What’s the Difference Between Commercial Furniture and Residential Furniture?

It may seem a simple task to buy commercial cafe furniture, but it requires a quite different approach from buying furniture for your home. It needs to meet certain requirements for your business. Let’s take a closer look at what we mean.

Commercial interior design vs residential interior décor

While the interior of your home is personalised and designed to be comfortable for just you and your family, styling your commercial cafe space requires careful planning and facilities to cater to the needs of a large group of people.

For example, you might want to highlight your brand colours, or you might want furniture that can be safely used outside all year round.

Things to consider when you are looking to buy commercial cafe furniture include:

• Durability – since the furniture in your cafe is likely to get moved around a lot and regularly sat on by people of varying weights, it needs to be strong and robust. Most commercial furniture has heavier stronger parts for longer-lasting use.
• Cost – Some commercial furniture may cost more initially than residential furniture, but this proves cost-effective in the long term due to the decreased level of maintenance and the increased reliability
• Accessibility – when designing your cafe space you also need to consider access for customers to areas such as the restroom as well as space between the tables for customers to pull out their chairs and for waiting staff to be able to move around with ease.

Buy commercial cafe furniture – type of furniture to select

Before deciding on your commercial furniture you will also need to research the various styles, manufacturing processes, and materials available. When it comes to cafe furniture it should complement any existing furniture and fit into your theme or décor in order to create the ambience you want your customers to experience.

Some of the more common styles of commercial cafe furniture include:

• Industrial style furniture using a combination of metal and wood with bold accents
• Vintage style using classic designs of wooden furniture to create a cosy cafe full of charm
• Modern furniture with sleek contemporary lines to complement an airy minimalist décor
• Retro furniture such as booth seating to give your customers more privacy

Material to choose

To narrow down your search when you come to buy commercial cafe furniture, it makes sense to know what type of material you want your furniture to be made from.

Key materials for cafe furniture include:

• Wood – one of the most popular choices for cafes, wooden furniture creates a warm, welcoming ambience which can be rustic or modern
• Metal – metal furniture works well in industrial themed cafes and is strong and durable. Available in a wide variety of styles and colours, you’re sure to find a style that suits your venue
• Plastic – Plastic is a great choice for outdoor dining and comes in a huge range of colours and styles. Inexpensive and stacking for convenient storage, it’s possible to create a colourful and fun vibe without spending a fortune.

So now you know how to buy commercial cafe furniture why not browse our online store for inspiration or even better, visit our showroom in Melbourne where you can try it out for yourself. See you there!