This year sees the opening of Dutch branded vodka Ketel open their new bar in London, Ketel One. When looking at the bar itself, you can’t help but be “wowed” by the bars appearance. The reason is that nearly every single part of the bar and the handmade bar stools are completely covered in copper.
You may think this metal bar look is just another of Christopher Jenner’s unusually crafted pieces; however the use of copper has a reason for being used. During the17th century Ketel used copper stills in order to produce their vodka. Jenner decided to use this in order to represent his design for Ketel.
“Normally we use multiple techniques, materials and manufacturing processes to deliver our work,” says Jenner “but on this occasion we decided to commit to a single material.”
Constructing the actual bar and the barstools was a straight forward design process, however implementing the manufacturing processes was, as Jenner points out, tricky.
“From a manufacturing and realisation point, we were totally in the dark. The way in which we constructed the pieces was unprecedented and this meant we had to develop new manufacturing processes.”
First of all the bar and bar stools had to be made using wood and metal skeletons to create the shape. The copper was then heated to make it malleable and vertical strips were riveted to the wooden skeleton. Finally the stool was finished with a covering sheet of copper, which is then double-riveted to create a seamless copper surface.
To complete this project more than 1000kg of copper was used however looking at the finished project, it seems that this design has set a standard in café furniture, bar furniture and restaurant furniture.

Café furniture, not surprisingly is one of the most important purchases that you will make when opening a new café, bar or bistro. You want to make sure that the cafe tables and chairs matches the décor or the ambiance that you want to achieve in your restaurant or café to create a warm and welcoming place for people to eat and drink their coffee. Many people know about café tables and chairs and their functions (I would be very surprised if you didn’t!) however when you mention poseur tables and barstools, they may know what they are, but don’t know why they can be quite useful. This blog aims to outline their function.

First and foremost poseur tables are designed to be a more casual form of furniture. They are usually around 1100mm high so you can have a drink whilst standing and conversing. This is ideal for bar areas where you may not have enough space for chairs so they can help save much needed space.

Barstools are always used with poseur tables, for the simple reason that they are taller. One of the great things about poseur tables when used in conjunction with café tables and chairs and other forms of café furniture, then it can give a unique look to the area by breaking up the environment and creates more dynamic atmosphere.

Just like café tables and chairs, there are many different types of poseur tables and barstools. These include outdoor furniture, including rattan barstools and aluminium barstools as well as solid wood tables and stools. Many of the indoor café tables that feature on Café Reality have a poseur table option, so you should have no problem in trying to match the café tables and chairs to your poseur tables and barstools.

Plastic café furniture is becoming ever more popular as more and more restaurant or café owners are deciding to replace their outdoor furniture with plastic instead of the standard aluminium. Plastic is available in a wide range of colours, very resistant to all types of weather and is usually made as one piece so can last a lot longer over time compared to aluminium furniture.

The design of plastic furniture is more versatile than other materials use and in a saturated industry, this is very important. Furniture design is very important in eateries as this can help create an atmosphere and also a huge part of the look.

There is a new range of café furniture that has been manufactured in Italy and offers a unique take on the plastic bar stool and poseur table. The range is called Armillaria and has been designed by Odorado Fioravanti and manufactured by Plust Collection. These funky plastic furniture items are based around a mushroom style with the table base and base of the chairs fitting together and forming a sprout at the bottom.

The word Armillaria is the scientific name for a common species of fungi. This mushroom can be found in areas such as woods and the project is a reflection on vegetal shapes, in particularly their structure and how they look.

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.