How to Make Your Restaurant Stand Out With Designer-Style Restaurant Chairs and Bar Stools

Restaurant interiors are becoming increasingly distinctive. Owners want their establishments to be memorable, while designers and architects are constantly looking for ways to create spaces that do not resemble every other restaurant down the street.

One of the simplest ways to accomplish this is through designer-style restaurant chairs and bar stools.

Chairs and stools are no longer just functional pieces of furniture. Their shape, upholstery, color, texture, legs, and finishes can become an important part of the restaurant's overall design identity.

Bring the Designer’s Vision to Life

Designers and architects frequently begin with a vision that cannot be found in a standard furniture catalog.

Perhaps the project calls for an upholstered restaurant chair in a specific blue, red, green, or cognac material. Another restaurant may need the same chair in a completely different combination of colors and textures.

This is where customization makes a difference.

A single chair design can take on an entirely different personality simply by changing the upholstery. Designers can select materials offered by the manufacturer or provide COM — Customer’s Own Material.

COM gives design professionals considerably more freedom. If a designer has already selected a particular commercial vinyl, fabric, performance textile, or other upholstery material for the project, the furniture manufacturer can use that material to help maintain consistency throughout the interior.

The result is furniture that follows the design rather than forcing the design to follow the furniture.

Go Beyond Upholstery

Customization does not have to stop with the seat and back.

The legs and metal finishes of restaurant chairs and bar stools can also dramatically change their appearance. A chair with black legs may create a contemporary or industrial look, while the same chair with a steel finish can complement stainless architectural elements throughout the restaurant.

A gold finish can take the same design in an entirely different direction, creating a more upscale appearance for restaurants, lounges, bars, hotels, and other hospitality environments.

Designers can also coordinate upholstery, vinyl, fabric, laminate, and other colors and finishes with the rest of the interior.

For designers and architects, these details matter. Furniture should coordinate with lighting, bar finishes, tables, wall treatments, flooring, and other elements of the space.

Why In-House Manufacturing Matters

Creating customized furniture is considerably easier when designers can work directly with a local commercial furniture manufacturer capable of producing the furniture in-house.

Custom production requires communication.

Materials need to be reviewed. Samples may need to be approved. Colors and finishes must be confirmed. Dimensions and construction details need to match the project specifications.

When furniture is manufactured overseas, making these changes can become more complicated. Long supply chains can make it difficult to know exactly when customized products will arrive or whether the final upholstery, color, texture, or metal finish will look exactly as expected.

With domestic in-house production, designers can communicate directly with the manufacturer before production begins.

A chair can be reviewed, modified, upholstered in the selected material, and finished according to the project's requirements. If adjustments are necessary, they can often be addressed before an entire order enters production.

Make the Chair Part of the Restaurant’s Identity

Restaurants invest heavily in creating memorable interiors. Lighting, flooring, wall treatments, bars, artwork, and tables all contribute to that experience.

Restaurant chairs and bar stools should receive the same attention.

A distinctive chair can become one of the design elements guests remember. The right bar stool can help define the entire bar area.

For designers and architects, custom manufacturing provides an opportunity to move beyond standard catalog selections and create furniture specifically for the project.

Choose the chair. Select the upholstery. Provide your own COM material if necessary. Specify black, steel, gold, or another available leg finish.

Then let an experienced commercial furniture manufacturer turn that design vision into furniture built for the restaurant.