Designing a Restaurant Floor Plan That Attracts Diners

A restaurant is a place where people connect over good food and drinks. So it’s only fitting that the décor should feel warm, inviting and appetising. It’s not just about great menus – a lovely ambience will hit the right notes to spend more time and encourage diners to come back.

But that’s not all. In this day and age of aggressive social media usage, your customers are your best advertisers. Instagram, Twitter and Facebook is filled with shots and reels of food and the general vibe of a restaurant, taken by regular people. Your restaurant is out there, reaching thousands of potential customers and its imperative you make the best impression. Your choice of flooring, in this case, is crucial to the overall feel.

If you want to cut back on overheads and spend less time and money maintaining a floor, luxury vinyl floors are your best friend. With their sheer versatility, luxury vinyl floors can work perfectly in every setting – from a fast-food outlet in a busy suburb to a Michelin-star restaurant in an upscale neighbourhood.

Luxury vinyl give you so many choices of colours, styles and textures and yet are super easy to install and maintain. They feel cushiony soft and warm underfoot and are compatible with underfloor heating. The best part is that they are 100% waterproof, scratch and slip resistant. What better floor for a busy restaurant?

If you already run a restaurant and want to revitalize it or plan on opening one, we understand you are passionate about making it work. So, we’ve compiled some handy tips to help you design the perfect atmosphere.

Choose a cohesive theme

There’s nothing quite as off-putting as a restaurant or bar that feels disjointed. All your elements need to be streamlined into one cohesive theme to work together as a harmonious whole. For instance, an Italian eatery could evoke rustic, Tuscan farmhouse vibes with neutral limewash paint on the walls, exposed wooden beams on the ceiling, rough-hewn tables and chairs and large terracotta pots. Floors with the distressed wood look, like Battersea Oak or tiles like Natural Slate and Beige Travertine would complement such a space beautifully.

If it’s a fine dining restaurant, you could opt for classy monochrome with white floors and clean lines. Understated, yet elegant accessories with copper trimmings could create focal points. For a luxuriously intimate feel, you could go the other way with black walls and black floors, with statement chandeliers and intimate Cabriole kind of seating.

Consider the flow of the layout

Your restaurant layout is key in keeping things organized. You have to ensure there’s proper space to allow both diners and staff to move and circulate about freely, without bumping into each other. This also ensures safety and minimizes accidents. The customer journey should be mapped out carefully in this case.

For space between tables, 20 sq.ft. per person is a good starting point. Ideally, your dining area should take up 60% of the space and the remaining 40% should be allotted to the kitchen and restrooms.

Here too, flooring can aid in keeping a restaurant free-flowing and natural. Floors with movement, like Herringbone can lead the eye to a central bar, for instance. See the space from the viewpoint of the guest from every area to get a good sense of the layout.

Create points of interest

In this day of social media takeover, an eye-catching, buzz-creating element in your restaurant would be a great idea. Guests are always looking out for great photo-ops, so think about a dramatic backdrop for these photos. But of course, always remember to accentuate the character of the restaurant with your backdrop.

Running an organic, farm to table restaurant? Then a living wall full of fresh, lush herbs can evoke a sense of earthiness, while improving air quality and imparting sensory pleasure. An earthy longplank floor like Cameron Oak would tie it all together perfectly.

How about a gorgeous mural painted by a local artist for a bohemian restaurant? A café could have a wall full of tea and coffee mugs and customers could choose which ones they want to drink their brew from. Or you could show support to the community you are in by showcasing the art of local artists. How about giving local musicians, poets or stand-up comics a stage every night?

Get creative and your restaurant could be all over the net.

Set the mood with colour and lighting

As we all know, colour plays a crucial role in affecting our moods. It’s no different for a restaurant and it would be wise to delve into colour psychology before doing up your restaurant. Typically, energetic colours like red and yellow are used by fast-food restaurants since they are said to stimulate appetite. In this case, luxury vinyl floors with warm undertones, like Belgravia Oak with its red hue is a great choice. Fine dining establishments, on the other hand, are mostly about cool, calming colours like whites and blues. Floors like Dulwich Silk with its bluish tones could be just right in this scenario.

Lighting is another aspect that could make or break a restaurant. Place lighting in such a way that your guests are able to see each other, can appreciate the finer points of their food and navigate the space with ease. Make as much use of natural light in the day as you can, to make the restaurant feel airy and bright. Dinner time should be all about warm, low-intensity lighting. Bright lights with too much glare is a big put off for a cosy dinner.

You could switch it up a notch with light fixtures that have a lot of character. Your local flea markets and thrift shops could have some really fun finds. Think papier mache pendants, quirky chandeliers made from old records or lights hanging from a piece of driftwood.

Seating and furniture

Besides the food, the comfort of the seating arrangement will determine if your guests will be back or not. The diners should not have to jostle for space, so always ensure that there is enough circulation space between tables. At the table itself, place chairs in such a way so the next person’s elbows don’t get in the way while eating. Practice with your staff to see if it works.

It’s all in the details. Pay close attention to table and chair height ratios, the feel of your cushions and the safety of the chairs. Chairs should be light enough to be pulled back easily, but not so light that they tip over when you lean back.

If it’s a fast food restaurant where there’s quick turnover, hard, yet comfortable furniture works. Since you don’t want people to hang around for too long. In fine-dining restaurants, more sink-in comfy lounge chairs do the trick of enticing diners to stay longer.

We do understand that you might be worried about the impact of all that dragging of chairs and tables on your floors. Pro-Tek™ luxury vinyl floors have your back here since its scratch-proof and can withstand any amount of heavy footfall.

You could also create areas of interest by cleverly zoning out your floor. For example, while the rest of the restaurant sports planks, the central bar could be separated using geometric tiles. This creates a striking and fluid contrast, adding to your restaurant’s aesthetics.

Make your restaurant shine with sumptuous floors.

Flooring plays a huge role in getting your restaurant décor right. It’s after all the base of your restaurant and needs to work as hard as you do, while making a good impression on your guests.

To help you along on your restaurant floor journey, we are just a call away.