When it comes to fresh design ideas for your home, there are many places you can look to for inspiration. If you’re the kind of person who enjoys beautiful interiors and the finer things in life, there’s a good chance that you also love frequenting stylish restaurants and well-designed places and spaces.
Turning to the top restaurant interiors or keeping up with the design trends in the hospitality industry can provide a wealth of inspiration for a dining room renovation or redesign project.
After all, these are the places that are most invested in creating a fabulous dining experience, which is why so many restaurant owners devote considerable portions of their business budgets to the design and atmosphere of their dining areas.
As commercial ventures, the look and feel of the interior is not simply a nice bonus, it’s an essential part of their customers’ experience, which means it plays a key role in the business’s success.
That’s why taking some tips from these experts and specialists can be a fast-track to success with your dining spaces at home. Here are a couple of classic aspects of restaurant interiors that could provide some design cues for you to take away.
Stylishly Practical
Your dining room project may not quite be in the same league as the world’s finest restaurants but there’s one aspect both design briefs will have in common: practicality.
Eating and drinking can be a messy business! Even the top venues have to keep practicalities top of mind when choosing their restaurant tables and chairs. No matter how stylish the decor, those uber-cool fixtures and fittings will soon lose their sheen if they’re not able to withstand heavy-duty use or they’re not practical to keep clean.
This is something to bear in mind when making your selections for your dining room furniture at home. Obviously, you won’t have quite the same volume of diners as a top restaurant, but you will set your revamp up for success if you make sure you choose practical tables and chairs.
The good news is that even with practicalities as a priority, there are some fantastic swoon-worthy designs available. To get inspired, take a look at some of the world’s best restaurants online, or if you’re really committed to your project, you may like to invest in some real-life research and treat yourself to a meal or two in your favourite dining hot-spots.
Ambient Lighting
Lighting is one of the more subtle elements of interior design, but ask any restaurant owner – it can make or break the success of a dining space. As you plan your home renovations, it can pay to take some time to consider the lighting you’ll choose and the kind of effect you want to create.
To begin your research, get clear on how your dining room will be used by you and your family. Do you want a bright and airy space for uplifting breakfasts or fun family dinners? Or do you enjoy more relaxing evening meals, with candles and a more subdued atmosphere?
If you’re like most homeowners, your dining room will have to do double duty, taking on a different role at the various times of the day or week. It may even serve as a home office or homework spot. This is where careful consideration of your lighting requirements will create a more successful end result.
Once again, restaurants can help with your research. For this project, it can be useful to visit a range of dining establishments. For example, you’ll notice the lighting in a family-friendly pizzeria will have a different approach to that in a chic french bistro that offers romantic evening meals.
The lighting in restaurants can be very subtle and it’s likely you’ve barely noticed it when you’ve been enjoying your meals out. Yet, the experts in restaurant interiors know that it’s a crucial piece of the puzzle. Getting this wrong can be an expensive mistake for restauranteurs – such is the power of lighting when it comes to eating and drinking.
To use the wisdom of the restaurant industry’s top interior experts, consider the needs of your family and see how these are recreated in the restaurants you enjoy. For foodie-lovers, this is another opportunity to venture out to your favourite eaterie to see how the experts do it – all in the name of research, of course.
The finest restaurants have eye-watering budgets to create the most enticing, enjoyable and memorable dining experiences for their high-calibre guests. Yet, the lighting secrets of the top designers need not be expensive solutions. With a little field research, you can learn the subtle tricks and Insider techniques that will create the ambience and atmosphere you desire for your dining room at home.
