A café floor is not the place to set down the finest of embroidered carpets. What with the tread of hundreds of customers’ feet and the constant risk of food or drink spillage, your typical all-day café calls for flooring which is suitably hardy.
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If you’re a café owner, though, chances are that you’re just as concerned about aesthetics. So it possible to find flooring that’s sturdy and stylish? The following flooring choices combine the best of both worlds, so that you can please your customer’s eyes at the same time as you protect your premises.
1. Porcelain tiles
Porcelain is the classic tile material, and it’s easy to understand why. Porcelain tiles are dent-free and wear well, and they come in pretty much every pattern, colour, and size you could possibly dream of. Porcelain tiles are also suitable for covering floors and walls, so are great for use in café bathrooms.
They’re certainly one of the more expensive flooring options, but if you’re after a taste of luxury for your café space, porcelain tiles are the way to go. Just make sure you’re buying commercial grade, and do keep the hefty installation cost in mind.
2. Luxury vinyl tile
Real wood flooring and the café environment are not a match made in heaven. Wood scratches easily, is a pain to install, and really doesn’t jibe well with spilt liquid. The good news, though, is that luxury vinyl tile (or LVT) looks like wood – so much so that your customers won’t be able to guess the difference – and yet it’s much cheaper, much sturdier, and much easier to clean than the real deal. Lots of diners and cafés are opting for LVT these days, so hop yourself on the bandwagon!
3. Laminate
Laminate is named thus because it’s made up of no less than four layers, from the backing sheet to the decorative coat on top. Because of its various stratums, laminate is incredibly durable, and its decorative layer can be printed with whatever kind of image you desire (whether that be wood, sand, or even your business logo).
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4. Carpet
Okay, so we lied a little in the intro. It is feasible to have carpet in a café, but just not where all the eating and drinking’s being done. You might, for example, install carpet near the foyer to give your guests the best kind of introduction to your establishment. Alternatively, your café might have a kids’ corner which would be nicely served by some soft carpet underfoot. Again, choose commercial options to ensure that your carpet is made from durable materials.
Terrazzo flooring can include marble, glass and granite aggregates for a decorative finish
5. Terazzo
There’s a reason that design experts are lauding Terrazzo as the new marble! Terrazzo is a composite flooring by which a concrete sediment is filled with bits of marble, glass, and granite and then set with a gloss varnish. The result is a glistening type of flooring which affords any space a unique elegance. What’s better is that it’s seamless, so if you’re not a fan of tiles and want to cover a large space, then Terrazzo might be just the thing for you.
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6. Concrete for outdoor areas
Concrete doesn’t do quite so well in interior spaces because it echoes sound, but for uniquely-shaped outdoor areas, concrete can be the perfect flooring solution. People tend to forget just how versatile concrete is, but in actual fact you can stain it, stamp it with patterns, choose concrete tiles in all different sizes – the options are endless! Your customers will love relaxing with their food and a drink in your café’s concrete-lined patio space.
