How To Enrich Your Cafe’s Ambience With Texture

You know when you walk into a room and something feels like it’s missing? All the right components are there – colour scheme, lighting, decorative items, but the entire room just feels flat. If this is something that you’ve come across perhaps in a cafe that you’ve visited, then the answer to what is missing is texture.

For some reason people often consider texture as an after thought when designing their interiors, but with our hints and tips, this is all about to change.

What’s so important about texture? It brings a room to life, makes it pop, and gives it ambience.

What do we mean by ‘texture’?

Basically texture is about how things feel. Imagine the feel of a soft cashmere sweater against your skin or imagine the texture of exposed brickwork. Or to make this more relevant to your cafe imagine the feeling of sinking into a comfy tub chair or sitting on a chair with a soft cushioned seat.

Adds visual weight

You probably already know how different colours can affect how a space feels. For example white makes a room look larger and lighter and also makes it feel fresh and clean. Well, texture works in a similar fashion. Rough textures can make your space feel more cosy and intimate whereas smooth surfaces bring more of a sleek, aloof tone to the room.

Placing a smooth texture next to a rough texture will also make the rough texture stand out and give it more visual weight than it if were spaced further apart.

Adds balance

Contrast is essential in design terms because it provides visual interest and keeps things balanced. The key thing here is not to go crazy and overdo things. Just stick to two or three distinct textures in different areas of your cafe. If you want people to see the space as a whole then opt for 3 textures and if you want to emphasise a particular focal point, then stick to two.

So how do you add texture to your cafe’s interior?

• Architecture – If you happen to have beams in your cafe then why not paint them white and paint the ceiling a soft pastel colour. Or, if you have a brick wall then why not expose parts or all of the brickwork to show off its texture.

• Furniture – Cafe furniture is one of the easiest ways to add texture and contrast. For example how about Tolix chairs with coffee bean cushions on them. Or how about using our cross back bentwood chairs with rattan cushions? Around your counter areas you could arrange metal bar stools with wooden seats or in your lounge area include a few tub chairs set around some metal coffee tables.

• Floor coverings – A stripped wooden floor could benefit from a few carefully placed sisal rugs which will help protect the floor and add interesting texture.

• Textiles – Finally, how about some throws over your sofas or some pillows in window seats to make the room pop.

Here at Cafe Furniture Brisbane we’ve got a great range of furniture which embraces a contrast of textiles to help you create ambience and replace what’s missing in your interior design. What’s more we’re having a summer bonanza sale where you can get between 5% and 70% of everything in store. So why not try out a few of our tips and save yourself some money too. To find find out ore check out the website or contact us on 07 3205 1616.