Restaurants & bars · 15 April 2026 · 6 min read
Restaurant and bar interiors: designing the room around the counter
In a bar, the counter is the room. Everything else — seating, light, acoustics, circulation — is an argument about how people gather around it.
The counter sets the social temperature
Height, depth, the material a guest rests their arms on and whether the counter glows or absorbs light decide whether a space feels like a place to stand for one drink or sit for three. A backlit counter front can carry a property's entire identity while doing the practical work of lighting the service side.
Mix the seating, then mix it again
Two-tops, banquettes, high tables and a long communal table give an operator flexibility across a day and across a week. A room that only works when it is full is a room that looks empty most of the time.
Design for the evening first
Most restaurants are photographed in daylight and lived in after dark. Choosing the evening as the design condition — contrast, pools of light, faces lit well — usually produces a room that also survives the lunch shift.
Specify for wear, not for the opening night
Edges, corners, stool feet and the first metre of every wall take the damage. Solid materials in those places and replaceable elements elsewhere keep a concept intact through its commercial life.
