Commercial wallpapers are excellent for use in restaurant interior design. In fact, some might argue that wallpaper is better than paint in terms of cost-effectiveness and design flexibility.
Wallpapers come in a broad spectrum of designs that can match just about any type of brand personality you can think of. They are also much easier to install, remove, and replace.
But just because changing them is a breeze doesn’t mean you shouldn’t choose a design carefully. On the contrary, picking out the best wallpaper for your restaurant will offer lots of savings, allowing you to maximize your investment.
Ready to decorate your business establishment? Here are five tips you can use to get started:
Table of Contents
1. Decide on the Color
One of the things you need to choose in interior design is color. However, it becomes even more vital in foodservice businesses because it can influence how people eat and is vital in showcasing your restaurant’s brand identity.
What to Choose
When it comes to boosting one’s appetite, warm colors like shades of red, orange, and yellow are your best options.
Red has been found to increase impulse eating, particularly in ordering wine or appetizers. It is also the perfect choice when creating a luxurious and rich dining environment.
What to Avoid
You need to remember that not all shades of warm colors work the same way. While muted earthy tones of Tuscan yellow, terracotta orange, and deep garnet red work perfectly to this effect, more vibrant shades may irritate diners.
Bright yellow is particularly irritating when used as a primary hue in a dining room. The only situation where this combination could work is in fast-food establishments where the primary objective is a high turnover rate. This is because the bright color makes customers subconsciously hurry along.
Other colors that are not recommended for most restaurants are purple and blue.
While blue does promote a relaxing atmosphere, it doesn’t necessarily translate well into the majority of modern restaurant concepts establishments have today. This is partly because the color is very rarely found naturally in most types of food.
In fact, the only food products you’ll find in these colors are those artificially dyed to make them visually pleasing to children, like blue yogurt, cotton candy, and ice pops.
Of course, both blue and purple can still serve as accent colors but remember to use them sparingly.
Neutrals
Neutral colors are the go-to hues in most interior designs, and restaurant walls are no exception.
Beige, black, brown, grey, and white are all great choices for restaurant wallpapers.
Black and dark shades of brown are often used to accentuate lighter hues as they denote elegance and sophistication – two things you want to achieve in a fine dining establishment.
White is the color uniformity and cleanliness and can be accentuated by bright colors for quick-service restaurants.
On the other hand, grey, beige, and brown all help food and service stand out in a warm, hospitality environment.
Besides color, you also need to think about textures, lighting, and other elements to ensure that the wallpaper you choose helps achieve a cohesive and unified design.
2. Pick a Theme
If you’re not sure what color to pick for your restaurant interior wallpaper, it will help to select a theme first. This will narrow down your options and even help you choose a color palette that suits your brand personality.
Themes differentiate the foodservice business from one another, not to mention they are great for identifying the perfect wallpaper choice for your restaurant. After all, a theme unifies the style and look of the establishment.
For example, bar-style restaurants can showcase fun and liveliness using natural wallpaper patterns, especially those with tropical themes. Alternatively, those with a more elegant and luxurious vibe can go with natural patterns that look more romantic and seductive, like rose patterns or floral artworks.
Not sure what theme you want for your restaurant? Here are a few you can explore:
Tropical
This theme is perfect for small establishments that feature bars because it incorporates water, sunshine, and an energetic atmosphere.
Urban
Great for city-center cafes and food businesses, this theme often depicts cityscapes and people falling in line in the busy urban streets. Some even use graffiti and combinations of colorful images on dark backgrounds that reflect that urban vibe.
Rustic
This theme focuses on the use of vintage hues and illustrations inspired by flowers and animals. This works perfectly for farm-style, homemade-cooking food businesses.
3. Address Functionality Concerns
Aside from adding beauty to any space, wallpapers can also help address some functionality concerns. In restaurants, you can do this by:
- opting for bright or light-hued wallpapers to brighten up the space; or
- using patterns that make a small room seem larger.
4. Learn How to Use Wallpaper
Another thing you need to figure out is how to use the wallpaper in your restaurant. Remember that different styles work in different ways.
Below are some examples:
Used on all the walls
Add a twist to the traditional wallpapering technique by hanging striped paper horizontally for a more contemporary look. Bold patterns also help create optical illusions that make the space seem bigger.
Pro Tip: If you’re DIY-ing, avoid using wallpaper with small, continuous patterns as these are quite challenging to paste seamlessly.
Highlight one wall
Using a bold, dramatic pattern, highlight one area in the room that you want to use as the focal viewpoint. You can also opt for wallpaper designs with a hint of mica, metallic, or gloss for a classier vibe.
This is a perfect choice if you want your restaurant to have mostly plain walls. It is also great for highlighting certain elements in your branding.
5. Seek Expert Help
Many people who initially want to DIY projects like wallpapering often find themselves spending too much time, effort, and money they could’ve used on other things. Considering that these are all important resources when you’re starting a restaurant, it would be best to leave this task to the professionals.
If you’re not sure what wallpaper to choose, work with an interior designer. They can either provide you with professional advice on what to choose or help you complete the project – from planning to execution.
Choose Your Wallpaper
While choosing wallpaper is just one of many interior design decisions you must make, it is one that has a significant effect on your business.
Before buying wallpaper online, you need to make sure you have already decided on a design, as redoing the project not only costs more money but also delays the opening of your business.
AUTHOR BIO
James Prathap is the General Manager at NGC Nafees, one of the leading distributors of wallpapers, floorings, and fabrics in the Middle East and South Asia. Formed three decades ago, the business also offers high-quality panoramics, coordinated fabrics, and creative stickers for residential and commercial projects.
