Why do you want to own a cafe?

The most important fundamental to ask yourself is, why:nWhy are you drawn to opening a food and drink business in the first place? It might seem trivial, but identifying your primary motivation might get you where you want to be.

What is your cafe all about?

If you're a newbie to the food industry, consider starting small, whether you're an active part of the daily run of the business or a sleeping partner.nCafés tend to have a more laid-back, casual vibe. The atmosphere you create and the individuality you stamp on your café can range from urban chic to homely and inviting. There are those hybrids that combine café culture with a fully-fledged restaurant model.

To Franchise or Not To Franchise?

Often, prospective business owners, especially those entering the food game for the first time, turn to the franchise model as a viable option. It offers an all-in-one solution: you get everything done for you - backing from a well-known brand, premises, equipment, shop-fitting, a point-of-sale system, a list of suppliers and a marketing plan.

What does starting small mean?

Starting small could mean finding premises in an area experiencing growth without the premium price tag to accompany it. nSettling on a manageable business allows you to ease into the learning curve and implement changes or amendments without the constraints associated with harsh contrasts.nTake staff requirements into account, and project whether the 10 or 15 % rise in rent annually will allow you room to survive.

When are you ready to open?

Whatever your ambitions, never rush into a decision hastily.nYour marketing campaign should start before you open your doors. It needn't cost you the earth to advertise your business if you use Social Media channels to get the word out.nLaunch with your name on ten people's lips.nYour best advertisement is for your customer. Place non-negotiable importance on customer service and build a rapport with your customers. Find out what they like and what they'd love to see.

How To Choose Dining Chairs For Your Home

How to choose dining chairs for your home

The kitchen and dining area are the heart and soul of most homes, where your family and friends congregate to eat and share their lives with you. So, it’s key to create a space that reflects your style, provides comfort to allow lingering, and is achievable within your budget. With so many types of dining chairs to choose from, we’ve created a guide to help you narrow down your options and find chairs that perfectly fit your dining room.

How to pick the perfect dining chair style

Next up, aesthetics. What look do you want for the space? Creating a mood board for your room is a lot of fun, whether you choose the old school method of beautiful interior design magazines and cut out images you love or go for the modern approach of creating a Pinterest board or save Instagram tiles. For a great place to start collecting ideas, visit ChairForce’s dining chairs’ page and start pinning your favourites.

Some of our favourite themes to consider are coastal, traditional, farmhouse or cottage, rustic, modern and eclectic styles.

How to style dining chairs

Once you have your style, it narrows down the chair selection. While the traditional look is to have matching chairs around the dining table, interior design is changing, and mixing and matching your chairs can create a fabulous, textural look for your dining room.

If outrageously different styles of dining chairs isn’t your look but you’d like a subtle change, consider a selection of armchairs among armless dining chairs.

We also love a pop of colour, so you could place a red chair at the head of the table with black dining chairs lining the sides. The Replica Tolix chair is perfect for mixing and matching colours.

Upholstery or not?

If you’re after a formal dining room look, upholstered chairs like our Wilma would be a lovely choice and certainly upholstery is a trend we’ve seen across our stores. However, approach with caution, as they don’t wear well if food is constantly dripped over them. If young children or clumsy eaters will be dining with you, take a gander at the material offerings in the next section.

Select the right material for your dining chairs

If you shuddered at the thought of cleaning upholstered chairs, you may be more in the market for timber chairs, which add warmth and natural tones to your dining room. Timber is easy to clean, endurable and practical for any circumstance. We have modern, traditional, light, dark and every look in between in our timber dining chairs selection. We try not to have favourites at ChairForce, but we get an extra twinkle in our eye when somebody chooses our beautiful Jean Prouve replica chair, the Frazier Standard Chair.

If you’re after the industrial look in your home, metal is also a great choice for the same practical reasons. They contrast beautifully with a more traditional timber table, too.

Rattan is another gorgeous look that pays homage to Parisienne café chic, although some don’t age well. ChairForce rattan chairs are reinforced and have timber backings for extra durability, so you can have the softness of rattan in your home long-term.

Where to buy the best dining chair in Australia

With hundreds of high-quality dining chairs at our huge warehouses around Australia and New Zealand, ChairForce is the perfect place to choose chairs that will complete your ideal dining room. We have a large stock base, so once you’ve chosen your dining chair, you can have them delivered as soon as you’d like.

If you’d like to see the chairs before you purchase them online, we’d love to see you in one of our warehouses and one of our brilliant team members will help you further.

Frequently asked questions

Do dining chairs have to match tables?
While the traditionalist opinion is yes, more modern trends say absolutely not! Mixing and matching your dining chairs provides an eclectic look that can brighten the room.
ChairForce has hundreds of options for dining chairs to mix materials and/or colours.
However, if matching your dining table feels like the right fit for you, we love the popular combination of the Replica Tolix chair with timber seat paired with the Replica Tolix table with its solid wood top.

How much space should there be between the tabletop and the chair seat?
Our dining chairs are all the standard 46cm heightand we’d recommend allowing 30cm between the seat and the underside of the tabletop, which means your dining table shouldn’t be… hold the calculator… under 76cm.
How can you tell a good quality dining chair?
All our dining chairs are commercial grade, so they are designed to withstand plenty of use. And if a company has a Grandmother Principle, you know they won’t offer anything less than the best.
Are dining chairs with arms better?
If you’re into ergonomics like we are, you’ll love dining armchairs. They can be trickier to slide under the table, but armchairs provide that lounging experience that are perfect for long dinner parties.
How much taller should the chair back be in relation to the table?
Personal taste comes into this, of course, but seeing as you’re asking for our perspective… we’d recommend the smaller the table, the smaller the chair height. If you have a larger, more formal dining table, that would be more suited to taller chair. Keep it in proportion is our motto here.