The success of a restaurant depends on more than just great food — a restaurant’s environment plays a large role, too. And while many factors play a part in the visual design of a restaurant — textures, patterns, layout, furniture, lighting, style — color is the critical component that’s relevant to all of these. It can affect diners’ moods, the servers’ appearance and, most importantly, the presentation of the food.
I stumbled on an intriguing paper online by Harold H. Alexander entitled “Restaurants Up Front,” which explores the “visual and functional design of restaurants, factors that strongly affect customer reactions,” including the effects of certain lighting and colors. This paper got me thinking about all the different establishments where I’ve had exceptional dining experiences — from highly stylized five-star restaurants to haphazardly assembled, hole-in-the-wall eateries. What were the predominant colors in these places? Palettes of yellows and earth tones color my memories. Why? Because most yellow hues evoke warmth and happiness. Warm light makes people and food look great, and it complements the predominantly brown and green tones of food.
What were the predominant colors of the different establishments where I’ve had exceptional dining experiences? Palettes of yellows and earth tones color my memories.
The choice of hues has a huge effect on a restaurant’s environment, as does the values of those hues. As Alexander mentions, “Light walls will give the illusion of a larger and more airy interior than if the walls are dark.” But if taken to an extreme, a value that’s too light may feel stark, cold and antiseptic — a cafeteria ablaze with bright white walls and flickering fluorescents, for example. It’s certainly not the response you want to evoke in would-be diners. And while darker values often make a room feel smaller, depending on the hue and lighting, that can be a good thing — a cozy and inviting environment — or conversely, a bad thing — a cramped and claustrophobic one.
Blue in a restaurant setting can be tricky. For many, Howard Johnson’s “diner blue” may evoke nostalgia — and even a craving for comfort foods. But a blue that takes on gray, green or yellowish undertones sends me into a state of depression. This past summer, I visited The Louvre and took a break in Café Richlieu, one of the museum’s many cafes. This tiny room was awash in a dull gray-blue hue with an accompanying dark gray carpet. The yellow plates and red napkins clashed horribly with the interior. The waitstaff was dressed in black, which only made them look drab and seem to disappear into their surroundings. And yet, the space itself was grand for such a small footprint, with lofty ceilings and an impressive picture window. If only they’d chosen a more harmonious color palette, it would have vastly improved the space and my dining experience. As it was, I couldn’t wait to leave.
Share with me a truly memorable dining experience — good or bad — and the environmental factors that made it stand out.
Enter your reply below.
Amy Kim studied architecture at M.I.T. and has 15 years of experience in various project types, ranging from residential and institutional buildings to neighborhood planning. Her broad design experience also includes graphic design and building code consulting. She has worked in offices in Boston, New York and Baltimore, and currently resides in New York.
You may also enjoy:
- Big Color for Big Works
- Material Color: The Colors of the Enlightenment
- Material Color: The Architecture of Banks
This subject is so important, and thanks for writing about all the qualities you noted. We’ve had a good response from many people about the three locations of Samovar Tea Lounge in San Francisco…they often comment that the environment (color included) was a big part of enjoying the whole experience. Note 8 images in Rows 1 and 2: http://www.integralcolor.com/portfolio/commercial/
Thanks Barbara! Yes, as was the case in my experience at The Louvre. By the way, the tea lounges look great! I wish I knew about them while I was living in SF!
Hello Ms. Amy,
I am Rawleigh Rogers, a first semester Graphic Design student at The University of Herzing in Toledo, Oh. I wanted to let you know that your site is helping design beginners like myself to have confidence when approaching a project that has to do with color theory. I really gained some valuble knowledge on how to use different hues when thinking of color for restaurants. GOD bless you and thanks once more.
Come on, guys! Where are the photos to illustrate the color palettes??? An article about color that has no images!
I’m using a Linux operating system and Mozilla Firefox as my browser and there are no photos/illustrations that depict the topic of the articles — in the case of this article, the color trends in fun restaurants!
Can you fix this please so that we Linux people can get something out of reading your interesting newsletter? We — I — would really appreciate seeing color photos. The articles are not useful without color photos.
Thanks!
I wholeheartedly agree with you! There were some technical issues, but I can list a few of the restaurants (for positive examples) I had in mind when writing this article – Jean-Georges (NYC), Babbo (NYC), and Sushi Yasuda (NYC).
Excellent article, Amy! Your experience with the blue cafe brings back memories for me of a Thai restaurant near Baltimore, Maryland. Amazingly delicious Pad Thai, but -only- as take-out. The interior was a cold blue gray. They had even spray painted all the accessories on the walls the same color. I felt suffocated and uncomfortable just sitting in the front, waiting for my order. Color makes a Huge difference.
P.s. I have been in one of Barbara’s tea lounges in SF, and the color is just beautiful. I could sit there all day.
The study of the effect of color on dining and restaurants is nothing new. I remember attending seminars on the subject in the 1960′s after substantive physcological observations were conducted and published. I hope we don’t try to reinvent the wheel – only refine it.
This is a post of my dining experiences on subjects that truly interest me – food and design. Even with extensive data and studies on color and dining, badly designed restaurants and eateries still exist.
And while refinement is great, I think there is always room for reinterpretation especially with emerging technologies and trends.
Bill brings up an interesting point, that studies on the psychological and physiological impact on users of the built environment have been around forever. What is troubling is that despite that knowledge, designers and business owners continue to ignore this data, and perpetuate unhealthy surroundings with uneducated design decisions. Kudos to Amy for reminding us that responsible color design is relevant and essential to our experiences.
Thanks Rachel!
There was a middle eastern restaurant (in Berkeley, perhaps or San Francisco) called “The Moroccan.” EVERY ceiling and wall was “draped” in fabulously rich silk jewel-tones of solid color. All the food was served atop brass charger-lined platters.
You sat on a pillowed floor and washed your hands over a basin of warm-poured water infront of you (it ended the same way) and you ate with your hands. The final moment of the meal ended with all being “finely sprayed” with rosewater. The smells of spices, the sound of seductive music and the aromas filled the air. Eating with your hands was such a primal and seductive experience. UNforgettable!!!!
I specialize in “state of the art” animal hospitals (yes, dogs, cats and birds CAN see color!) And I also work on “one of a kind high end homes” see http://www.eavinante.com
My work involves COLOR, COLOR, COLOR. Painted surfaces, metal, interior, exteriors, lighting is VERY important.
Color is an important element which affects our lives every second. It’s not surprising how many people can’t tell you the color of the roof of their own home!!!!
I also (in my ‘spare’ time) design jewelry and am a gourmet cook!
Thanks for your comments! I could totally envision the restaurant from your description. In fact, I want to go now!
I love cooking and eating which is why I was interested in this subject of dining and color. While I was writing this article, I was checking out a lot of food blogs and took note of the quality of the photos of food. What made one image more enticing than the other? How did color and composition bring out the “character” of a dish? It was detail at this level that piqued my interest in how the environment in which we dine in affects us.
Yellow is perceived as light to the human eye so it is attractive to entry areas in general, not just restaurants. A soothing, not too bright, blue green compliments meats as well as tomato based foods, reds for salads and vegetables, and everything goes with a soft yellow gold. For more intimate dining use darker more dramatic shades.
Thanks Paula. Regarding your first sentence – yes, I’ve noticed the stark contrast in lighting and color schemes in newer supermarkets versus the older models. Places like Whole Foods Market or various specialty food shops use lighting and color that actually enhance the product that is on display. While it won’t transform a mundane chore into a party, I think it makes it less tiresome.
[...] Have you ever been in a restaurant that, while the food and service were great, your overall impression was “I don’t want to go back there?” Conversely, a restaurant that combines great food, services… and the right decor and color will likely keep you coming back. Follow the link to learn more. [...]