Everyone loves a good café. People have café that they hangout in with their friends, or their colleagues. There is something about the air of a café that makes us feel comforted and welcome. Not too loud, not too quiet, just a little buzz of life. It is a paradise for coffee fanatics, but also a place for a good time, for everyone else too. It is surely not uncommon to have your own little café with your own idea of how to style it.
We are already in a time where all kinds of cafés are opening up; take for example the dog cafés, book cafés. But not everyone has the luxury to go wild with such ideas, so keeping practicality in mind, here are some simple but crazy ideas to style your café and make it a hit!
Get the basics right-
Before delving into the crazy and stylish, it is important to get the basics right. And the basics are good food and drinks. Without that a café no matter how amazingly hot and stylish and trendy is sad, doomed.
Theme it up-
A theme for the café is essential for it to have a patter. Nobody appreciates haphazardness, everyone is there to chill out, and that won’t happen if their eyes and mind are too busy trying to make sense of the loud harry potter music, dog pictures and the game of thrones tables. Even if you love all of those, and want to show it off, it’s just not a good idea to do it all at once. Decide on one theme –a theme done right goes a long way.
Make a statement-
Furniture are a big part of what is essential. So the pattern, color, and design of the furniture are important decisions to make. But other than that, a café with something special, something unique could become the talk of the town. This is where creativity comes in; it can be a statue, a strange family heirloom that only your family owns, or a collection of things that only you have. Go crazy!
Introverts corner-
A lot of people hang out in groups or at least with one other friend. The introverts are those that prefer to be alone. A place in a café where there is quite and peace with not more than one or two couches or chairs would be a welcome place for introverts or even those that want a time out from life. A booth with sound dampening wall panels would be perfect for this (it can even be customized to fit in with the theme). Appealing to introverts is not a bad business either; at least fifty percent of the population identify themselves as being introverted.
Pay to play-
People love to show off their favorite songs. Giving a chance to the customers to pay to play their favorite song would be a great step in getting close to the customers. It would make them feel include and welcome to the café. Who wouldn’t like coming back to the place that appreciates good choice in music? An old styled jukebox can be a great addition to a café.
Trivia time and Game nights-
Building a café are also about building relationships with the customer. Now, this does not mean that you have to be their friend or even an acquaintance but does mean being knowledgeable enough about the customers to give them a reason to come back and seek comfort in that place. A great way to do this is through trivia time and game nights. It makes everyone involved forget their worries for a few moments and just play a stupid game and have some light-hearted fun. Having a few board games for the board is not a bad idea either. Having stacks of the board game on one side of the wall is good on the eyes too.
Music area-
The importance of music in a café cannot be stressed enough. It is not a new idea but it is one that has always and will always work. Including music can be done in more than one ways. One is to have a good sound system and to make sure the volume isn’t too loud to disrupt conversation or works. Another way is to have a music hour, it would be great for local musicians to show off or for someone to get a chance to show their hidden talent. Music is never a bad idea. However, in such cases, it would be better to soundproof walls or use soundproofing materials, and it doesn’t have to be bland either, it can be decorative or even DIY.
Styling the staff-
Get the servers in on the theme and get them to dress accordingly and appropriately. A good server can make a day, a server playing a role or wearing costumes can leave a lasting impression. Getting the servers to wear costumes or a dress code according to the theme would be great but it can also work without a theme as well. Dressing the staff according to the occasion or festival could be a great idea too. Or the theme could just be –to be nice to the customers.
It’s just the thing about it cafés, it is a small space where you serve something to eat and something to drink, and the rest of the space is left for you to fill with your ideas, whether it be an idea of a small corner for music performances, or a café full of books and magazines. All in all, it is the small thing, likes remembering the drinks of the regulars, which keeps them coming back for more. A café is a place where people gather to have a quite peaceful and fun time and, styling it is just a way to enhance their experience of it.
The basic idea for the café can be anything, if it is done right and executed properly, it will be a successful café.
