Restaurant design is pretty standard. Tables, chairs, booths, bars, and counter serving space are the status quo. Yet, what if you want to do something more? What is in a restaurant if you do not have the help of a professional designer from a company like Telesco Associates to make these decisions? An interior decorator/designer can help. His/her primary function is to create unique and enjoyable living spaces, but they can also do commercial spaces too. Here is how to approach restaurant design with an interior designer/decorator.

What Is Your Customer Space vs. Employee Working Space?

The very first thing any interior designer will ask you is how much space will you designate to customer seating in your restaurant versus the working space of the employees? The designer has to have some measurements to start, so if you are doing a complete remodel on an existing restaurant that you bought, you may need to wait until the remodel is complete first. Then you can walk the designer through, taking measurements as you go. This is the space that the designer is concerned with, since designing a commercial kitchen is not part of the project for him/her.

What Is Your Intended Atmosphere?

This may seem like a hippie question, but the reality of it is that the designer wants to gauge your intended appearance and/or created mood of your restaurant. Are you going for a 50s diner look, or do you want rustic and wilderness? Remember, your restaurant's atmosphere sets the mood and expectations of the dining experience. It should also match the menu you have created and the food you intend to serve. For example, if you are serving Alaskan wilderness foods, you should not decorate your restaurant to look like an Italian luncheon bistro. It does not mesh well with customer expectations of what you are serving and where they are sitting.

What Kind of Color Palette Do You Want?

This may also be a seemingly strange question, but if you are going to use table linens or booths and stools that have colored leather/pleather seats, your designer needs to know what colors you like or may be considering. He or she may also suggest some colors that would work better with your intended atmosphere and the theme of your restaurant. While you may be reluctant to give up on your purple pleather seats, you may be pleasantly surprised by the drawings of your restaurant after your designer makes the color substitutions.