How to Create An Industrial Style

While you may think the success of a good cafe is down to the quality of coffee that it serves you’d be wrong in most cases. The key to running a successful cafe is to create the sort of ambience that tempts customers to stay for longer and indeed, to share their experience with their friends. Industrial design has seen a huge surge in popularity over recent years and has been a growing trend with cafes and bars.

What is industrial furniture?

The key strength of industrial furniture lies in its stripped back, raw, simplistic style. While styles can vary from simple minimalist to more complex aesthetics, the hallmark of industrial furniture relatively remains the same in that less is more.

Industrial furniture is largely recognised as having a distinctive mix of wood and metal. This has meant that many cafe owners have refurbished their venues to include an industrial décor in order to create an atmosphere and ambience which is loved by young professionals, in particular. The warmth of wood tones contrast with the coolness of metal to bring a relaxing and calm ambience to any space.

Why is industrial furniture so popular with commercial venues?

Industrial furniture uses robust materials which means that this quality furniture can last a lifetime, which in anyone’s books has to be a great return on investment. Another reason is that industrial furniture is incredibly simple, which in turn equate to less maintenance. Nuts, bolts, and rivets are typically left in full view and while this adds to its charm, it’s also a sign of a great build. In a venue such as a cafe where furniture is getting a lot of use, you just can’t go wrong with industrial furniture.

How to achieve an industrial style

Industrial style is all about making a feature of the rough side by getting rid of a tidy finish and replacing it with raw and less than perfect elements. Although you may not have the restored factory style complete with exposed brick work and pipes to help create the industrial feel, you can still achieve the look with industrial style furniture. Hardworking materials such as cement, wood and metal are essential to the look and can be easily paired with industrial style chairs, tables, and bar stools.

Although not typically industrial, try using key pieces of soft seating to complement the industrial look. Our tub chair upholstered in charcoal fabric is perfect for an industrial theme and adds those important elements of warmth and comfort.

While the Tolix brand springs to mind when putting together an industrial look there are plenty of other designs which can be used to good effect. Our Cargo stools stand out from the crowd with their timber seats and steel frame. Or for something totally different, why not consider our Drum stools which can be customised in the broad white bands to advertise your brand. The Detroit stool with its adjustable height is another stool that fits into an industrial theme really well. Don’t forget your tables either. You may not have raw concrete in evidence but how about incorporating our ‘cement’ Isotop table tops into your design. When paired with black metal bases, they really look the part. Finally, any industrial design needs a pendant light or two, as these are great for task lighting over your countertops.

If you fancy embracing the industrial style then we can help. At Cafe Furniture Melbourne we have a wide range of industrial style furniture so why not browse our online store or drop by our showroom to take a closer look for yourself?