairs are made using fire retardant high-density foam and upholstery fabrics are all CRIB5 so you can be confident knowing your chairs meet UK requirements.
Durability
Even the most expensive piece of domestic furniture isn’t built to withstand the amount of use in a commercial environment. In a restaurant or bar, the furniture is likely to be used non-stop throughout the day, week after week. This means that durability and longevity and vital in the buying process.
Naturally, customers don’t treat furniture the same as they would their own; they might drag chairs and mark tables. Domestic furniture simply isn’t made for this type of use. This is why those who persist with domestic furniture have to attend to more furniture breakages and repairs.
Money saving
You may be thinking that contract furniture is expensive and any savings that can be made when refurnishing your establishment are welcomed. However, whilst the initial investment for contract furniture is more expensive, the view is that it is just that: an investment.
The furniture is more suited to commercial environments and as such has a longer lifespan than domestic grade alternatives. This means that there is no need to budget for new furniture or repairs in the years that follow. In the long term, commercial furniture offers better value.
Commercial furniture supplier
Trent Furniture is a commercial furniture supplier for restaurants, bars, cafes, hotels, clubs and much more. We stock a wide range of affordable quality contract chairs, tables and furniture packages. At Trent Furniture we have both the experience and range to offer you the very best selection of furniture for your individual needs.