#Inspiration
Eco Design Furniture for Restaurants, Bars and Cafe Interiors
Can Commercial Interior Design be Eco Friendly?
As the world becomes ever more aware of the need to ‘go green’ and maintain an eco-friendly lifestyle, purchasing sustainable furniture for your business also plays an important role for the right image. Tasty and original specialties in a cozy and sustainable place will taste better!
Can Commercial Interior Design be Eco Friendly?
Quick answer, Yes.
Nowadays, sustainability is a key part in commercial interior projects. Commercial interior design plays an important role in the success of a business, conceptualizing spaces to receive workers and guests. So, how can sustainability be embedded into commercial interior design?
Once the construction phase is complete, the interior designer then transforms the physical structure into a living space, in ways that are practical, appealing and profitable for the business. Here, sustainability is a journey not a destination.
It’s about making step changes towards sustainability that cumulatively make a difference. It’s about the creation of interior environments that use principles such as functionality, accessibility, and aesthetics with a focus on people and planet. Sustainable design is about being guided by considerations to help reduce energy consumption, pollution and waste and put people at the heart of the design.
For example, one of the steps is to take into account the lifecycle and long-term environmental impact of the materials incorporated into interiors. Other steps are: reducing the environmental impact of transporting goods, finding local suppliers when specifying products; installing energy-efficient machines, LED lights and equipment to minimize water waste. And very important: thinking carefully about the impact design has on the people’s wellness who will live, work or play in the environments created.
When we talk about commercial interior design, this includes hotels, restaurants, lounges, retail spaces, offices, banks, hospitals, libraries, schools and more. Now, let’s focus on the restaurants, bars and cafes.
Lobby Cafe Eco Friendly Design
The interior design studio Arent & Pyke was tasked to create a homely, welcoming, timeless and individual ambience for the guests of the Alex Hotel in Perth. The result is a mix of intimate guest rooms and lively public spaces such as this lobby cafe and lounge. The natural light is very present and the furnishings bring warmth and color to the space.
The cork stools by DAM are a very eco choice. With practically unlimited durability, the agglomerate cork is 100% vegetable, biodegradable and recyclable, it is resistant to abrasion and impact, it is flame retardant and it is a great solution for spaces with specific acoustic characteristics.
The cork is stripped every nine years from the cork oak which is the only tree whose bark regenerates itself and is harvested about 17 times over its 200 years. So, extracting it is a key contribution to the ecological sustainability of the Mediterranean region.
Small Restaurant Eco Friendly Design
Here we present a small restaurant where wood paneling and wooden cabinetry create a cozy and homely feel. Developed by Scott and Scott Architects, this space is simple and elegant. They added marble bistro tables and a marble sink to create a striking contrast against the simple wooden surfaces. They also added the cork and wooden dining chairs by DAM. They combine solid oak and dark cork and both natural materials maintain their integrity during the years. Their natural neutral tones also age gracefully and exhibit a zen quality.
Developed by DAM, this restaurant represents comfort, style and luxury achieved within a sustainable framework. The green wall is anchored by a huge fluted bar counter made of natural stone. In front is a row of wooden bar chairs with a comfortable cork seat, where guests can sit and watch dishes being put together. Around the round dining tables are inviting armchairs to eat calmly in a more private ambience. And when it comes to fabrics, Gabriel is our choice to-go-to for sustainable selections. For example, Chili is a fabric made from 100% post-consumer recycled polyester with a good abrasion resistance and superior flame retardancy and it is certified to the Oeko-Tex 100 Standard. This space also includes LED lights made of vegetable and biodegradable materials such as cork and rice straw.
How to create an eco interior design for Restaurants, Bars and Cafes?
If you are looking for practical, modern and eco-friendly furniture for your establishment, choose natural materials to last, responsible manufacturing and invest in meaningful furniture so you can create a unique identity for your brand. All the senses are important: the taste, the smell, the touch and the vision. The centerpieces can be the chairs, the lamps or even the plants or the wall panels. With fewer elements, but better elements, it will look very good and welcoming.
So, let’s enrich the spaces with nature and authenticity.
