Chairs, benches, stools, armchairs, high, low, round-shaped, square-shaped, four-legged tables or tables with central stem, but made of what? Trendy or classic, fashionable or just comfortable? With an innovative design or with a classic style? When tables and chairs for a venue must be selected, options (luckily, we’d say) are practically endless.
Questions may never end and answers must be the right ones. And so? How can you avoid making mistakes? Be thoughtful ladies and gentlemen! A bit of creative feeling and some golden rules are essential for your choice.
The following rules are all to be considered equally important. We have numbered them for clarity and ease of exposition but – be careful! – none is negligible.
Rule 1: choose without being influenced by trends
Do not depend on trends, on the obsession with a colour, a shape, a designer (what may work in a venue might not work in yours). Examine the functional and aesthetic needs that should guide your choice. If all of them are reliable, then don’t’ stop: you are on the right path.
Chairs and tables must follow the venue’s mood and maximize its efficiency. In fact this is the magical match: consistency of style and top return on investment in terms of duration, functionality, space organization, hygiene (and now this matters more than ever) and of course, comfort, comfort, comfort.
Rule 2: choose a balanced design and resistant pieces of furniture
The right furniture is meant to last. Fashions follow one another quickly and what is top-notch today may seem “old” tomorrow. Thus it is better to rely upon shapes that combine tradition and formal innovation: they won’t tire your and will survive volatile temporary fashions.
Don’t forget that chairs and tables are subjected to strong stresses, and therefore you cannot save on quality. An example? All the chairs of Piazza collection, in the Colos range. They’re eternal in terms of design and sturdiness.
Rule 3: choose practical furnishings
Indoor or outdoor chairs and tables have to be moved quickly and safely. For specific types of venues they must be able to be brought closer together to accommodate more people at the same table (the pandemic won’t last forever, will it?). Chairs, especially outdoor ones, must be stackable.
Very heavy chairs are not practical neither for customers nor for the staff who have to move or lift them when cleaning the rooms.
Tables from Vu collection, with round or square-shaped top, also come in rectangular shaped version with four legs radiating out from the centre, safe and stable, versatile and easy to move and match to modify spaces.
Rule 4: choose easy-to-clean furnishings
Furnishings are usually cleaned even during opening hours: you need to be able to do this easily. Subsequently, pieces of furniture designed with points that are difficult to access for cleaning are not ideal, as well as fabric chairs, unless the fabric is really stain-resistant. In general, porous materials, as well as materials that don’t tolerate the aggression of cleaning products, including disinfectants, should be avoided.
Rule 5: Keep stylistic consistency among spaces
It is essential each element participates to the environment’s original concept; in other words, once style and service choices have been made, do not betray them with a furnishing style that is not in tune with them. The choice of table and chair size and shape is key for space comfort and optimization, always taking the venue typology into account, of course.
In general, geometry must be kept into account. For instance: in long and narrow rooms fixed wall tables are recommended, to make good use of the space even when the place is full of people. Wide rectangular room: it is better to opt for square tables (more practical to join if large groups of friends come), whose optimal size is 70×70 cm in bistros and 80×80 cm in restaurants.
Never forget that tables arranged diagonally take up less space than those placed in parallel. Colos’s idea comes true in QU. 70-80 cm square tables: lightweight, stable, resistant, neutral or colorful.
Rule 6: Choose comfortable chairs
Comfort also means offering customers a few alternatives. Furnish your venue at least with three types of different and coordinated chairs. High stools for a sparkling toast or a break at the counter, comfortable chairs for drinks at the table, benches and sofas for private corners. All of these options must be super comfortable, of course.
Design counts, but ergonomics is no less. Far from it. So don’t be distracted by aesthetics. Alone is never enough.
Rules are over. Oh no! There is another: never loose enthusiasm, it is the spice of every project!
