With the recent announcement about pavement dining becoming permanent (for venues with existing temporary licenses), you might have the scope to adapt your outdoor spaces to work even harder for your hospitality business.
Several of our most recent clients have been creative with their use of outdoor space and optimised areas to fit extra tables into awkward spaces.
Over the years we have worked with a lot of customers to help adapt their outdoor hospitality spaces.
Our friendly team are happy to do free site surveys, talk to you about your ideas, and provide advice and examples of how outdoor areas can fit outdoor furniture.
Here are some ideas and examples of how to maximise pavement dining, roadside gardens and balconies for additional hospitality spaces.
Roadside and Pavement Dining Area Ideas
If you are able to use your pavement or roadside spaces to expand your outdoor hospitality areas, there are some key considerations when choosing outdoor furniture.
Make sure it is secure, unmoveable or can be taken in at night
A recent outdoor furniture installation for The Bull Inn (shown here) where they were able to expand their frontage into the road, required heavy-duty, unmoveable outdoor furniture. The solution was our Gabion Range tables and benches, where each set weighs half a tonne once filled with rocks.
If you need lightweight furniture that can be easily taken indoors at night, our value range of Bexley and Camden Tables and chairs have been popular for this purpose. These are lightweight and stack easily.
We can also supply security chains to secure furniture to the ground if this is the best option for you.
Ensure it is eye-catching for passing walk-in trade
An attractive, well maintained, eye-catching front area will encourage people in and gives a great first impression of your establishment. You can amplify your outdoor frontage with brightly coloured and eye-catching furniture or parasols.
Make the most of the space you have
Even small or narrow spaces can fit a few tables or Bar height tables to stand to. Our 2 seater picnic tables are 59.5cm wide and our bar tables are 70cm wide.
Balcony and Path-Side Outdoor Table Ideas
Balconies
Consider small, mid-weight furniture so that it doesn’t blow away but it fits the space for at least two people to sit down at each table.
Our Florence Range of foldable tables and chairs is ideal for fitting in small spaces and being flexible for storage. The 2 seater table is 70cm wide.
If you have a larger balcony or terrace, small picnic tables, or a mix of different sizes (depending on the width of your area at different points) can maximise the outdoor seating you can offer.
We admire what Windy Corner Cafe, Bridport has done with the Bourton Range Picnic Tables, using 2, 4 and 6 seater picnic tables in their curved deck balcony.
Path-side or corridor spaces
If you have a corridor space that lends itself more to a drinking area then consider Poseur and Bar Height Tables with or without stools. Our bar height tables are 70cm or 80cm square.
Break up a large open space with a feature
If you are lucky enough to have a large outdoor area, consider breaking this up into different zones.
This can be easily done with different types of outdoor furniture, different ground surfaces or placing a feature in your garden as a focal point.
Wharton Golf Club
The Golf Club recently created different spaces on their patio area with a gazebo covered lounge type area and outdoor dining tables and chairs. This created two distinct spaces with outdoor sofas and outdoor dining furniture.
The Nithere Inn
Rather than it being an obstruction the team at The Nithere Inn created a feature with outdoor dining cabins positioned around their large tree.
The Prince George Pub
On their large patio area, the pub had us install two large wooden gazebos in addition to their existing pergola which created three distinct covered outdoor dining areas.
The Roebuck
They created a ‘Not-So-Secret Garden’ with an outdoor bar.
Roof Top Gardens and Terraces
Although rooftop gardens and terraces are slightly more challenging to deliver and install outdoor furniture and gazebos to, we have plenty of experience doing this for clients.
With outdoor spaces higher up, just be mindful of exposure to the weather and potentially windier conditions.
Also, consider the weight of the furniture or gazebo. Not too lightweight that they blow away, not too heavy that they compromise the weight load of the roof.
Please talk to our team about ideas and outdoor furniture that can work for your roof top gardens.
Give us a call for advice and ideas 01926 889922
As always, we would be delighted to talk through ideas with you about how to optimise your outdoor spaces for commercial hospitality.
We are happy to do free site surveys and recommend what might work well for you and your customers.
Please give us a call on 01926 889922
Email: [email protected]
