A new year has begun and after a hard couple of years for the hospitality industry we seem at last to be inching towards a post-pandemic world. So it’s a good time to take stock. This blog post takes a look at some key trends that might affect hospitality design and commercial furniture in 2022.
Colour and shape
To encourage customers to venture back to eating and drinking outside of the home, hospitality venues will need to offer welcoming, comfortable environments.
Many interior design experts are predicting that the recent trend for mid-century rounded shapes and soft contrasts will therefore continue. Creating a ‘home away from home’ look will provide a calming escape from the uncertain outside world.
For 2020 the Dulux colour of the year was a pale green called Tranquil Dawn which was inspired by the calming shades of the morning sky. In 2021, Brave Ground was Dulux’s colour of the year, offering ‘a bolstering, balancing feel to any room’. For 2022 Dulux have again chosen a colour that chimes with themes of well being and a connection with nature.
This year’s Dulux colour of the year for this year is Bright Skies™. They describe it as: ‘An airy, light blue that’s … reflects the limitless skies around us…The soothing tone integrates nature into daily life, transforming spaces into a restorative escape from everyday stress.’
Dulux colour of the year for 2022 – Bright Skies™. Photo credit: www.dulux.co.uk
Shades associated with the natural world evoke a harmonious atmosphere and are great to use for restaurant and cafe interiors. They also go well with materials like wood, leather, and textured plaster.
In contrast to this ‘back to nature’ approach, Pantone formulated a striking and unique new shade of blue named Very Peri as its colour of the year for 2022. More vibrant than Dulux’s chosen shade, Pantone’s Very Peri embodies the ‘happiest and warmest of all the blue hues [and] introduces an empowering mix of newness’.
The vibrancy of Very Peri chimes well with the green and purple hues which elledecor reported as being ‘everywhere’ (including furniture) at Milan Design Week in 2021. Purple and the brighter hues of green can add a touch of extravagance and luxury to an interior design scheme.
Outdoor Dining and Social Areas
Outdoor fit-out for The Railway Pub in Essex by Warner Contracts Limited
Throughout the pandemic we’ve seen cafes, pubs, bars and restaurants utilise more of their outdoor space to offer customers safe dining areas. This trend will likely continue in 2022. In fact it’s thought that al fresco dining will become more of a permanent offering for many hospitality venues. We may well see more tents, canopies, igloos and pods offering year-round dining.
For pubs and bars, the trend for an ‘indoor-outdoor’ look is definitely here to stay, with matching sofa and armchair sets – such as our Marseille Outdoor Furniture Set – helping venues to create attractive social areas. Made from hard-wearing and weather resistant synthetic materials, these sets offer a more contemporary take on outdoor entertainment areas.
Experiential Dining
Eating out as an experience. Photo credit: Pixabay.com
During the various lockdowns many customers got used to ordering a variety of different cuisines from home delivery apps. So cafes, restaurants, and bars really need to offer an extra something to tempt customers to dine out.
This has given rise to what’s known as ‘experiential dining’. People are now not just looking for good food and service. Millennials in particular are seeking an ‘experience’ – something they can’t get from ordering in. This may involve sophisticated lighting and sound systems and even live entertainment. So, expect to see more creative interior design schemes in 2022 that offer atmospheric and themed dining environments.
Another rising trend is the ‘open concept kitchen’ – where diners can watch fresh ingredients being expertly prepared and transformed into delicious dishes.
If you’re looking to refurbish your dining area in this post-pandemic period then you’ll need to pay close attention to what your customers expect.
Sustainability
The hospitality sector has a big role to play in protecting our environment and is already working towards greater sustainability. In recent years there has been a shift in focus to reduce food waste, to source ingredients locally and eliminate disposable products.
A venue’s choice of materials for interior decoration and furniture can also have an impact on overall sustainability. Increasingly, restaurant, bar and cafe owners are looking for furniture that has been designed with long-lasting, high quality materials and which, after a long life, can be re-used or recycled.
Examples of renewable raw materials include bamboo, cotton, and especially wood. Look for the FSC (Forestry Stewardship Council) logo on commercial wooden furniture to be sure that it has been made from responsibly harvested wood.
Commercial furniture can also be made from recycled materials such as PET or old wool fibres. Our Carter Outdoor Tables are a great example. Available in square and rectangular sizes and in poseur heights, our Carter range is made from recycled plastic and provides an attractive, durable and sustainable outdoor furniture option for cafes, restaurants and bars. Additionally, furniture manufacturers are moving away from using potentially toxic substances in the manufacturing process. For instance, by using low VOC (volatile organic compounds) and water-based glues.
Other areas to look at include buying from commercial furniture suppliers that use more locally-sourced materials and have shorter supply chains. We are happy to say that the vast majority of commercial furniture stocked by Warner Contracts Limited is sourced right here in the UK.
Talk to us about your commercial furniture needs
Warner Contracts Ltd has a huge range of contract quality commercial furniture which can be ordered directly via our website.
If you can’t find exactly what you’re looking for then give our expert sales team a call on 0161 408 2390 or email [email protected]. Our friendly team will help you identify the right furniture to suit your venue and customers – from our bespoke and standard ranges.
Discounts are available on bulk orders and, as most of our stock is UK-sourced, our standard delivery time is just 1-3 working days. For faster turn-arounds we offer an express 24-hour service for an extra fee.