Do you want to start a café of your own but you are worried about creating ‘just another coffee shop’ that doesn’t really offer anything unique or exciting? If so, this is the article for you. We’re going to share some of the most common themes for cafés and then add some inspiration on how to make a café as successful as possible. Let’s get started! 

Café interior design ideas

Cafés bring the perfect blend of atmosphere and service together to create an enjoyable experience for all customers. Designing a café interior requires taking into account a variety of factors, from the atmosphere to functionality. Here are some ideas for designing the ideal café interior…

Good themes for cafés

Creating a café with a unique and inviting atmosphere isn’t as impossible as you might imagine. In fact, it can be done with the right theme and a little creativity. Here are some of the most popular themes for cafés – which you can customise or expand on as you wish:

• Artistic: create a café that is designed around art, such as a café with a variety of artwork on the walls or a café that is themed around a specific artist (e.g., Andy Warhol themed or Salvador Dali). This is a great way to create an “Instaworthy” environment where customers come and take pictures of your intriguing décor to share with their friends and followers. 
• Vintage: Consider giving your café a vintage look by using antique furniture, decor, and lighting fixtures. This can be a fun approach for those who love exploring thrift shops and skips to find all manner of quirky items. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, as they say! 
• Rustic: create a cosy and rustic atmosphere with reclaimed wooden furniture and decorations that look like they’re straight out of a log cabin in the heart of a forgotten forest! 
• Urban: give your café an edgy look with modern lighting fixtures and furniture, and graffiti-style art on the walls. This is particularly popular in busy city spots, however, it is also a very ‘done-to-death’ theme, so you may want to create something a little more unique. 

The above are the most common themes for cafés and they do work exceptionally well. However, why not try and create something a little bit different? You could even borrow certain features from each theme and design something else entirely. 

What does a café need to be successful?

So, besides delicious coffee and friendly staff, what does a café need to be successful? How can you ensure that you stand out amongst the competition and have the best chance at attracting regular customers to your coffee shop? 

In order for a café to be successful, it needs to have more than just a unique theme. Here are some of the other things a café needs to be successful: 

• Comfortable seating: it might go without saying, but café customers need to be able to relax and enjoy their time, so comfortable seating is an absolute must. The same applies to tables. Nobody wants to be sat at a tiny, wobbly table that feels like it might keel over at any time. Think carefully about the layout of your coffee shop and plan your seating arrangement accordingly (check out Café Furniture Solutions for some inspiration!).
• Quality lighting: lighting can make or break the atmosphere of a café. Make sure the lighting is dim enough to be relaxing and bright enough for people to be able to see. You should also aim to have as much natural light in your café during the day as well. You can explore a variety of LED lighting solutions, offering all manner of colours and colour temperatures. You can also use lighting to highlight certain artwork and feature décor pieces in your café to really make it stand out from the competition. 
• Cosy atmosphere: cafés should be cosy and welcoming, so make sure the furniture is comfortable and inviting (as mentioned above). But, it’s not just the furniture that makes a space inviting, but the overall décor and interior features as well (e.g., a faux fireplace, lush cushions, beautiful plants, and so on). 
• Quality menu: A café’s menu should be varied and of superior quality. It’s not just about the coffee variety either, but the snacks and gourmet treats that you offer as well. If you really want to stand out, try adding some unique, signature dishes to your menu – things that can’t be found elsewhere. For example, why not bake some unique pastries or homemade cupcakes? Some cafés even serve wine and cocktails. The best way to create a quality menu is to conduct extensive competitor research in your area and see what other successful coffee shops offer. Try to emulate the successful establishments while putting your own spin on it. 
• Professional staff: a café’s team should be professional and welcoming so that customers feel comfortable and want to come back time and time again. That being said, if you really want to be unique, you can also consider finding your own customer service style. For example, the Karen’s Diner in the heart of Sydney decided that they wanted to create a theme where the employees were actively rude to the customers! That’s not to say that you should encourage your staff to be rude to everyone who walks in through the door, but you can almost certainly try and think of some unique and exciting ways to make the interaction between staff and customer more memorable (e.g., writing jokes on coffee cups). 
• Great marketing: of course, you can have the best décor and design in the world, but without proper marketing, you’re not going to experience much success with your café. Once you’ve settled on your interior décor and theme, it’s worth hiring a third-party marketing company to work on a strategy to start reaching out to your potential audience and drawing in as many new customers as possible. 

Conclusion 

Designing a café interior isn’t always an easy task (in fact, it can be a nightmare given how much competition there is out there), however, with the right ideas, a little inspiration, and some careful consideration, it can be done! 

By taking into account the needs of customers and the atmosphere that you want to create, you can design a café interior that will be truly unique, inviting, and most important of all: successful.

We hope that you’ve found this article insightful and wish you all the best with your future project!