In this tech savvy age, a café is not simply a place for coffee or hanging out, it is much more. From being an Instagram-worthy haunt to a co-working space, the definition of a café is abundantly flexible these days. If you were to ask what has led to this change? The simple answer is functionality. This is our first essential element to design café interiors – answering what function you want the interiors to serve. The other two key elements are location and outer view. The location plays a huge role in helping you decide the overall theme for your café, is it a walk thru joint or a relaxed shop? The outer view is as important as location, it helps you determine how well your café and its theme fit in with the surroundings.
We bring you the top 10 ideas for café interiors to discover just the right interplay between functionality, location, and outer view.
- Theme-based interiors (such as a book café, or a music café)
Are you seeking to open a café in the art district of your city or among the high rises where your clientele would be office goers? Having a theme is key to creating the perfect interiors. It also helps you play up the intensity of our three elements. For instance, the artists would prefer a more laid back relaxed vibe with paintings and books adorning the walls while a typical office goer may simply want free Wi-Fi and ample charge points. Thematic interiors speak best to your target consumer profile.
Image : Cafe with a clear theme around reading and work
- A Parisian style café
If you were to imagine Paris, without a doubt you will think of small cafes with pavement tables laid out in the streets across the city. As the saying goes, old is gold, Parisian interiors can never fail to entice customers. Why? They offer variety of seating, both indoor and outdoor and a lot of functionality, say if someone wants to grab a quick coffee or if someone wants to spend time looking at people passing by. A Parisian theme speaks tradition and elegance like no other.
Image : A French bistro
- Retro diner type interiors
Talking of old school, let’s go across the Atlantic to the United States. Those American streets brought to life diners with individual booths and breakfast bars. A perfect balance of functionality and outer view, diner style cafes with huge windows offer privacy to customers yet providing them a good view of the street. These interiors are a classic and cannot go wrong with the new remote workforce that wants just the right amount of privacy in a relaxed environment.
Image : Retro look with a heavy wood theme
- Minimal interiors with neutral colors
From stuffy cubicles to open floor plans, the offices transformed to encourage more collaboration. Designing café interiors on a similar theme with open layouts, sharing tables, and earthy colors fits what the Millennial generation seeks. The minimal interior is high on functionality and speaks of sustenance.
Image : Minimalistic and elegant cafeteria
- Industrial décor
Exposed architecture such as brick walls, beams, unfinished paint jobs, and weathered furniture, grant a rustic feel and a laid-back character to the interiors. Industrial décor is also versatile, you can add a plethora of quirky items to make it look like a work of art in progress. Monochromatic style with earthy accents is right at home in industrial décor.
Image : Industrial style furniture
- Upmarket chic
Matching the vibe of a scintillating city lifestyle, making a chic style statement with your café interiors will surely help you attract the right customers. A playground for nude colors and material, upmarket chic interiors speak elegance and poise. A blend of classic and contemporary furniture, with just a touch of gold, is a fool-proof way of making the interiors look glamorous.
Image : Premium upmarket restaurant furniture
- Green café/Garden café
A garden-like ambience and ample natural lighting can be the heroes for a garden theme café. A much-needed respite in cities, a green space naturally attracts customers. And when they get to lounge among fresh smells and get some time off the screens, the café is a hit. Planters and green walls will add a tropical twist to any interior setting, and automatically create a positive vibe.
Image : Garden cafeteria
- Bring the outdoors in
Much like the garden café interiors, there are elements from the outdoors that can accentuate your café interiors. Think of a terrace café with plants and rattan furniture and a whole lot of natural material such as uncut stone, marble, etc. A feeling of being outdoors while enjoying a great cup of coffee could transport your customers to a countryside. And it’s a guarantee that they would like to come back for more.
Image : Bringing the outdoors indoors
- Mix and match – Boho-chic interiors
Hedonism combined with a richly artistic feel best describes boho-chic. An eclectic blend of colors, textures, and patterns boho styles are timeless and fit into different cultures easily. For interiors especially, the range is endless – be it colorful dhurries, low tables, ottomans, lanterns or fairy lights, the list is endless. A showcase of your own experiences complemented with customized furniture can guarantee flare and grace to your café interiors.
Image : Flowers are one of the many elements in a boho-chic interior
- Gastronomic analogy
A rather bold choice, café interiors exemplifying the love for food through design aesthetics define this idea. Remember how Willy Wonka designed his chocolate factory to be completely edible, well of course that’s not impossible.
Image : Wall with food images
But what is possible is creating a wall with a chocolate dripping design or installing small artificial food-oriented objects such as cupcake pendant lights to entice the appetite. Also, color psychology provides great insights into thinking about designing interiors.
It cannot be emphasized more that cafes and interiors have to evolve with the evolving need of customers. And, nowadays, customers are not simply looking for a quick bite and coffee-on-the-go, but the whole café experience. To this experience, the perfect ambience and right interiors can add unmatched value. So, keep in mind all these things when designing your café interiors.
Need more help in deciding what interiors would suit the best for your café? Write to us! RedOAK has a wide range of cafe and restaurant furniture for every ambiance.