Colour Psychology for Bar, Hotel and Restaurant Interior Designers Surrey and London, England

“We eat with our eyes”; therefore COLOUR becomes a critical aspect of every successful restaurant interior design.

The language of colour is communicated far quicker to the brain than shapes or words. In restaurant interior design and the food industry as a whole, the psychological properties of the colour red are known to stimulate, excite and is closely related to passion and energy. Red enhances the appetite. When we see red, we get an energy boost. Similarly, this happens when we are ready to eat, our nerve impulses become heightened and our heart rate increases. In medical terms, neurons fire up in the hypothalamus part of the brain. It is not surprising that significant big brands understand the consequence of colour. Some large corporations even trademark their brand colours, which proves that the power of colour plays a dominant and vital role in brand identity.

Red is undoubtedly the single most effective colour used in restaurant interior design and within the food industry worldwide. Some of the most successful multinational food corporations, fast-food chains and restaurants will have the colour red in either their logo, branding or restaurant interiors. Although red is an appetite-inducing colour and a stimulator, be extra cautious as not to overuse it.

Certain colour combinations on big brands are no coincidence. For example, the combination of red and yellow or red, yellow and blue (primary colours) can be quite stimulating when used together. In proportion, this colour combination is ideally suited to fast-food restaurants. With the target market in mind being anyone and everyone - in, eat and out. This colour combination is also ideal for smaller fast-food restaurants with limited seating capacity. It allows for rapid customer turnover.

As restaurant interior designers, Surrey, we can offer you professional interior design advice on getting that right colour balance.

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Design Process

Process and workflow | Jessica Lightbody, Interior Designers Surrey. What should our clients expect from our complete interior design service

Typical interior design process for both high-end residential and commercial clients.

Our Interior Design Process is based on small to medium-sized projects:

Detailed client brief

Assess the situation – have preliminary talks with planning authorities if required

Site Survey - measure and analysis (information gathered to produce floor plans)

Concepts / initial design work for client approval (visualisation, hand-drawn sketches, 3D models and CGI rendering)

Design development - draw up floor plans, space planning & furniture layout

Branding design - for hotel and restaurant interior designs, we work closely with graphic designers to develop your brand that works seamlessly with your new interior design scheme

Lighting design - produce a reflected ceiling plan layout

Sourcing materials gather samples for relevant presentation boards

Preparing supporting visuals such as sections, elevations & sketches if required

Furniture sourcing vital at this stage, check stock levels, availability and delivery times

Budget costing

Production of working drawings, specifications, schedule of works & tender documents for all trades if using individual companies.

Firm up estimates

Order building materials, hard floorings, sanitary ware - everything necessary for the structural stage

Order lighting, decorating materials, furniture (could take up to 12 weeks, depending on suppliers stock levels), fabrics (could take up to 2 weeks) and accessories • Formal application made to Planning authorities if required

Appointment of contractors/letters of agreement/contract acceptance

Produce job programme and time-table

Regular site supervision

Structural work: demolition and building, first installation plumbing, first fix electrics, hard flooring installed, sanitary ware and so on at this stage, which will be followed by preparation and redecoration.

Supervision of redecoration; preparation followed by decoration. Starting with the top floor and work down and to begin with ceilings within a room.

Built-in furniture installation or floor sanding should be done between preparation and final decoration.

Flooring contractors, curtain makers and other specialist makers may have to return for final measurements at this stage. Second fix electrics.

Installation of furniture and furnishings if required – for example, flooring/ carpet laying

Decorating: delivery and positioning of furniture, hanging and dressing of window treatments (includes the fitting of poles and tracks etc). Hanging artwork and accessorising and dressing the room with plants, mirrors, decorative objects

Snagging, completion and handover

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BAR MAGAZINE UK, Calling in the experts | Interior Designers Surrey, England, UK

An insight into Lighting Design

by Jessica Lightbody

Through the effective use of lighting we can help you take interior design to a whole new level. A correctly illuminated interior can alter our spatial awareness, accentuate architectural features and visually alter the proportions of a room. This dynamic multifunctional tool can also be used to divide space, emphasise texture, manipulate shape or form, and exaggerate depth and height whilst creating unimaginable visual effects. In essence, lighting can be an architectural element that transforms an ordinary space into something extraordinary.

A well-balanced lighting scheme should incorporate a variety of layers ranging from functional or purpose lighting through to ambient, subdued or mood lighting. With an instant click of a switch, an interior can be transformed from functional to atmospheric.

So if you are planning to redesign your home, a restaurant, bar, nightclub or hotel, it is advisable that you give thoughtful consideration to installing a well-designed lighting scheme that will enhance the space and its contents.

We only see colour through the light it reflects; therefore, colour can appear diversely under varying categories of light. If we take a closer look at lighting in relation to colour and texture, we find that the texture of a surface is affected and can make a colour look quite different. For example, a colour on a glossy surface will appear deeper and brighter than a matt surface, although both surfaces may have the same colour pigment. The type of light used can also appear to change the colour of an object.

The colour appearance of light, whether it is ‘warm’ or ‘cool’ is expressed as a colour temperature and measured in ºK (degrees kelvin). The higher the temperature, the cooler the light produced. For example, fluorescent lamps may generate a cool blue light yet burn over 6,000ºK, resulting in a flat, cold, bright light with no shadows or highlights. Contrarily, the lower the temperature, the warmer the effect. To absorb this point, consider a candle that projects a reddish warm effect and burns under 2000ºK, which is equivalent to a 40-watt incandescent bulb. Ideally, clear daylight is considered to give the truest colour rendition. However, this is not necessarily the case, as strong direct sunlight (especially after noon) may render a yellow-toned cast. Darker colours can appear almost black at night or under certain artificial lights.

For a finer white light, use a daylight 6,500ºK to supplement natural light or a low voltage tungsten halogen lamp to significantly improve colour rendition. This is ideal for home offices or creative art studios. A warm white that burns 3,000ºK is ideal for home use, and a cool white that burns 4,000ºK is generally used for commercial spaces. An important factor to consider when using coloured lighting is that when light hits a surface, the colour of the surface changes. For example, a blue light on a red surface will appear purple, or a red light on a yellow surface will appear orange. This is great if it is intentional and where the orange becomes part of the colour scheme by adding a third dimension or what interior designers would call 'a complex colour scheme'... while interlinked, this is another subject in its own right and will be covered by Jessica in another article.

In an ideal world, fabrics, materials, flooring, wall-covering and paint colours should be agreed upon at the same time the lighting is being designed. In this way, your interior decor colour palate does not have to be governed by a pre-existing lighting scheme.

If an interior space will predominantly be occupied during the day, always give careful consideration to the orientation of a room before deciding on a colour scheme. A paint tone may look appealing in a retail environment, but when transferred to the home environment, it may not work in a north-facing room. The point to remember here is north- facing = cold and unflattering light; south-facing = warm and welcoming light; east-facing = warm light in the mornings, and west-facing = afternoon sunlight with colour changing from cool to warm.

The lack of sunlight or even a poorly illuminated space can cause a biochemical imbalance in our hypothalamus hormone, resulting in a condition called SAD (seasonal affective disorder), which makes us feel downcast. Sunlight is undoubtedly the richest experience offered to our senses. A sufficient amount of natural sunlight can contribute to our overall sense of well-being.

By using an infinite array of creative lighting techniques, Jessica Lightbody Interior Designs can help you create a well-thought-through lighting design scheme to emulate one of our most precious and priceless natural resources... pure natural sunlight, whatever time of year.

As hotel and restaurant interior designers Surrey, our lighting design service is part of our full interior design package. If you are in search of creating a great interior space that is instinctively warm and welcoming, book a free consultation with one of our interior designers in Surrey, England, UK at www.jessicalightbody.com.

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