Color Psychology for restaurant design

Are you thinking of renovating your restaurant? Does the idea overwhelm you? Don’t worry, we will give you the step by step guide to help you in this process.

When it comes to designing your restaurant, the color theme is probably the first thing that you think of. Colors play a huge role in human behaviors and it’s one of the most important elements for restaurant and interior design.  

Let us give you a couple of examples of Color Psychology for restaurant design. Have you ever wondered why McDonalds and KFC chose bold colors themes such as red, yellow and white? Bold colors give you that feeling of urgency to satisfy your needs. At the same time, red color enhances the appetite and gives a boost of energy. Also, fast food restaurant tends to use bright cool lights, as this kind of lighting does not make people feel relaxed.  In this environment, customers are inclined to finish their food quickly and leave which goes towards a higher turnover rate in line with fast food’s business model.

Coffee shops like Starbucks have green, brown and warm lights as their theme. Green and brown are generally seen as calming colors. Especially the green color, it’s associated with being healthy, fresh and vegetarian.  The shops always have warm lights. It makes customers feel relaxed and comfortable. Hence, many people stay longer to read and relax at Starbucks. This is the color psychology of Starbucks restaurant design.

With a smaller spaced restaurant, colors like beige, white and grey are often used. These light colors will make space feel bigger. Accompanied by a lot of natural lights, it gives customers a sense of cleanliness and clarity.

Restaurants with a liquor bar tend to use warmer shades of red, orange and brown. Dark earthy colors combined with warm lighting helps the customers relax and want to stay longer. These colors are top choices for fine dining restaurants. 

Our behaviors towards colors are hard-wired in our brain as primitive instincts. Now you need to think about what type of restaurant and the feeling it gives to its customers. Do not underestimate the impact of color and take time to pick the most effective color themes for your restaurant!