Coffee Shop Seating Ideas: Cafe Interior Design & Layout Tips

Eating out is increasingly becoming more common in the era where our schedules are very busy. As we work longer hours, we are finding ourselves to have less time to eat lunch or dinner at home. Occasionally, there are times when we willingly decide to eat out at our favorite restaurant or at a new venue that recently opened up in the community. Cafes and coffee houses are two of the world’s most popular dining venues. Many people, however, often confuse cafes with coffee houses but the concept of interior design is very similar. Knowing the difference between a café and a coffee shop will help you understand which design idea works best for your venue.

Café is a type of dining venue, similar to that of a restaurant but with an enclosed serving place. Cafes usually have an outdoor section allowing customers to enjoy their coffee or midday snacks out in the open. Café is derived from coffee thus the venue focuses on the management of serving a variety of coffees to customers. Cafes in the USA, however, are informal restaurants where hamburgers, fries, salads and sandwiches are largely served. They are popular locations for business meetings, social events, family affairs, etc. Typically speaking, a café furniture and interior design aims to emit a natural vibe in which owners want customers to feel. As such wood cafe chairs, small tables and bar stools are preferable choices that they feel highlight their café design the best. Many cafes also have a patio with relevant furnishings for customers who prefer to dine outdoors when the weather permits.

A coffee shop is a basically a café that serves coffee, a variety of coffee related beverages along with light refreshments. The menu also includes iced coffee and iced tea. It is an informal restaurant that is normally located at a hotel or in a department store. A coffee shop can range from an owner-operated small business to a multinational corporation such as Starbucks. From both a business and cultural perspective, coffee shops serve as locations for social interaction where patrons can engage with others, read, write, study, entertain each other or pass time. The décor usually resembles that of a bookstore displaying pictures of various artworks on the walls. A coffee shop interior design is similar to one as of a café but many of them are adapting to the industrial design and the metal/wood combination in restaurant furniture is trending.

A café or a coffee shop interior design is not always about achieving the right look for your décor. Nor is it about serving the best coffee in town for that matter. It’s primarily about creating an experience for patrons that doesn’t only vociferate about the food you serve them. Your venue should be a place where guests feel comfortable and relaxed which can boost your brand. All it can take is some creativity as well as some professional and personal insight to make you stand out and promote consumer loyalty. However, people working in the coffee industry can feel perplexed about the design for their environment in terms of finding the elements that showcase their business the best. Taking a step back to look at the business as a whole and see what the venue to deliver on all fronts needs can help you decide which interior design works best as well as creating a brand.

A successful coffee shop and/or a café will integrate everything the brand represents into a three dimensional space. The venue’s interior, customer service and product are all brought to life through innovative graphics and branding. Efficient operations and a powerful identity can work together to create something even bigger depending on how high you aim. All factors need to work harmoniously and if any of them don’t, your business could suffer. Coffee house or café design ideas should include goals and strategies to achieve them which will eventually help you fashion a brand experience for your customers.

Graphics effectively communicate the provenance of the brand and the food you serve. All the care and attention that goes into the food you prepare and serve gets noticed by customers. This is fundamental to educating them about your business. Every point in the customer’s dining experience should be concentrated on spotlighting the service and the specialties you serve. Helping them understand the craft of great food will encourage them to try new things that you intend to feature in your menu. Hence, the design and seating layout plan for the entire environment should take center stage with an excellent show performance of customer service which should end with a round of applause from the audience – your customers.