Making the most of the space you have is vital in the hospitality industry. Get it right and you can boost numbers through the door, enhance customer experience and maximise profits. To help you get it right, we’ve put together 5 simple tricks that you can use to make your venue more versatile.
1. Let there be light
Light is key to setting a mood, so adjustable or dimmable lighting is essential for creating a more adaptable space.
During the day, make the most of natural light before transitioning into bright lighting for the afternoon. As the sun sets, dim the lights and opt for warm toned bulbs to generate a cosier atmosphere.
For a more radical transition, such as transforming a cheery café into an edgy bar, think about introducing hidden lighting. Illuminating shelves and the bar, which masquerades as a serving counter during the day, will help to switch up the feel of the room, particularly if you opt for coloured or neon lights.
Candles and fairy lights can also be used in the evening to separate day from night. For winter evenings, you may want to consider lanterns and a real open fire.
2. Be creative with colour
The colour of a room can set a mood, but what if you want that mood to change? One solution is to choose colours that work well together while also changing with the light.
For instance, bright pops of colour look great when offset by darker walls – no matter what time of day it is. During the day, some soft furnishings in sunshine yellow will be picked up by the natural light, brightening up a darker wall of blue or purple. But when it comes to night, the darker colour of the walls will help to create a more intimate atmosphere, particularly when combined with soft, warm lighting.
3. Use soft furnishings
Curtains and rugs can really change the way a space feels. Rugs with chairs gathered round them can create intimate spaces in a large room while curtains can be pulled to instantly make a room feel more secluded.
You should also think about how you can use lighting and fabric to alter your hospitality space. You can create a dramatic effect for evening events by hanging fabric from the ceiling, which can then be lit up in different colours to form an interesting backdrop. Fabric can also be draped over existing furniture, such as seating, to change a dining chair into something worthy of a wedding feast.
4. Rearrange your furniture
No-one wants to move all their furniture every evening, but being able to clear a few tables from the centre of a café to create a dance floor can be useful.
Alternatively, furniture can be used to make more intimate spaces in a larger room. To transform your large events space into something suitable for daytime meet-ups, position cosy armchairs and sofas in little groups. This helps to create ‘nooks’ within the room that will make your customers feel more comfortable.
Think about the type of furniture you need too. If your cafe morphs into a bar at night, add some seating at the counter, in addition to some comfortable armchairs to make it more flexible.
5. Divide the room
Rather than moving your furniture, you could move the rooms themselves. This is easily possible with the use of room dividers. These could be opaque or solid and can help you to transform the dimensions of the room to suit the occasion.
There are a huge number of designs to choose from. You could fit ceiling to floor blinds that you can open and close, install movable panels, add wooden or glass screens, or introduce curtains that you can draw to section off an area for a snug feel.
Want to make your hospitality space more flexible?
Our talented team would be happy to discuss your needs and the solutions available.
Simply call 01223 952992 or email info@layrddesign.co.uk