Sofa along the walls, chairs around the tables, or both. The question comes up every time a new room is planned, and the answer has less to do with the style of the venue than with how people actually move through it.
The two set against each other
The differences come down to four things, and each of them pulls its own way.
| What we compare | Restaurant sofa | Chairs |
|---|---|---|
| Floor space | less, the guest slides in along the table | more, the chair has to be pulled out |
| How easily the room is rearranged | the piece stays at the wall | moved and added to in a minute |
| Lead time | four to six weeks made to measure | 7 to 14 working days |
| Where it works best | walls, corners, narrow passages | a room that keeps being rebuilt |
Restaurant sofa, bench seating along a wall and corner sofa are the same piece with us, so the comparison applies to all three.
When the sofa wins: walls, corners and narrow passages
The sofa wins everywhere every centimetre of the passage counts. It needs no space for pulling out a chair when the guest stands up, because the guest slides in and out along the table.
On the same floor area you get more seats than with chairs around the table. In return it takes 50 to 70 cm in depth, depending on the model, and you subtract that figure from the width of the room when planning.
When chairs are the right answer: the room that keeps being rebuilt
Chairs win where the layout changes from week to week. It is easy to add a place when the party grows, to move a table or to reset the whole room for a group booking.
In the catalogue we have, among others, MILA for restaurants, CHERRY with arms, CHI, CORAL for outdoor seating, MONTI and 121. A sofa once fitted along the wall stays there.
What each costs you in waiting time
Chairs and tables we make in 7 to 14 working days, whatever the colour, while sofas sewn to measure take four to six weeks from the moment payment is registered. If the opening date is already set, that difference often matters more than the layout does.
One exception is worth knowing: chair 121 we make in four to six weeks, that is, like the sofas, and not in the same time as the other chairs. If you are aiming at that model with little time before opening, say so straight away.
The solution most people end up with: sofa against the wall, chairs towards the passage
The most common solution in restaurants combines both at the same table: sofa along the wall, chairs on the other side. That gives you the saving in space at the wall and the flexibility where people walk past.
With a layout like that a table for four takes from 1.2 to 1.5 linear metres of sofa. A room with five such tables along one wall then comes to roughly 6 to 7.2 metres.
How it went at the bakery and café Kaffel in Gliwice
In practice it often ends with both. At the bakery and café Kaffel in Gliwice we put sofa and chairs together, and chose colours that played along with the listed interior.
What we need in order to quote
Give us the length of the wall and how many seats you are aiming for. Then we will say on the phone whether a sofa, chairs or both give you most: 968 27 586.
Mariusz Wolski · owner of KAIZEN sp. z o.o. · in the furniture trade since 2005