Creating The Ideal Cafeteria

By Author: Pat Carroll
Total Articles: 12
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You need to redesign your office cafeteria. But what kind of feeling do you want it to have?

The cafeteria in an office should have a very different feel than your middle school experiences, and careful design can help ensure that’s the case. Not sure how to make certain that your new office lunch room seating does not turn into grade school again?

- Go with a Restaurant Feel. While family style eating might be appropriate if you have more than one cafeteria in your building, it’s not the best option if you just have one place to eat. Instead, you want your employees to feel comfortable, and restaurant style eating is a good way to do just that. Add some booths in there. Go with some pub style tables. Vary the seating a bit, and your employees won’t feel quite like they’re headed back to school.

- Consider Capacity. You certainly want to make sure you have enough space in your cafeteria area, so don’t forget to think carefully about how many people you can seat. If no one can ever get a seat in the cafeteria, they’re certainly not going to plan to eat there on a regular basis. Don’t let these ...
... calculations terrify you into going with communal tables. There are many different seating options that still give you the café style you want without resorting to long tables with bench seats.

- Consider Other Design Features. Seating is a big part of any cafeteria, but there are other design aspects you may want to factor in as well. Think about your choice of artwork, flooring, and even accessories like drink stations and pay stations, as they can affect the flow and feel of your space as well.

Office cafeterias are far different from schools. However today’s school cafeterias are certainly not what they used to be. These days you can find pub tables, coffee stations, even bean bag chairs in the cafeteria, making it one of the coolest places to be. Wondering how to inject that same feel of safety, calm, and fun into your school’s cafeteria?

- Use Every Inch of Space: The space is already there, so why not use it? If there’s a spot where an automated drink station might fit, add it in. Have a space next to a booth for coat hook? Go ahead and add those too. Make certain your design makes use of all of the space available to you.

- Balance Durability with Style: Administrators often look toward durability over everything else, and while durability means cost effectiveness, it can also mean discarding style. Don’t do that to your students. As you choose seating, flooring, and more, find the perfect balance between the two. You clearly don’t want to replace everything in two years, but you do want to find something that doesn’t feel quite so industrial.

- Get Creative: Looking for some real insight into perfection? Ask your students. Consider a design contest where the winner gets to participate in the ribbon cutting ceremony. You could even provide your math and art teachers with a curriculum where students can learn something while considering the layout of the new cafeteria. Students know what they want, but they don’t always know what’s possible. Look to them for a bit of structured guidance, and you may uncover ideas you’d never considered.

Whether you are creating an office or school cafeteria you can make it be as hip as you want it to be. Factoring in the right seating choices into your redesign, and create a great place to eat, get together, chat with friends/coworkers, given the right surroundings.

Article Source: Carroll Seating