Cafe Lighting to put customers at ease.
Light fixtures come in many different styles and shapes, and each has its advantages and disadvantages. The right light fixture will depend on the nature of your space, what sort of mood you’d like to portray, and whether you need task lighting or ambient lighting.
The Right Type of Light Can Help Customers Feel Comfortable.
Ambient lights are used to illuminate spaces without creating glare. They provide soft, even illumination throughout a room. Task lighting is used to highlight certain areas of a room, such as work surfaces, counters and tables. These lights should be bright enough to see clearly, but not so bright that they cause discomfort.
The visual effect of pendant lights are a must in cafes, they bring a decorative element that sumerises the vibe perfectly. Rows of bare bulb vintage lights for example have an edgy urban vibe whilst a painted pendant in a corporate colour may reinforce the brands indentity. Some cafe chains for example may alsways have a particular colour combination in a identifiable RAL colour whereas a small sole cafe may not need to have customised options.
You Need to Choose the Right Color Temperature.
There are two main categories or colour of light bulbs: Warm white and cool white. Cooler colours are best placed in back of house loactions, as these are crisp clear bulbs making washing up cooking etc easier. Warm white bulbs produce more relaxed golden glow which is much more pleasant for relaxing in. Both types of bulbs emit visible light, but each has its own advantages and disadvantages. Cooler colours are great in task oriented spaces and warmer is more moody, not dull just a better ambience. Having said that a fast food establishment may still wish to have a cooler colour in customer area’s if faster turnarund of dinners is required. If you want customers to dwell and linger over a long luch warm bulbs are a must.
There Are Different Kinds of Light Types Available.
Spot lights lights are often used in restaurants because they provide consistent light without needing frequent maintenance or cleaning being recessed they don’t gather dust like a pendant lamp would. They also offer better general light for walkways, doorways and behind the counter which is much easier to work around when head space if free of lighting. However, above counter lamps provide light downwards showing off the delights on sale. If you plan to replace your current fixtures with new ones, consider replacing them with metal or robust glass instead of fabrics as these are stylish and easy to clean.
Rows of lights equally spaced across a counter look fabulous as do industrial factory lamps and bare vintage style bulbs. There are some amazing light bulbs styles these days that shine beautifully in there own right without the need for a lamps shade. massive big bulbs or these with tints and patterns bring an unexpected visual treat and can start conversations and make the whole place seem buzzy and freindly.
Positioning your hanging lamps is an art form. Use a single large pendant every 60cm-90cm apart and opt for odd numbers if possible, as this is more pleasing to the eye. Leave enough space so a customer can peep underneath to speak to the serving staff but not so high the lights are out of eyesight, we’d suggest 30-40cm above a high counter display.
If your counter is low, it’s best to have lights no lower that 2.2 meters from the floor to prevent customer leaning forwards and banging their heads.
Peruse our selection of bar cafe lighting to get inspired.