Lighting Interior Design Trends for Restaurants

While offices are engaged in post-pandemic workplace design, eateries are looking for ways to entice customers into returning. This means reworking menus with appetizing new food options, but also upgrading décor to take advantage of current trends. 

With the right tools, restaurants can create a relaxing atmosphere for customers who are looking to leave the stress of the last couple of years behind and reconnect with family and friends. 

Surface materials, furnishings, and color all play a role in designing attractive, modern spaces, but also consider how lighting plays a pivotal role in impacting the overall functionality and aesthetic of a space. With the right lighting, you have the best opportunity to complement the overall design.

Adjustable Lighting

Commercial kitchens require a bright wash of overall lighting and perhaps task lighting for food prep, cooking, plating, and so on. When it comes to the seating area, however, the ability to adjust lighting for mood and time of day is essential to creating a specific ambiance. 

For example, you might want a different lighting aesthetic for a corporate lunch crowd versus an evening dining crowd. You might want the option to adjust lighting for events, like corporate parties or weddings that rent out your venue. 

Dimmable LEDs that show food in true color are ideal, and you’ll definitely want to look into modern options like smart tech that lets you program presets and change the mood on the fly with a phone app. 

Recessed lighting is a good place to start, but it’s not a bad idea to pair it with sconces or pendant lights. These options add the potential for soft, ambient lighting or intimate illumination for individual tables. 

Centerpiece Chandeliers

If you’re looking for lighting that makes a statement, you can’t go wrong with chandeliers. The only caveat here is that you have to scale accordingly. 

If you’re working with a two-story ceiling, large fixtures that draw the eye upward are essential to making an impact. On the other hand, chandeliers hanging over tables will have to be smaller so that they aren’t distracting (or hazardous) to diners. 

Upscale Industrial

Focus on bringing business in with chic, industrial touches that make your restaurant stand out. Modern industrial lighting has a softer, more refined look to it, unlike the rough industrial styles that have gained popularity since the turn of the century. 

If this style really doesn’t suit your décor, consider opting for hanging lights in a mid-century modern style or something with a crisp, clean sensibility. Simple, timeless styles are a great way to add understated class and ensure that fixtures will look as good ten or twenty years down the road as they do today. 

Whether you’re updating restaurant décor and lighting or looking for post-COVID-19

Whether you’re updating restaurant décor and lighting or looking for post COVID-19 office design ideas, office design ideas, Hello Raye has everything you need to create impactful upgrades. Sign up today and start creating unique design idea boards.

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