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.

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 6 different colour options.

Lambeth Council have recently released a bill that requires all cafes, restaurants and bistros to pay a tax if they want to put café furniture or restaurant furniture outside. There is already a tax that states this but it is set to increase at the beginning of next year. The council have said that they are “standardising” the cost of putting outdoor furniture on the streets in the borough of Lambeth. The council plan to charge up to £824 to keep café tables and café chairs outside, which has come as a huge shock and created a lot of upset amongst the owners of cafes, restaurants and bistros in the area.

Shop owners have predicted that with this rise in tax, their overheads are set to rise by about 20% which in some cases may force certain cafes to go bankrupt, due to the economic climate at the moment. Another problem is that by not having outdoor furniture, small businesses feel that they will be driving customers away, not to mention the fact it will decrease the amount of people they can serve.

In response to this the Lambeth Council have said “Lambeth council wants to make sure it is supporting local businesses, which is why we are looking at this proposal again.”

“Councils everywhere are having to look carefully at pricing structures to make sure they are fair and reasonable, but also set at levels that allow vital services to be maintained.”

One of the owners that has been caught up in this is Jane Lushington who owns the popular Tea West cafe in Rosendale Road. She claimed that she has been forced to remove her outdoor café furniture because she couldn’t afford the £750 licence.

The actual cost for putting just one or two café chairs outside is £464 however for more than 21 chairs, the price almost doubles to £824 per year. Not only this just to put in an application for the licence will cost the business £103. I t seems that this could be running trend and we could see other boroughs taking part.

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.

Weston-Super-Mare has always relied heavily on tourism with the area boasting a range of tourist activities. There is a rather vibrant café culture in the area, however new plans issued by the council may damage this. The proposed changes include, all food eaten outside is served by waiters, all outdoor furniture such as aluminium tables and outdoor chairs must be removed from Regent Street and food or drink cannot be served to anyone sitting down.

Businesses in the area currently holding street café licences were outraged by the proposals with one of the owners calling the new rules completely “gibberish”.

Café/bistro owners are worried that if they do not stick to these rules, they could have their licences revoked by North Somerset Council, whereas others, who own businesses on the Regent Street are more concerned with the business that they will lose particularly in the peak summer months.

A meeting held by the council’s licencing department, saw the discussion of the new rules, speaking at the meeting was Grand Pier and Waterfront Fish Bar owner Kerry Michael. He stood up for the café and business owners in the area saying that the new rules made no sense.

He added: “These plans are gibberish. That is possibly the widest thoroughfare in Weston, so if we cannot have tables and chairs there, how can they be allowed elsewhere?

“We want to be able to sell what we want to our customers, when they want and we don’t want the local authority telling us what we can and can’t do.”

It seems it was not only Mr Michael that was concerned over the new plans, Andreas Macrides, co-owner of La Costa bar and restaurant said that if the outdoor café furniture was taken away, there will not be enough space for people along Regent Street and more litter will accumulate as a consequence.

Following the meeting that was held on 8/11/11, officers will be having a consultation that ends on the 25^th of November where they may amend the proposal, however as it stands at the moment the changes will be implemented at the beginning of next year.

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.

The world has changed (for better or worse, I can’t decide) since the invention of social media networks. Not only can you get in contact with people that you have not seen for years, but you can actually follow them and see what they are doing in their day to day lives. Not only has this but it been a good chance for business to advertise themselves with some even being able to contact their customers through networks such as Facebook.

There is one craze that has come from these the creations of such social media networks is pop-up restaurants. The idea is that groups are set up on Facebook or Twitter that potential diners can follow to find out the restaurants next location and make online reservations. When the spot is picked, the restaurant is set up with outdoor furniture whether it is folding aluminium chairs and café tables or just plain café chairs or café tables and then the area functions like a normal restaurant. After the diners have left, all the furniture is packed up and the area is cleared as if nothing had been there.

This type of “fine dining” is actually a great way of young chefs to show off their skills in the hospitality field. The reason for this is that the young professionals are given the opportunity to show off their skills to potential investors in the hope of securing some kind of restaurant in the future. It is not just open areas that pop up restaurants are using. It’s underused or abandoned warehouses and former factories as well as private homes. This is also a great opportunity for young chefs to get to use professional equipment giving them practice before using the real thing. It looks like this type of dining is here to stay so look out for one in a town near you!

You would have thought that cafes located near to the Olympic grounds would be pleased that the Olympic Games were being held near their grounds as the business received from the tourists would actually be beneficial, however you would be wrong. There are increasing concerns that the games would actually cause disruption to their business. Tom Seaton who owns a small café within a stone’s throw from the park commented:

“From the local community’s point of view, the sooner the Olympics are gone, the better,” Together with his sister Seaton converted a derelict warehouse into the Counter Café. The rustic rundown look was kept with most of the expense was invested in the café furniture, the café tables and café chairs. This has over time become a hotspot for the arty trendy community from Fish Island just across from the park located near to the café.

The Games will begin on the 27^th July 2012 and continue to through to the 12^th August. This means that during this period the area outside the stadium will be occupied by security and huge numbers of people. The likely situation is that he will have to close his outdoor seating area and bring in all of his outdoor furniture including his aluminium chairs and aluminium tables as the area will be too crowded. This in turn will decrease the amount of people he can seat and therefore decrease business. Who would want to sit outside and eat or drink coffee in the middle of a crowd?

Not only this, Seaton also owned another café very close to the main stadium is being forced to close during the games which will mean a loss of business in a peak time during the summer.

Peter Vlachos an expert on events management at Greenwich University believes that the businesses close to the games will suffer. Though there is little evidence to go on about the Games doing this, there is evidence on related research that suggests that those who own businesses that are close to the hub, even if it is a positive one, are likely to suffer.

It seems that while the majority of people will be welcoming the games next year, there are some that worry for their businesses and their livelihood. Some thought should be taken in trying to protect local businesses and perhaps even compensating them for the loss of businesses, particularly those that tend to thrive in the summer months.