Your restaurant’s look and feel play a huge part in attracting people to visit your place. Your restaurant design is the promise of how much of a good time customers will have when they come in and dine.
A nice restaurant interior lures and entices customers, and that’s all your restaurant aesthetic has to do. Besides, doesn’t it make you feel proud to invite people into a well-put-together restaurant?
Common Restaurant Design Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
- Having a Chop Suey Aesthetic
Having some design elements from here and there may work if done correctly. Professional interior designers sometimes mix and match up to 2 or sometimes 3 design aesthetic themes to make a cohesive look and feel that works because they have the technical know-how to produce more advanced design decisions that work. Doing a DIY chop suey of themes will more often than not end in an interior design disaster.
Avoid this mistake: If you plan to do your restaurant interior design yourself, be sure to do some research, so your restaurant does not end up looking like a tacky, unfinished effort that, instead of attracting customers, drives them away to never come back.
Be consistent with your design decisions. If possible, use only one theme. All elements like paint, tables, chairs, floors, dining ware, and accessories– should use one design language that will unite into a look and feel that will be a space that is a joy to be in.
If mixing and matching appear to be too overwhelming for you, you can always consult a professional interior designer concerning this.
- Spending a Fortune on Interior Design Contracts
- It is the information age, and every bit of knowledge you will ever need is out there on the internet! Even the most technical and complicated concepts of interior design are yours for the taking if you want them that much. Interior design studio contracts are not at all cheap, and if you could design your restaurant interiors, the money you could save would cover other needed facility expenses.
Avoid this mistake: Read up and truly educate yourself about restaurant interior design knowledge on the internet to circumvent spending thousands of dollars on interior design contracts. Just make sure to be objective about your self-education and really learn. Otherwise, you will end up putting together a shabby-looking scene and your guests won't appreciate that.
- Being Stingy with Your Design Budget
All businesses aim to cut costs and maximize profit. Yes, you should always find ways to lower costs and that includes costs for your restaurant maintenance budget but don't make the mistake of cutting the wrong corners. Cut costs but do it wisely.
Avoid this mistake: Push through with interior designing your restaurant. It is not just frivolity and is essential in the success of bringing in profit for your restaurant. Cut costs but don’t compromise that your aesthetic is ruined. DIY is the way to go.
Useful Interior Design Tips to Attract Customers and Improve Dining Experience
- Treat Your Aesthetic as the Physical Embodiment of Your Brand
Creating a restaurant aesthetic is bringing your business vision to life. If your restaurant concept is that you bring your patrons back to the time when swashbuckling pirates navigated the Caribbeans, then, blimey, you got to transform your whole floor plan into the West Indies. Establish a sense of place with era-authentic decor and furniture, try using wooden beer stein mugs as serving glasses and wooden steak serving boards.
Just don’t overdo it lest you risk looking like a joke. Leave something to the imagination of your patrons.
- The Correct Lighting Does Magic!
A well-lit place is always important for any business space. Bright spaces provide for a cozy environment that patrons want to spend time in. Never underestimate the power of a well-lit restaurant.
Lighting sets the mood of a restaurant. And mood means everything in attracting people to come to stay and dine. Have your restaurant lit in such a way that it leads patrons to feel how you would want them to. Learn about all kinds of light fixtures and what kind of mood they bring to your restaurant.
- Design with Your Target Consumer in Mind
You should exactly know who your target consumer is. Design your restaurant to be that place where your target consumers would want to go to spend special time with their beloved people. That’s what restaurants are all about, and as long as you can be that special place, then you’ll have little to worry about. Go out of your way and give your patrons what they want to see!
Just keep in mind that different demographics of people will appreciate different things, so if you are going for the younger crowd, go with what your audience would think is cool. And if you have a more distinguished and mature crowd, go for more class and style.
- Be Technical About Your Restaurant’s Interior Design
Everything about your restaurant interior design language should be aesthetically pleasing and at the same time functional in driving traffic into your business.
Form and functionality should be the consideration in making design decisions.
Always go for interior architecture that serves some sort of purpose. For example, have a wide, sweeping entrance that is both eye-catching and inviting for customers. Or bathe your lounge area in warm light for a more relaxing vibe. Put in the time and invest in studying restaurant design principles for the success of your business.
Final Thoughts
As long as you hone your design knowledge and taste and your ability to DIY your restaurant aesthetic, whatever you spend will pay dividends in giving your restaurant the profit it deserves. A jazzed-up, snazzy place is the magic that invites people to have a special time with loved ones and create lasting memories. Make your restaurant be a part of those memories that people can go back to whenever they want.
