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Bad Restaurant Color Choices?
Posted By: crash* on 11/5/2004 10:02 PM (CST) 125 Points
My partner is considering painting our restaurant a slate blue, black and white. I think these colors, while perhaps great for home use, will have negative effects in a restaurant setting. Any suggestions from the Profs?

Posted by: JBtron Accepted Answer
11/5/2004 10:12 PM (CST)
crash,

WELCOME TO KHE!

And I caught your first question! How KEWL for both of us!

Although I know there are colors that are more conducive to eating behavior, there is virtually no color scheme that can't work for a restaurant. It just depends on the retail "set-up":

What's the theme of your establishment?

From the colors you described, I could easily see that working in a Greek restaurant, a continental restaurant, or a real high-end, trendy celebrity place where the slate blue, black and white could be augmented by complimentary marble and real slate tables, etc etc

Let your mind go on this one.
I think you’re thinking too hard!

Hope this helps!

Best,

::JBtron
 
Posted by: amandavega Accepted Answer
11/5/2004 10:22 PM (CST)
If you follow conventional color psychology research, red and red tones are those that elicit hunger. Hence the reason most movie theaters have red walls. You don't have to use red, but if you use blues, let them be red hued blues, for example. The red/black/white is good for a higher end feel and can really portray a gourmet feel if done right, though.
 
Posted by: night_butterflz Accepted Answer
11/5/2004 10:29 PM (CST)
I think the colors will work. As long as it's not too dark in the inside and people can see what they are eating. Set your colors off by nice lighting and dishware.

jen
 
Posted by: kabir_baidwan* Accepted Answer
11/6/2004 4:13 AM (CST)
hi,
never use black. it is a negetive colour by nature. also it can make the interiors look clogged and stuffy. a customer at a restaurant expects an open and friendly atmosphere. White gives an overall clean look but it is not easy to maintain, especially in restaurants where accidents happen and mess things.
try light brown with yellow lighting. but then again color depends upon theme, furniture, class of customers, location etc.
 
Posted by: SRyan ;] Accepted Answer
11/6/2004 4:32 AM (CST)
I agree with JBtron. Don't think so hard. A couple of my favorite restaurants have a similar color scheme.

They made the place look classy. Oh yeah, and they offer consistently delicious food and great service.

Shelley ;]
 
Posted by: virago* Accepted Answer
11/6/2004 9:01 AM (CST)
Orange is colour to increase your appetite. Not the bright hue but the dirty orange with red and black. With the right lighting orange is a great colour for a interior of a restaurant.
 
Posted by: Ivy Mills* Accepted Answer
11/7/2004 1:30 AM (CST)
I agree with amandavega on the red thing. Red is psychologically proven to invoke hunger. A deep maroon would give a classy look. I think that with a cool palate like blue and gray you would be creating a cold atmoshpere. Great for some places, but I want to feel comfortable and cozy in a restaurant. It would help if we had more info about your establishment's theme.

Ivy
 
Posted by: ASVP/ChrisB Accepted Answer
11/7/2004 6:53 AM (CST)
The psychology of colour is fascinating. http://www.infoplease.com/spot/colors1.html

But how many top restaurants rely upon the primary colour palette of McDonalds to stimulate diner's gastric juices? Well... Only those seeking to cater for McDonalds segment of the market.

I believe it's probably possible to put together a great restaurant concept using any or all the colours of the rainbow. It's how those colours are used, and what the total package is all about, that makes the difference.

Is black, white and blue a bad choice? I immediately think of YSL Rive Gauche... OK, maybe that's more of a French blue than slate blue, but so what?

Tell us a bit more about the restaurant, the target segments, the cuisine and menu, the location, pricing, any theme you may have, and maybe then someone here can give some better targeted advice.

Meanwhile, can someone tell me if these jeans make me look any younger?

Thanks...

ChrisB
 
Posted by: Colleen Sharen* Accepted Answer
11/7/2004 7:13 AM (CST)
My only thought is that if you go with your very dark colour scheme, consider bringing in a lighting consultant.

You will need to figure out what types of lighting you will need at what dayparts. If you get it right, your colour scheme will be sophisticated. If you get the lighting wrong, customers will feel like they're eating in a cave.

Good Luck
C
 
Posted by: crash* Author Response
11/7/2004 9:00 AM (CST)
thanks to everyone for the valuable input. i've since convinced my partner to change the white to a svelt cream (which will be used for most of the walls), limit the usage of the blue to the ceiling and various lofty sections of the restaurant along with a few areas of wide trim along the floor (and now it's more of a warmer lighter blue rather than slate). the black is being used around the door and wall trim as well as some of the wainscoating.

we're going to try for a sort of 1930's look with old sconce lighting around the restaurant and antique banker's lamps on the bar. we'll see how it looks when we're done.

about us, we're a comedy club/restaurant/bar located in a downtown area of a mid-sized city. there are actually two restaurants and bars in the building. the restaurant/bar we're redoing first is on the third floor (top) of an old creamery built in 1910, so it has a lot of character, including large angled skylights over part of the restaurant, the 1"x8" trim around the doors, floor and ceiling, maple hardwood doors, and a 15-20' ceiling in most of the area.

the menu used to be all higher end stuff served in a somewhat stuffy atmosphere. we're trying for more of a casual dining experience and are going to add some smaller portion/less expensive items to the menu along with about 15 apps that change every week or two.

we'll have bands play in a corner of the restaurant late on the weekends (maybe some blue note jazz kind of stuff) and/or play louder more hip music controlled by the bartender (probably sign up for satellite radio so there's one less thing for the bartender to deal with).

guess we'll see how things work when we're done. still have to redo the bar area and come up with a new name. it used to be champagne-related (we had a very extensive champagne list, but the champagne era has passed). we're possibly looking for something comedy-related. we thought "the green room" might be tongue-in-cheek, especially since there's no green (how many stupid people aren't going to get that one?). we'll have to work on the name some more and see what we come up with.

thanks to all for the great advice and suggesions,
crash
 
Posted by: Ivy Mills* Member Response
11/7/2004 1:39 PM (CST)
Crash;

Sounds much better, the warmer tones should do nicely and it sounds like somewhere I'd like to check out. Check in here often!
 


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