Planning and Specifying

There are many factors to consider when specifying furniture for a restaurant, hotel bar or sports club. We have listed some of the most common here and we can help with all these.

Our number one recommendation when considering new tables and chairs is contact us early in the decision making process for a no obligation discussion of your ideas. We can help you to ensure that you get the right combination of design, practicality, comfort and style for your environment.

Space Planning

For some restaurants, maximising the available space to include as many covers as possible whilst still providing a safe and practical working environment for the staff is of paramount importance; for others, a more intimate, relaxed atmosphere is required with fewer tables in the same space. The sales consultants at H J Berry will help you to assess your requirements and plan the space you have available to make it work the best way possible for your business.

Time Factor

Coffee shops and snack bars often rely on a quick turn over of customers, whereas gourmet restaurants would prefer their clientele to linger for liqueurs, coffee and dessert. We can offer different comfort levels in our chairs to accommodate these different requirements.

Hygiene

Some of our products are designed purely with comfort in mind whist others utilise finishes and fabrics that are easy to clean. The latter may be more appropriate for family restaurants or environments where crumbs and spillage are expected. We can even polish our wood is a special “hygio-lacquer”, which repels germs.

Durability

All our chairs and tables are made to industry standards, are fire safe to level BS 5852 and crib 5 and are built to last. Where extra durability is required, Tough Tops should be considered for tables. The woodshade is also important as darker shades stay looking good for longer.

Service Style

If your restaurant is self-service there are likely to be lots of people walking around at once, often carrying trays of hot food and drink and often with children in tow. When specifying furniture, be aware that both adults and children can catch knees, elbows, feet and even heads on furniture, so avoid it being too closely arranged and avoid sharp edges.

If you provide a waiting-on service, be aware of the needs of the staff – flowing sleeves could catch on chair backs, for example.

Accommodate All

In a hotel bar or sports club, armchairs usually more comfortable and welcoming, but larger customers may not fit between the arms. We recommend a mixture of chairs with and without arms to accommodate all.

Provide Variety

A mixture of chair and table designs can make a room look more interesting than a sea of the same designs. We can provide a range of complementary chair and table designs in matching or harmonising woodshades and fabrics. Specifying all your furniture with the same woodshade and a variety of colours of the same design of fabric can create a very effective look.

Personalisation

We can personalise your chairs and some tables with the name of your establishment or your logo by hand carving, marquetry or a range of other techniques, or by sourcing personalised fabric for the upholstery.

Flexibility

We can provide stacking chairs, extendable tables, folding tables, removable seat covers, reversible table tops and wipe clean fabrics to give you the opportunity to be flexible with the layout of your space. These options are particularly popular in hotels and conference venues but are equally applicable to a restaurant wanting to be able to cater equally for intimate dinners for two and large parties.