When you’re designing and decorating your restaurant, you’ll naturally gravitate towards one design style or another. A popular style for restaurants and bars is rustic. It makes guests immediately feel comfortable and gives your restaurant a homey feel. If you’re considering committing to know how reclaimed wood adds a rustic touch to your restaurant, let’s read up on what exactly that entails and how reclaimed wood can help you on your journey there.
What Are The Principles Of Rustic Design?
To achieve a certain design style, you have to know what you’re aiming for. The philosophy behind the rustic design is based on embracing an organic aesthetic. The design should be simple and coarse while bringing comfort and warmth into the room. The elements that build a rustic design all support this goal of ultimate design comfort.
- Organic Textures: The goal of rustic design is to make it seem as natural as possible. When you take texture inspirations from the natural world, you’re bringing the outdoors in and making your restaurant design organic. Textured rustic table tops are a perfect place to incorporate organic texture into your design. Stone features are also a cornerstone, often seen in exposed walls and fireplaces.
- Natural Color Palette: The color scheme of rustic design should be inspired by nature. While this includes brown, beige, and cream, it also encompasses shades of blue, green, and red. Any color that is naturally found in the outdoor world is well-suited for a rustic design.
- Bold Patterns: Rustic designs embrace a concept of simplicity, employing strategically positioned patterns to captivate viewers and pique their interest. In order to maintain the rustic aesthetic, patterns with a handmade or slightly worn appearance are frequently favored.
- Focus On Furniture: To adhere to the natural aesthetic, rustic furniture is commonly crafted using materials that have been recycled or reclaimed. Instead of being discarded, items that would typically be wasted are given new purposes. For instance, in 2015 alone, approximately 2.7 million tons of wood pallets were recycled. Furniture pieces created from these natural materials lack the expected symmetry and uniformity found in traditional or contemporary furniture. This unrefined appearance effectively captures the essence of rustic charm, evoking a sense of simplicity and coziness.
How Can Reclaimed Wood Make Rustic Table Tops?
Getting excited about a rustic design is easy enough, but implementing it requires some thought. One of the best ways to incorporate rustic design is through the final principle of rustic design in the list above: the furniture. The focal point of your restaurant (and where the majority of your customers will get a sense of your restaurant’s style and design) will be the tables and chairs that spread across the dining area.
Make sure you capitalize on this focal point by choosing rustic table tops made of reclaimed wood. The unrefined nature immediately gives off an authentic feeling of comfort. You can use nearly any type of wood for your rustic table tops, but they all have different appeals.
- Pine: This is a classic choice for furniture across many design styles. Pine is more close-grained and even, classifying it as a softwood. It is more prone to nicks and scratches, but it takes paint and stains well. If you think that you would want to put color on your table tops, pine is a great option.
- Hardwoods: While hardwoods are often used in furniture and flooring, they can often come with a heftier price tag when compared with their softwood counterparts. Hardwoods are often slower growing and of higher density and can come from several different trees, such as mahogany and beech.
- Fir: This wood is found all across North America, often growing in mountainous regions. With its strength and beautiful coloring, fir is a natural choice for reclaimed wood table tops.
Why Can My Restaurant Benefit From A Rustic Design?
If you desire your restaurant to create a homely atmosphere for customers, embracing a rustic style is essential. The inviting and cozy ambiance provided by a rustic design instantly greets guests and entices them to return. Families, in particular, will appreciate the comforting and secure environment associated with rustic aesthetics. When a restaurant appears overly strict or formal, many patrons may feel out of place. As their discomfort grows, they become less inclined to revisit the establishment or introduce their loved ones to it.
Good first impressions are essential for a restaurant’s success, and a rustic design certainly impresses. Using reclaimed wood shows that your restaurant cares about the environment and sustainability efforts. When you incorporate handmade features and accessories into the design, it shows that your restaurant cares about the details and the value of one person’s work. These sensibilities appeal to a large number of people, from families to environmental enthusiasts to young couples. By committing to a rustic design, your restaurant will speak to many different groups of people and bring in a crowd who wants to keep coming back.
The essence of a rustic design comes from the proper execution of the details. When you use reclaimed wood for your table tops, you are claiming the rustic style as your own. The beautiful appearance of the wood and the obvious effort towards sustainability is sure to make a positive impression on anyone who comes through the doors of your restaurant.