Interiors are not just about the ambiance and decor of the restaurant. Colors are just an as important aspect of the interiors as they play a significant role in influencing customer perception, and also impact their purchase decision. Restaurant interior colors should be chosen with care and should be in sync with your restaurant’s theme and concept
Studies have shown that restaurant interior colors can impact the psychology of customers, making them subconsciously react in many ways ranging from affecting the food choices of customers to the amount of money they spend. Different colors stimulate different emotions and can profoundly impact feelings of hunger, thirst, and comfort in people.
Using warmer tones at the entrance of a restaurant makes the customers feel that the temperature is a couple of degrees higher than usual. Cooler shades send a psychological impulse that makes people think that the temperature is more relaxed.
Thus, some specific colors are suggested for the different types of restaurant formats. Similarly, restaurant interior design also impacts customers’ comfort and experience. Read more about restaurant interior design here.
Impact of the Various Restaurant Interior Colors on Customers
Below we have mentioned the popular restaurant interior colors and discussed their impact on customers.
1. Light Colours: White, Beige, and Light Grey
If you have a small spaced restaurant, painting your interior restaurant walls with any of the bright colors will help you make your restaurant look big. Colors such as white and beige have also been proved to evoke a relaxed feel among customers, making them want to stay more as they feel welcomed. If you have any bright color painted already, then painting the opposite wall can be an excellent choice to create a relaxing effect. Also, the best color for a restaurant ceiling is mostly white or beige, to make the place look more spacious.
Restaurants that have a high volume of customers every day should avoid applying light colors as with top volume customer staying time in the restaurant should be as minimum as possible.
At the same time, you must never go overboard with these interior restaurant colors and use them in contrast with other colors as they can act as diet suppressants. So while beige is relaxing and royal and would be perfect for use in a fine dining restaurant, you must always use it with a bit of white or green or even hints of red that breaks the effect of beige. You could use potted plants or minimal red seating to create this effect with white floors. The color combinations should not aim at one specific emotion but generate a range of them for your maximum benefit.
2. Relaxing Colours: Green And Brown
Green is and always has been the color to be associated with nature, and it creates a relaxed atmosphere in the restaurant. It makes the customers relaxed and encourages them to stay for a while. The most important aspect of painting the restaurant green is that the customers want to eat healthy and well-balanced food. Health-based restaurants should apply a calm tone of green on their walls, and a little hint of woody brown might help as well. Green doesn’t work in bars and pubs, which need to have a dim light as the green then turns gloomy and depressing. Brown, on the other hand, is excellent in patches and minimal uses but used too much it can tip over the entire look and make the restaurant feel rustic and not in the right way. The key is to balance the interior restaurant colors that you have chosen.
3. Curbing Appetite: Blue And Purple
No matter how unbelievable it may sound, the colors blue and purple have been associated with toxins and thus decrease the appetite of customers. Whether or not this statement is true, the fact is that there aren’t many naturally-occurring blue or purple food items, which is why they are considered to limit the appetite a person has.
Blue is generally linked with relaxation. So if you own a coffee house where you want people to have a relaxing time and enjoy their beverages, blue and purple should be your interior restaurant colors. Also, the best color for your restaurant ceiling might still be a lighter one, since you don’t want to make the place look gaudy.
Cafe Coffee Day makes abundant use of the color purple and is one of the most popular coffee destinations in the country. But do not forget that they do so with a contrast of red, which is almost at the opposite end of the color wheel. While purple and brown wood typically saw in a ‘Cafe Coffee Day’ create the aura, the red logo gives it a fast-casual dining feel and encourages impulsive buying. Also, red catches the customer’s eye far before purple, so the decision to spend is already cultivated before the relaxing mood kicks in.
4. Rushing In And Out: Bright Shades Of Red And Yellow
Yellow and Red are the most widely used colors in logos, as they are the most cheerful colors to see. Both these colors elevate the heart rate and blood pressure of the customers and create a new emotion, which makes them eat fast and leave. Most of the fast-food restaurants and QSR restaurants have either red or yellow walls or have accessories such as mugs, cups of the same color on the table. Fast food color schemes generally depend on your brand logo and color as well. These color schemes are only advisable for the places which have a high footfall and want the customers to leave fast.
McDonald’s and KFC are the classic examples of fast-food restaurants making use of color psychology on customers. Instead of blatantly copying their color schemes, you should try to make some more combinations like Red and White, Blue and Lighter pink, and so on. The best color for your restaurant interior and exterior would be the one that reflects the brands the most.
5. Letting The Customers Stay: Warmer Shades Of Red, Orange, Brown
Dark, earthy colors, when painted onto the walls in light shades and combined with a little lighting of warm colors, helps the customers relax and want to stay more. Darker shades of red, maroon, warm orange and brown tend to boost the appetite of the customers, making them an appropriate color choice for fine dining restaurants which specialize in multi-course meals. The best colors for your restaurant exteriors, in this case, should be on the darker side, brown or navy blue, to make a mark.
While choosing the interior restaurant colors, the most critical factor is what type of restaurant you own and what kind of food you serve. If you are opening a new restaurant or trying to redecorate your establishment, then painting your walls as per the restaurant type will be a good idea. Still, if you have already painted indoors but want to change the scheme of your restaurant, using the appropriate colors in table accessories, wall hangings, and lighting can be a business booster too.
This is a very interesting read. People are hardly aware of the psychological impact the interior colors of a restaurant can have on customers, and how effectively the restaurant owners can use these colors to make the customers spend more, and in turn increase their sales. This is something all restaurant should ponder into! Great job! 🙂
Various colors can affect the guests in multiple ways, they are powerful tools for shaping how your customers behave in your restaurant. It also means that you can’t just choose colors for your walls and decorations arbitrarily, and you’ll have to use thought when choosing your restaurant’s color scheme. Good Read.
Great article. Restaurant color psychology actually impacts how long customers stay at a restaurant and how much they spend. Bright wall color combinations are preferred in fast food restaurants as they excite the mind and encourage customers to order quickly and then leave.
The impact of interior colors on sales of a restaurant is a very good topic to talk about, often restaurant owners pay little to no attention to how the color scheme can elevate the sales. Thanks for this informative article.
Great information. A good read for both starters and for people already in the business.
Helpful blog as restaurant color impacts the customers by changing the mood, the brighter and shiner makes a visitor to feel happier and pleasant, thus make them order something eventually.
very good information especially for a starter. Thanks for this article
great help for my design 🙂 thanks a lot.
looking for some colours for my small cafe. this article helped a lot. thanks
Really very helpful article. Thank you
Your restaurant’s interior isn’t the only place where you need to be conscious about your color choice, because the colors on your menu can also affect your customers. So, when you’re creating a menu for your restaurant, you should be aware of which colors you’re using and how they interact with your customers and affect their appetite and choices.
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