Owning a cafe or a bistro, no matter if indoor or outdoor is both a wonderful business idea and a constant challenge, as many owners know that creating a place for customers to come back again and again, they have to provide not only a beautiful, original, comfortable and attractive place, but also good services, high quality products and affordable prices. However, given the fact that is summer and people tend to spend more time out in the town, having drinks with friends or cozy dinners with their partners means a good opportunity for cafe and bistro owners to make some investments also in the looks of their place, not only in the menu, as people love to come back to an original, tasteful (funky even) cafe and bring new people too, especially if they were impressed with the decor. So as an owner, did you ever thought about original tables and chairs for cafes that will amaze your customers, just like restaurant owners and great chefs thought about their outfit pieces and uniforms?
Many outdoor terraces and restaurants prefer to go with the classic designs of tables and chairs for cafes to amaze customers, but reality shows the same rattan furniture, in spite of its rustic look and comfortable feel is already everywhere you look, so from this angle, the bet is on the cafe’s menu rather than its interior or exterior design. However, without forgetting that a satisfied customer is a returning customer, some cafe and bistros around the world thought to add a little grain of originality to their decoration paradigm. There are many original and sometimes extremely weird themed pubs and bars around the world, but today we will travel light and take a look only at the furniture we can see around cafes, restaurants and even people’s homes, as we have ten original models of tables and chairs for cafes that will amaze your customers and which you can use as source for inspiration.
1. Classy to the highest level
Let’s start with the inspiration journey from a classical, stylish, vintage (but incredibly modern) point of view. Meet The Fred and Ginger Table and Chair Set, designed by Roberto Lazzeroni studios. The chair, Ginger, has a leather add on to it, visible classy stitches and it is just as comfortable as it looks. Although it can be used separately from its soul mate, the table Fred, they work beautifully together for a touch of originality to your cafe. Remember this is a single person’s set and can be maximized in your cafe to provide those business men who need their privacy and silence while working on their laptops, have a business phone conversation or having a quick relaxing bite with the feeling of a high class treatment, peacefulness and respect.
2. Chaos is chic
This is a table designed by Ekta Shah and if you take a look at it, yes, definitely this is not a pub table. But bear with us for a moment. This is an unique piece that comprises the architect’s vision over the world: organized chaos. So the table might look unstable and ready to fall, but it’s not. We know that having glass table tops is somehow counterproductive for a cafe or bistro, as they get stained, dirty, greasy, they can break, they can be scratched easily and a family with children sitting around a designer piece spilling milk shake while shaking the whole ensemble means nightmares and financial problems. But! We’re not talking about the Cheers TV show set, but more like a fabulous small cafe downtown Manhattan that can add some designer glass chairs too and turn into a place the girls from Sex and the City would go for brunch to.
3. The piano table
For the piano bar, of course! If you’re a fresh cafe owner in the business or an old one with a need for new and change, here’s an idea: piano tables for music lovers. You don’t actually have to turn your cafe into a piano bar and re-brand it and you don’t even need to play symphonies and opera music during dinner time. But you can play music and set up some piano tables to give your place the most amazing look and atmosphere possible. This particular creation is signed by Lovegrove and Repucci and is called the Concerto Table. It is indeed made for indoor dining rooms, but how would a cafe or a restaurant look with a few babies like this around? It can be matched with net – made chairs, white ones for atmosphere or even black ones for the love of piano contrast.
4. The Bulb chair
It is called like this because the designer Marta Antoszkiewicz called it like this and we don’t know how to call it otherwise. Except maybe for “the table with chairs that fold and make a nice… bulb”. Ok, enough jokes. This furniture set is perfect for small spaces such as discrete cafes and bistros which don’t have a lot of space to offer. The good thing about the whole furniture system is that it can be folded, occupying little space when there are fewer customers and unfolded if someone comes along. It’s very pretty and, given the dimensions, suited for some cups of coffee and maybe a lemonade glass and a cheesecake, but nothing more.
5. The Urban office
We’ll set foot on the realm of themed restaurants and bars, as designing tables and chairs for cafes and bistros is a serious job not many people can do. So when somebody has the idea of turning the cafe into a working friendly environment, the designers have to meet the client’s needs and his future clients’ needs. We don’t know if first there was the furniture set and then came the urban cafe idea or other way around, but certainly there are a lot of these around the world, Europe, USA, Japan, you name them. Basically, in terms of design, the tables are large and the chairs are comfortable, but this is about setting a decor, preparing a scene for all those people who’d love to enter your cafe, have a coffee and work, either they are columnists, YUPs on lunch break, writers, students or freelance programmers. The concept is definitely not new, but adding some power sockets to the tables, a lamp and some paper holders might turn your cafe into the most hip place on the street.
6. The Green table
This is perfect for an outdoor cafe. Let’s face it, crowded streets and squares rarely offer some patched of nature and flower pots placed at the tables or chairs feet directly on the ground are hard to maintain, preserve and prevent from being accidentally broken. But if you really want to bring nature to your table and offer your clients the benefits of feeling in the green while having drinks in the street, Emily Wettstein Walnut and Grass Table can do the trick for you. Don’t worry, the planter in the center is removable and you can fill it with grass or flowers, although there are some people allergic to pollen who won’t appreciate much the sneezing in their coffees and omelets. Add solid walnut chairs or any other wooden ones to complete the rustic design, don’t forget to water the grass and you’ll have the cafe of your customers’ dreams.
7. The LED coffee table
Among our original models of tables and chairs for cafes that will amaze your customers, we have a slightly more high – tech proposal for coffee tables which go great in an indoor cafe with a late open schedule. The table is provided with LEDs that light only when they detect movement, making a slow and eerie light show for the customers surrounding it. They twinkle and move calmly and if you though about a late night coffee, you can think about a late night cocktail too. Just imagine how this table can make all those Long Island Ice Teas glow and sparkle in the dim light of your bar. Amazing, right?
8. The Vintage cafe
Yes, this is inspired from Vintage Emporium in London, a cafe that combines having drinks with buying antiques, but you don’t have to follow the recipe religiously. The main idea is to give your cafe a vintage look, one that can attract the bohemian side of your customers, the artists, the poets, the ones who have a soft spot for la belle epoque and feel the need to get away a little bit from our beautiful (but sometimes stressful) contemporary reality. Add some refurbished old leather couches and armchairs to wooden tables, make room for some Victorian chairs, bring in some tasteful tapestry and decorations even and you’ll turn the corner of a busy street into a paradise of peaceful atmosphere and warmth.
9. The Play Station Controller table
Now this is a piece of furniture made by a student that goes by the name of Mark M, and it’s built out of plywood, MDF and veneer. Now… this particular table obviously works fine for an Internet cafe, but we don’t have those around anymore since we all have Internet back at our place. Probably designed for his gamer geek friends, the Play Station table might not be a bad idea for decorating a cafe after all. If we forget chic’n’chere and if your target clients are youngsters who are probably more in the trend of computer technology than their parents who go for coffee at the cafe where the piano tables are, you can strike gold with a more geeky indoor design. Chairs for this table should match and if you have a vivid imagination, you can take the idea a step forward: building tables out of old PC cases or offer them to sit on soft pillows in the shape of computer mouses. Mouse pads for coasters and you’ll have the entire University come by your place for a chat and a cup of cocoa.
10. The Jigsaw pieces
These make a nice idea for small cafes, too, just as the Bulb set. Separately, they can be used as chairs, while joined together, they can make a table, too. A Jigsaw Puzzle piece in its own rights! Looking at the picture you’d think they are not the most comfortable pieces of furniture your clients ever sat on, but if you don’t want them break their bodies on them, you can add some jigsaw cut out to fit sponge colored pillows for a more soft sitting. The wood can give the whole scene a comfortable feeling though, along with a playful sentiment, especially if you consider painting them in different colors and shades. They would make great accessories for children’s parties too.
Photo credits: freshome.com, home-designing.com, demilked.com
We’ve covered our ten favorite models of tables and chairs for cafes that will amaze your customers, in our opinion, but we’re well aware there are plenty more designs out there to speak of. Have you seen any, in your outings and travels, that bear mention? What about memorable tables you’ve sat down at? Or, conversely, are there any items on our list you dislike? Why so? Tell us all about it in the comments section – let’s get this conversation going!