Venue types · 5 min
Bakery tables beside the case: sizes, tops and a clear line
The first batch is out of the oven before the door opens, and by eight there's a line at the bakery case.
Read this guideTillworth Cafe Furniture / Ideas & planning
Shop notes
Notes for cafes, bakeries and delis on table sizes, counter seating and the pieces that suit a small room.
Explore the guides
30 guides · Page 1 of 3
Tables · 5 min
The bar height bistro table at the window: stool first, then the top
How tall should the table by the window be?
Read this guide
Chairs · 5 min
Bentwood cafe chairs in a small room: sizes, weights and the arm chair trap
Ask anyone to sketch a cafe chair and most will draw a bentwood: a round seat, a back made of one long curve, thin legs with a ring below the seat.
Read this guide
Buying & planning · 5 min
The best cafe table is the one that passes five checks
Owners ask us for the best cafe table as if there were one, sitting on a shelf in the back, waiting for the right shop. There isn't.
Read this guide
Bar stools · 6 min
Bistro bar stools for the window bar: height, spacing and backs
How many stools fit the window? It is the first thing most owners ask, and it is the second thing to settle.
Read this guide
Chairs · 5 min
Bistro chairs as kit of the trade: frames, seats and arms
Between the lunch line and close, every chair in a cafe gets pulled out, sat on, shoved back, knocked by a pram and finally lifted onto a table so the floor can be...
Read this guide
Bar stools · 5 min
Bistro counter stools: seats for the regulars and room for the till
The counter is where the regulars sit. They come in at the same hour, take the same stool by the pastry case, and talk to whoever is pulling shots.
Read this guide
Room layouts · 6 min
Bistro seating along a wall: two-top rows that survive lunch
Between the lunch line and close, a row of two-tops along a wall gets more abuse than any other furniture in the shop. A pair pushes two tables together.
Read this guide
Tables · 5 min
Bistro table bases that keep a two-top from rocking
Nobody comes into a shop to admire a table base. They see the top, the cup on it and the plate of scones.
Read this guide
Buying & planning · 6 min
When a bistro table set suits a shop, and when separate pieces do
Opening week is no time to be choosing glides. There is the oven to commission, the till to set up, the first order of flour and a sign that still isn't hung.
Read this guide
Tables · 6 min
Bistro tables for a working cafe: top, base and height
A bistro table has one job. It holds two cups and a plate, and it holds them still while a regular leans on one elbow and reads the paper.
Read this guide
Chairs · 6 min
Black bistro chairs: four blacks, and how to match yours next year
Black is the frame color most shop owners reach for first, and it earns that place.
Read this guideTake the notes to the shop floor
Shop plans
Save stools, chairs and tables with their options and counts, then copy the plan when the next shop or a refit comes round.
Pick a place to begin
Move the plan along to a clean order.
Seat the shop first
Open chairs or bar stools for the height your counter or tables need. Put the configured price next to the listed size, then decide whether one piece suits the whole shop.
See cafe chairs →Count the whole table
A table can come whole, or as a top and a base sold on separate pages. Check what is included and that the parts fit each other before you price the shop.
See complete tables →Keep the shop total in sight
Save each configured piece to a named section. You can watch the furniture subtotal and change counts.
Shop plans →