It is quite common to have a certain amount of hand luggage when entering a café. It comes as no surprise then that designer Kaman Tung has designed café furniture that actually holds luggage within the chair to avoid it becoming lost. This collection includes 3 café chairs and a café table that have a timber frame and finished in white plastic. These chairs have been specifically designed for outdoor public spaces, restaurant areas and cafes.

The idea for these café chairs and table came from the notion that people have the need to place their coats or luggage on the back of the chairs or on the floor. The idea is that with these chairs, it reduces the worry that items might be stolen and articles don’t have to be placed on a really dirty floor. For example, in bars and restaurants, it seems that we always put our coats on the back of our chairs. With this in mind, The Hanger Chair is one solution. The chair looks like a normal outdoor chair, however has a branch like feature that extends out over the back of the chair and provides a hanger for long coats and jackets. The reason for this is that many coats tend to be too long for the chairs back to hang on and can touch the dirty floor from time to time.

The Case Chair is for people who carry suitcases or laptops with them. There is a side compartment with this chair that can house a these precious items eliminating the worry that these could be stolen. Also with these items placed at the side of the person, it reduces the risk of the user forgetting them before they leave.

The table is a glass table that has a recessed area underneath the top that has been designed to house wallets and personal items that are designed to increase comfort when sitting down.

As outlined in previous articles, furniture whether it is café furniture, restaurant furniture, bistro furniture etc… is probably the biggest investment you are likely to make (apart from the premises) when opening up your business. It is important not only to ensure that the furniture matches your establishment’s décor but also is of high grade and is suitable for commercial use.

It tends to be that retail café furniture or restaurant furniture is cheaper than commercial furniture for a number of reasons, so you can see why a lot of companies, particularly during today’s climate, choose the cheaper option. If you do require furniture for commercial use then buying the right grade furniture is a must for a couple of reasons.

The first is that retail furniture tends to be for residential use. What I mean by this is that it doesn’t tend to be used for long periods of time. Commercial grade café furniture or restaurant furniture is used more frequently and gets more use as there tends to be a high turnover of people. Not only this, but the size and weight of people vary so it puts more stress on the café chairs or restaurant chairs. If you buy domestic furniture then these will tend not to last that long and you will probably find that you will be changing your restaurant furniture and outdoor furniture within a year, in particular the restaurant chairs.

The second reason for buying commercial furniture rather than retail is liability. Most furniture that has been built for commercial use comes with a liability warranty if someone has an accident due to the furniture breaking. Retail furniture does not have this with regards to commercial use and if you use domestic furniture in your establishment, if it breaks and someone is injured, you are liable if they take action against you.

The title of this blog may seem odd to your but in North America during the 19^th century, they actually did. Over the course of several years, trees were shaped until the shape resembled a chair then it was used, usually as a dining chair. Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec were fascinated by this concept and that’s how they came up with the Vegetal chair. Much like the plants and trees that it was originally designed on, the chair itself to a long time from the idea to manufacturing, 4 years to be precise.

The cafe chair itself is made from fibre-reinforced polyamide and has an irregular circle shape for the seat. The seat is made up of interweaving branches that are asymmetrical and random like the branches of a tree.

The chair can be an outdoor chair as it is made from polyamide; however will still look great as a café chair or dining chair. Not only this but the chairs are light weight so can be moved around easily and they are stackable chairs so they can be efficiently stored away.

It may seem like these chairs are actually made from a single mould, but you would be wrong. They have been carefully construct because due to its asymmetrical shape, it is very hard to judge how much weight it can take and the chairs true strength.

In the making process the brothers had a hard time creating the dining chair, firstly there were problems the structure, but once this was overcome, they then had problems with the comfort of the chair. The legs to the outdoor chair where also a problem as they needed to be integrated into the design of the chair as well as being strong. However after 4 years, the Vegetal chair was born.

For restaurant owners, Christmas is one of those periods that witness an exceptional amount of foot traffic and restaurant furniture, catering equipment and people find themselves working flat out for the majority of the time.

It has not been easy for any category of business during the last 1 or 2 years with major economies around the world struggling to escape from a major global recession.

The financial pressure put onto any business owner during such times can be at unprecedented levels and that financial prudence may well have demanded that you delay any maintenance and replacement of your ageing restaurant furniture, for example.

The run up to probably the busiest time of your year, however, is not a time for your restaurant furniture to let you down. The possible impact on lost revenue and worst of all, your reputation could last a long time and take some time to recover. If your furniture needs replacing therefore, now could be a good time to get it done.

Don’t forget, manufacturers will have been going though those very same pressures and will be looking to kick start their recovery. They will be making some very special offers through their suppliers, who will again, have negotiated hard to secure the best deals.  At Café Reality, for example, we are continuously running special offers for our customers.
It is most definitely worth exploring what special offers are out there at the moment. If your restaurant furniture is able to make it through New Year, it may be worth investing then to ensure that next year’s profits are up.

When you think of a nest, when I say this I mean bird’s nests, I am pretty sure that you wouldn’t think of a café. There is a designer who has and newly opened this year is a café based on it in Kiev Ukraine. Designer Sergey Makhno created the café called Twister is based on a nest in a rainy tree. The café is unique right down to the café furniture. The sofas and armchairs present although look uncomfortable due to the odd pyramid style texture, are actually very comfy and helps to give the impression of a cosy birds nest.

To further enhance the look of the restaurant the walls have been covered in sticks which give an impression of the interior of a nest. The restaurant also has a bar area as well with bar furniture, much like the restaurant furniture has been made to suit the rest of the cafes look and appeal.

The restaurant is on two levels with the second level having separate pod like areas that you can dine in that is supposed to represent ponds and lakes that further add to this café and restaurants unique design. Just above this are the lights that have been shaped like drops to represent the rain that is falling from the sky. The colours have all been chosen to help the diner feel more relaxed whilst seated in the restaurant where as the bar has little natural light which also emphasizes the feeling of a cosy surrounding.

Whenever there is a party or an event, furniture is needed. Now you could go down the route of buying or hiring some café tables and café chairs, or if the event is outdoors perhaps some aluminium furniture or some rattan chairs and tables. There is another option however that will definitely get your guests talking and will almost certainly be the highlight of the party and that is illuminated furniture.

The most sophisticated furniture currently available in this department is manufactured by Illuminated Event Hire in Australia. They offer a huge range of furniture that has 16 different colour options along with 4 different strobe settings all controlled by an infrared remote. Battery powered that lasts up to anywhere between 12 and 20 hours, these items range from modular bar units, ottomans, cubes, bench seats, even café tables and banquet tables.

Unfortunately this is manufactured in Australia and only available for hire in Australia. As the technology progresses I am sure that such complex and technical furniture will be available in the UK soon and we at Café Reality will be there to welcome this with open arms.

For those that are looking for something similar but can’t afford to spend a small fortune on this type of party piece furniture, we do have some budget cubes that cantain led technology available to you.

The first are the light up stools. These are powered by mains electricity and available in white, red, blue or green. These are for use indoors or outdoors and are available for delivery within 7-10 working days from order.

The second option is the multi coloured light up stools. These are battery powered and include a remote control and has 4 different colour options.

The hotel and hospitality industry isn’t the easiest of sectors to ‘make it’ in. There is a lot of competition in this area and in order to stand out you have to provide a service and area that gives the customer a positive lasting memory and ensures that their stay is pleasurable as you want them to return in future.

First impressions can be a deciding factor on this, as in some cases bad first impressions can cause a customer to cancel or perhaps cut short their stay. It is for this reason that the décor is up to standard in the reception and bar areas. Purchasing the right furniture is hugely important as it is just as important as the service

The reception area is the first place your customers will see and having a professional reception counter or reception desk will give your customers the right impression. Not only this but the bar and restaurant area should be well planned out and by spending a little bit extra on aesthetically pleasing comfortable café chairs and tables or restaurant furniture will help the customers to relax as you will want them to stay within the hotel, that way they will spend more money.

Space planning is important as you want to make sure your diners are not too close together but still provide an area that maximises on space. You also want to make sure that your staff can move freely around the restaurant area so make sure that the restaurant tables are at the safe distance away from each other in order to do this.

Finally the colour scheme even down to the colours of the chairs is important. You want to make sure that everything works well together and complements each other. Planning all of this, can be very tricky and there are furniture dealers that will be willing to help you for a small fee, however there are others such as Café Reality that will provide a 3D design and advise you on the right type of furniture for you, for free.

When looking at refurbishing your café, a factor that most people think of when considering the furniture is how it will appear to their customers. It is important that the customers will be in a relaxed environment, with a soothing ambiance and a lot of this can be replicated by the type of furniture you choose. It is not only the décor that can affect the mood of the restaurant, but equally it is the furniture so obviously it is of the upmost importance that they work together. This may not mean that they have to necessarily match, they could contrast, but they must work well together.

Another factor that not many people may not of considered, is when planning their café environment is asking their employees about what they think. Most managers would be inclined to agree that keeping their staff content is one of the biggest factors in a successful business. It is almost if not as important as keeping your customers happy, as more often than not these are your customer’s first contact with the establishment and getting the right impression is key.

It can be quite beneficial in asking your staff what they think as they will and do spend most of the time on the front of house and know the place just as well as you do. They may be able to help advise you on what café tables and café chairs maybe best to suit your environment. They may also be able to help with the design and configuration of the restaurant, not only with the furniture indoors, but also outdoor furniture. They will be able to give you a good 2^nd opinion as this is the place they work. Not only this but it will help your staff to feel appreciated and feel like they are actually putting input into the place and which will give the a morale boost.

Changes in season are an influential time for restaurants and cafes. It does not just mean that the menus and food changes, but restaurant owners should think about the ambiance of the environment, perhaps even the café furniture or restaurant furniture. Patrons and regulars of restaurants tend to get bored quickly so updating the décor and feel of your restaurant/café/bistro is imperative for business. Much like the fashion industry restaurant furniture has different styles and trends that are dependent on the sentiment and the season.

When choosing your furniture it is important to think about the type of restaurant you are running and trying to replicate that feeling. For example if you are running a chinese restaurant, you don’t want the furniture or décor to look like you sell pub food. You will be surprised just how much the furniture will complement the restaurant, in regards to the overall experience. The reason for this is that it has been scientifically proven that taste is related to visual stimulation, so even if you have the most amazing gourmet cuisine, if you are serving it in a dark and dingy area, then the whole experience will be severely compromised.

What you need to remember that trends, even in the world of hospitality go in and out of style. It is therefore advisable, if you want to flow a trend, to make sure that you can adjust the style of the restaurant/dining area as cheaply and efficiently as possible. For example instead of changing the tables, why not think about changing the table cloths instead.

For the most part, you want to find furniture that you cannot date and will stay appealing not matter how much you want to change the décor. Aluminium chairs and aluminium tables are a good example of this. They can be used in all different types of cafes and restaurants as well as being used indoors and outdoors. Aluminium chairs are usually stackable and are light weight so can be used easily to change the configuration of your restaurant or bistro, whenever you need to. Also these chairs can be cleaned easily so they will last a long time and for a reasonable price as well.

Cubes and rounds are useful ways of providing quick and easy seating to bars, cafés and other public areas. WE offer a number of options the Ottoman leather rounds and cubes are available in brown, black, burgundy, ivory and distressed brown genuine leather. These cubes are also available in a two seater bench format.  Mojo cubes and rounds are offered in a comprehensive selection of fabrics and vinyl on a 7-10 day delivery. Box-it is offered in single two seater and three seater bench with the facility of alternating the fabric colours. Office and Café Reality have provided these products to night clubs, youth clubs, colleges, offices and play areas. Please contact us with your requirement