Bar Furniture: Form or Function?

As a bar owner, you may want all your clients to experience something special when they come to your place and have a drink. You would want to make them feel as comfortable as it is possible, and at the same time, you would really like the most people possible to come in and spend time (and money) in your bar.

These are some of the things you will think about when considering the ideal furniture to dress your venue.

The question about what's more important: form or function in furniture, will always surface at some point, and it's very important to know exactly what you're looking for if you want that question answered to a satisfactory end.

The thing about this choice is it really depends on what you're looking for, because you can't furnish a minimalist lounge the same as an adult-contemporary bar. In the first case, style is far more important than functionality, since the whole concept of minimalism is about pleasing the eye, and your clients will spend a lot of time talking about your decor and how they sat on a funny upside-down stool.

The case of the adult-contemporary example is quite different, since style is not really in the interest of the young employee that sits at the bar just to have a drink and chill, while relieving from the stress of a hard day's work. Here your furniture should be really functional, comfortable and easy-going.

The aspect of form in furniture responds to the need of creating identity, the details that will make your place distinct from the rest, and will keep your clients coming back even if your prices and services are exactly the same as the others. When considering form you should first define exactly what you're looking for: minimalist style, western, contemporary, and so on.

You need to be consistent in your style, and by all means, if your bet is on style, avoid dull or indifferent styles.

When it comes to functionality there are some other things to consider. Take a look at your bar when it's empty, just before you open the doors to the public. What do you see? Are all spaces taken advantage of? Walk around the tables; sit on the stools at the bar.

Is it really comfortable?

Think of all the people that come in and sit on those chairs and stools, how they move back and forth. Maybe the chairs are too bulky to navigate around them, or the stools take too much space that could be used by more clients.

Functional furniture may not be great-looking, but it sure could make your bar a really comfortable place to spend a couple of hours just relaxing, chatting and sharing a drink.

Some owners choose their furnishing without really getting into the concept or the objective they seek. The risk is turning the place into a golem of forms that would just not feel comfortable enough to the eye, thus generating a level of rejection in the customers.

The secret here is to balance things as much as it is possible and consider form as a practical need, because your place is a commercial venue and should be treated as such.

A home can be furnished in pure functionality with a bed, loveseat, couch, kitchen table and such, leaving detail and form out of the scene. A bar, on the other hand, must incline to the side of form to fulfill a purpose: entertain people by offering them a different, non-domestic environment.

There are many options and styles from which you can select the one that suits your place best, what really matters is that you decide what you want to offer to your clients.