But the truth is that every interior element of our favourite bars and eateries has been scrupulously selected to engage our senses, whet our appetites and stir our subconscious so we linger, indulge and return.
The best of the best give as much thought to sight, sound and touch as to taste and smell.
Here are 3 top interior design secrets to help you harness every sense for your bar or restaurant.
DesignTonic X YCC/ Amity Brewing/ Tom & Nellie’s
L is for lighting
“Lighting creates the ambience and feel of a place, as well as the expression of a structure.”
Le Corbusier
When it comes to the ambience of a restaurant or bar space, lighting is one of the most important elements to get right.
Lighting has a direct effect on how we act and, as Le Corbusier said, can be used to direct the way that we move around a space.
For example, we’re naturally drawn to follow the brightest path, so good task lighting is a must for marking areas of activity and walkways (also because it’s always a plan to make sure people can see where they’re going!).
Seating and gathering areas call for a more considerate touch.
Come on too strong here, and the effect can be jarring and unflattering - not what people want when they’re all dolled up for a night’s socialising.
At the other extreme, go too dim and you risk lessening the customer's visual enjoyment of the space.
Softly lit seating at Tom & Nellie’s Discover more > Tom & Nellie’s Restaurant X DesignTonic
Instead, look to soft, ambient lighting that mixes wall and/or floor lights with warm-toned bulbs.
The gentle glow they cast creates an intimate, high-end feel for diners and drinkers that encourages them to stick around and relax.
3 top lighting tips:
- People prefer to face walls which are lit, so consider your wall lighting carefully, especially in restaurant spaces.
- For a more relaxed vibe, you can distribute light unevenly across spaces and levels - for a more spacious feel, keep it more uniformly spread.
Bar design brimming with brand DNA in our Springwell scheme for North Brewing Co Discover more > North Brewing Co at Springwell Leeds X DesignTonic
Colour me hungry (or thirsty)
“We know that colour affects us profoundly and subconsciously, provoking reactions and shaping our behaviour and emotions…”
Colour me productive - DesignTonic blog
We’ve touched on the psychology of colour when it comes to office design in the past, and it’s just as crucial when it comes to the spaces where we rest and play.
While any good restaurant or bar design will be carefully aligned with your overall branding (see Springwell Leeds above), there are still some great colour psychology tips you can harness to tap into those subconscious cravings.
For example, certain colours are shown to stimulate hunger - with warm shades of red and orange and shades of nature, like green and yellow, topping the charts of these hungry hues.
A masterclass in hungry hues at Tom & Nellie’s Discover more > Tom & Nellie’s Restaurant X DesignTonic
Similarly, when encouraging drinkers to kick back, look to reds and bright blues.
Red raises the heart and metabolic rate to increase your desire for a drink - while brighter blues like aqua, royal and ultramarine have the same thirst-inducing effect.
3 top colour tips:
- For eateries, warmer shades like red, orange and yellow increase the heart rate, boost feelings of warmth and happiness and evoke the impression of healthy food.
- Green brings a feeling of nature, sustainability and abundance.
- Black is seen as the most sophisticated colour choice for bars, but should be used in a more considered way in restaurants.
Gorgeous, retro aquamarine tiles dress the bar at Amity Brewing, with accents of red and blue pop through the space thanks to the super-cool seating Discover more > Amity Brewing X DesignTonic
Sound choices
“Sound is half of the picture…”
George Lucas
As with lighting, acoustic comfort is all about balance - it’s crucial to find the sweet spot with sound in your space.
For example, while none of us enjoys shouting our conversations over pumping speakers, loud is proven to be good for bars and restaurants commercially.
A well-known 2008 study by French scientists into noise levels in bars concluded that “loud music can make you drink more, in less time” - the study’s author, Professor Nicholas Guéguen, also highlighting previous research which had already shown that “music versus no music can cause a person to spend more time in a bar.”
Similarly, too-quiet restaurants make us feel uncomfortable - annoyed or embarrassed by overhearing the conversations of other diners and self-conscious that our own private chat is being shared in turn.
“Nearly 80% of people have left a restaurant, café or pub early because of the noise.”
Report by Action on Hearing Loss
There are a few tricks we interior designers use to create that acoustic balance.
The first is to assess and counter the hard surfaces in your premises. Hard surfaces can bounce as much as 95% of the sound waves that hit them back into your space, where they join newer sounds to create noise levels that can overwhelm.
There are a few ways we can minimise this reverberation effect, and which we choose depends largely on your restaurant or bar brand. But essentially, we’re looking to break up and absorb some of that noise to increase comfort.
We can do that with soft materials - plush fabrics for seating areas, living or cork walls, curtains to break up large expanses of glass.
We can do that with dividers - booth seating, planting, slatted partitions and display dividers.
And we can do that with smart options like the brilliant acoustic solutions made by our friends at Agile Acoustics.
Bespoke ceiling baffles absorb distracting background noise in The Hawke Suite at Yorkshire County Cricket’s Headingley Stadium Discover more > YCC X DesignTonic
With lots of options, including the gorgeous, design-led hanging baffles we used in The Hawke Suite at Headingley Stadium (above), they’re perfect for absorbing distracting background noise without impinging on the floor space at all.
They can also create bespoke designs (see the full acoustic ceiling they created for our Media Suite interior at Leeds United FC!), so we’re able to match your branding perfectly.
3 top sound tips:
- For maximum accessibility points, you could consider incorporating a quiet zone into your space’s overall design for people with hearing difficulties.
- The ceiling is a fantastic place to build in acoustic panelling with minimal impact.
- For maximum absorbency from your soft furnishings, look to fabrics with a denser pile, like velvets or beautiful, natural wools and bouclés.
2025: The Future of Hospitality Design
The way we experience bars and restaurants is evolving faster than ever. In 2025, cutting-edge design is no longer just about aesthetics - it’s about creating immersive, sensory-driven spaces that enhance customer enjoyment and business success.
One of the most exciting developments is AI-driven lighting, which doesn’t just respond to brightness levels but actively adapts to customer moods, peak times, and even the style of service. Imagine a space that subtly shifts from energising daylight tones during brunch to warm, intimate hues as the evening unfolds - all automatically optimised for atmosphere and guest comfort.
Beyond lighting, soundscaping technology is revolutionising acoustic control, and sustainability remains a top priority, with upcycled materials, energy-efficient fixtures, and biophilic design redefining the look and feel of modern hospitality spaces.
By incorporating these advancements, today’s bars and restaurants aren’t just places to eat and drink—they’re dynamic, multi-sensory environments that set new benchmarks for experience and engagement.
Looking to create an amazing bar or restaurant space? Our talented team of specialists are on hand to help - browse through our past projects, then get in touch.
Want to learn more about bar design? Discover 10 bar design trends you need to know.
