CONTRACT FURNITURE

 

Contract furniture is furniture used by businesses and in other places of work; it includes furniture in offices as well as public dining and entertainment-type venues, most typically restaurants, hotels, pubs and cafes. Contract furniture is generally hard-wearing and reasonably easy to maintain. The word ‘contract’ is used in other industries to mean ‘hire’ or ‘lease’; In the furniture industry it is interchangeable with the word ‘commercial’.

Contract furniture is subject to particular fire regulations  that do not necessarily apply to furniture used in your home; our furniture comes with CMHR foam (foam that does not easily ignite or burn) and is usually specified with fabric that meets Crib 5 flammability test (a fairly stringent industry standard). 

​

WHAT IS CRIB 5 / IGNITION SOURCE 5?

The term CRIB 5 or otherwise know as Ignition Source 5, relates to furniture or furnishings, including beds and mattresses which have been tested to pass UK Fire Regulations 1988. The tests carried out do not make an item entirely fireproof, but dramatically reduces the risk of ignition which could potentially save lives.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

 

RESTAURANT FURNITURE

 

Restaurant furniture largely consists of dining chairs and tables (often with bar stools and fixed seating too). Restaurant dining chairs include side chairs (no arms) and armchairs; restaurant tables consist of tops and bases, which are ordered as separate items; the bases are almost always pedestals, which allows seating flexibility.

After setting a budget, perhaps the place to start for when buying restaurant tables and chairs is deciding the number of covers; this will inevitably impact on the size of the restaurant table tops and may also affect the choice of restaurant chairs - some chairs have a bigger footprint than others; other chairs may not tuck under the table top, so taking too much space.

Some venues require restaurant furniture that is almost  bulletproof; chairs that won’t break and restaurant table tops that won’t mark easily; how robust the furniture needs to be is an important consideration.

Well-chosen designs can utterly transform an otherwise unexceptional restaurant interior - important considerations include the type of table tops (character oak was popular for many years, but now less so), the height of chair backs (higher usually increases the design impact) and whether to have upholstered chairs (among other things, upholstery will deaden sound). We are delighted to suggest a design practice to help you with all these decisions.

Possible pitfalls include choosing restaurant table tops and bases that cannot be connected easily, problems with fire regulations, issues with chair glides and how best to specify outdoor furniture for restaurants; please do get in touch with us for advice about these and everything about restaurant furniture.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

 

 

HOTEL FURNITURE

 

Hotel furniture is needed for public areas, including reception, lounge, dining and bar areas, and private spaces, mainly bedrooms. Hotel furniture can also be needed for meeting rooms, conference/wedding suite as well as spas, pool and outdoor areas. The Contract Chair Company can provide furniture for all of these spaces.

Well-chosen hotel reception and hotel lounge furniture provides a good opportunity to emphasise a hotel’s design theme. Other than design, considerations include comfort, robustness and maintenance. It’s often a surprise to realise the importance of the design of the back of seating - which is often the first thing guests see.

Hotel restaurants face identical challenges to independent restaurant operators (see our Restaurant Tables & Chairs Buyer’s Guide) and also must ensure the furniture complements the hotel as a whole. 

In terms of Hotel Table Sizes the right table size depends on how many covers are required on each table and what the table is used for. Drinking requires less space than quick meals; fine dining requires the most space, to allow enough room for side plates and additional crockery & cutlery. For more info read our Hospitality Table Size Guide here.

Hotel bedroom furniture usually consists of a desk chair, anything from a stool to a swivel chair, as well as at least one occasional chair. Our usual request is for a chair that makes a design statement but doesn’t have a large space footprint.

Outdoor hotel furniture can include dining furniture and outdoor lounge seating, compact dining sets for balconies as well as sun loungers and other spa furniture.

Conference and wedding furniture usually has to be robust and easily stored - some chairs are stackable ten high.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

 

 

 

​

COMMERCIAL OUTDOOR FURNITURE

 

Commercial outdoor furniture can be supplied in a huge variety of designs and finishes; some is also available in retail outlets, some is available to order only (often with significant minimum orders), whilst some has specific ‘contract’ specification, usually making it more robust. A small proportion of commercial outdoor furniture is built for marine environments, where salt in the air is particularly corrosive.

UK hospitality operators have to consider the winter months when their commercial outdoor furniture often remains unused; if it is not stored inside, it is likely to deteriorate; for this reason, it can be preferable to opt for stacking chairs and tables with flip-tops (which nest together) for compact storage. A few four-legged tables can neatly stack on top of each other.

Other considerations that are easy to overlook are the colour and finish of table tops (in particular) - black finishes can get too hot to touch in direct sunlight, while some metals and white surface cause unpleasantly bright reflections.

Materials matter too - hardwood is one of our favourite outdoor materials, as it ages beautifully, although it also needs regular care - usually a wash-down then a re-oil. Convincing wood-looking plastic alternatives are also available. Plastic is rightly popular, but dark colours can bleach in direct sun (the correct UV specification can minimise this). Look out for drainage holes - without these, water can puddle and leave a muddy watermark. Cast iron is usually used in pedestal table bases; they give great stability, are long-lasting and they are good at resisting the wind. But pedestal bases mean you can't also have a central parasol hole.

Occasionally commercial outdoor furniture needs to be secured - the easiest solution is choosing a design that includes an opening through which a security chain can be lead.

Below is our selection of the best commercial outdoor furniture.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

 

PUB FURNITURE

 

Pub furniture, once cheap and usually dark wood, was transformed with the emergence of gastro-pubs and is now similar to much of the casual dining sector, with more barstools and fixed seating. Pub furniture largely consists of pub dining chairs and tables - pub tables now usually consist of tops and bases, which are ordered as separate items; the bases are almost always pedestals, which allows seating flexibility.

After setting a budget, perhaps the place to start when buying commercial pub furniture is deciding the number of covers; this will inevitably impact on the size of the pub tables and may also affect the choice of pub chairs - some chairs have a bigger footprint than others; other chairs may not tuck under the table top, so taking too much space.

Pub bar stools are usually 750-800mm which allows a comfortable drinking or eating position at standard height bars.The weight of stools can be important, often to ensure they are not moved far from a bar. Metal or plastic kickbacks are available with most stools to stop the footrests from chipping.

Some pubs require furniture that is almost bulletproof; pub chairs that won’t break and table tops that won’t mark easily; how robust the furniture needs to be is an important consideration.

Well-chosen designs can utterly transform an otherwise unexceptional interior - most pub chairs are still wooden, although designs have become more contemporary. 

Possible pitfalls include choosing table tops and bases that cannot be connected easily, problems with fire regulations, issues with chair glides and how best to specify outdoor furniture; please do get in touch with us for advice about these and everything about pub furniture.

Below is our selection of the best pub furniture.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

CAFE FURNITURE

 

Cafe furniture is becoming less distinguishable from restaurant furniture as the ‘casual dining’ sector has mushroomed. Nonetheless, it still tends to be more robust and more practical, with less upholstery than typical restaurant furniture.

Cafe furniture is largely dining chairs and tables (often with bar stools and fixed seating too). Cafe dining chairs include side chairs (ie no arms) and armchairs; cafe tables consist of tops and bases, which are ordered as separate items; the bases are almost always pedestals, which allows seating flexibility. 

After setting a budget, perhaps the place to start when buying commercial cafe furniture is deciding the number of covers; this will inevitably impact on the size of the tables and may also affect the choice of chairs - some chairs have bigger footprint than others; other chairs may not tuck under the table top, so taking too much space.

Some cafes require furniture that is almost bulletproof; chairs that won’t break and tops that won’t mark easily; how robust the furniture needs to be is an important consideration.

There are many different styles of cafe interiors and we frequently sell everything from classic French & Italian cafe furniture to modern and retro cafe furniture. Well-chosen designs can utterly transform an otherwise unexceptional interior - most cafe chairs are wooden (plastic is also popular), with stickback and bentwood chairs among our best sellers, often in bright finishes. Laminate cafe table tops are popular, being robust and low-maintenance; they are available in many colours and finishes, with a range of edge options.

Possible pitfalls include choosing table tops and bases that cannot be connected easily, problems with fire regulations, issues with chair glides and how best to specify outdoor furniture; please do get in touch with us for advice about these and everything about cafe furniture.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

FINE DINING RESTAURANT FURNITURE

 

Fine dining is about providing particularly memorable eating experiences, with all aspects of the customer visit being carefully managed.

Fine dining restaurant furniture tends to reflect the extra care put into the food, with extra care taken on the details of chairs and tables. Upholstery might have extra stitching, fluting or button details; chair legs might have brass feet. Fine dining table tops are more likely to be of more expensive marbles, or perhaps well-finished wooden tops with detailing such as inlays and metal edging.

As a result of this extra attention to detail, fine dining furniture tends to be more expensive than normal restaurant furniture; items are also more likely to be bespoke, created for the restaurant.

The Contract Chair Company supplies all types of fine dining restaurant furniture and very regularly creates bespoke products.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​