2020 was a year of drastic changes and challenges for the restaurant industry. Pandemic lockdowns, the rise of takeout services and ghost kitchens, and ongoing concerns about industry pay scales and workplace conditions. Thankfully, many restaurants proved agile enough to respond to the shifting regulations and customer expectations, entering 2021 with a new sense of optimism and opportunities to redesign their business to optimize the (returning) customer experience and take full advantage of pandemic-driven rebranding.
Not surprisingly, trends in restaurant design are also reflecting a post-pandemic influence. Here are some of the newest trends reshaping the restaurant experience and some ideas about how Quiet Earth Moss products can add to the overall vision and experience that restaurants use to draw customers back into a rejuvenated dining experience.
According to a report in Cognition Today, biophilic interiors and office design afford the following benefits: improvements in short-term memory, self-reported uptick in positive emotions, lower blood pressure, and reduced stress levels.
Bring the Outdoors Inside
According to restaurant supply company Central Seating, two of the top three restaurant design trends focus on helping restaurants bring more natural elements into their design features. Two key elements of this trend: wood and greenery. The underlying philosophy of this trend is inspired by biophilia, an ancient architectural and design concept reinvigorated in the late 20th century by American biologist and researcher Edward O. Wilson. As Stephen R. Kellert and Bill Finnegan argue in their documentary study of the Wilson-inspired trend toward biophilic architecture, natural design is “The Architecture of Life.” The outcome of this emphasis on integrating nature as design elements is clear: creating public spaces that support modern humans’ emotional, psychological, and physical health.
As Stephen Kieran, author of Loblolly House: Elements of a New Architecture, says: In the end, it is “the depth of our emotional connection to the natural world that is most important to our environmental future. Deep affinity and resonance with nature give the environment its compelling value” that ultimately “brings home why nature’s presence in our daily lives is central to our existence and what we can do to reverse a centuries-old decline.”
Adding natural elements like wood and greenery to a space is the first principle of integrated biophilic design. The psychology behind such decisions has been discussed at length: natural elements are linked to our most profound memories of survival, including the need to find food and create communities for security and sustained well-being. The trend to including more of these elements in a restaurant helps reposition the dining experience into a complex intertwined web of natural and human history. In short, it reminds customers that eating is a profoundly essential and human experience.
A spin on the trend: vertical installations and custom built-ins.
Warmer Color Tones
The days of grey or neutral color palettes as standard restaurant fare are gone. Today’s restaurant designers are turning to warmer hues, which some researchers suggest is an effective way to stimulate hunger. At the same time, the traditional grays and blacks have been shown to diminish appetite and negatively impact the visual appeal of food. In contrast, greens (associated with abundance and salad), yellows (raise moods and appetites), as well as oranges (carrots, pumpkins, and citrus), and reds are trending strongly in establishments worldwide.
A spin on the trend: concept colors (matching color design to a restaurant’s theme or idiosyncrasies) and textured accentsWhy Partner with Quiet Earth Moss?
Quiet Earth Moss recognizes and harnesses the therapeutic qualities of nature with our stunning preserved moss products for office and hotel design. Create a unique biophilic environment with our handcrafted, maintenance-free moss art installations.
Quiet Earth Moss and Biophilic Restaurant Design
Made from a 100 percent natural product preserved using natural oils, preserved moss is a relatively maintenance-free, cost-effective way to integrate nature into any restaurant environment. Whether building upon the lushness of Reindeer Moss, or the unique leafless qualities of Pole Moss, designers can use preserved moss to enhance their design, whether in new construction or renovation.
Available in a range of hues that help designers create an interior color palette that stimulates the appetite and connects to deep human memories, preserved moss products can be used alone or in combination to create a wide variety of design features:
- Accent walls and acoustic wall panels
- Vertical or custom installations, including mosaics and 3D panel designs
- Planters or wall-mounted geo frames
- Branded moss walls
Designers can combine them in a custom moss installation that creates repetitions and patterns that mimic those found in the natural world. Because green is often associated with nature, it is a color that triggers emotional responses like calm, peace, and tranquillity.
Preserved moss products also provide natural acoustic dampening, reducing typical noise levels that studies have shown as one of the primary sources of discomfort and distraction within any public space. According to researchers from the Riverbank Acoustical Laboratories in Geneva, Illinois, Quiet Earth Moss walls have an absorption rate 0.70 NRC and higher out of a 1-point scale. This means that workers have a quieter and more peaceful place to work. Noise is proven to hinder office workers carrying out their work accurately and efficiently. Noise can also have a detrimental impact on health and levels of stress. We mount our moss on ezoBord panels as part of our specification. ezoBord is a leading acoustic material that increases the sound absorption effect
Preserved moss is also a cost-effective component of any innovative restaurant design. Weighing only a fraction (about 25 percent) of traditional living walls or large plant displays, preserved moss walls are easy to install, and because they never require watering or light, there are no costly infrastructure retrofits required. A preserved moss wall is virtually maintenance-free, requiring only occasional dusting with a blow dryer set on a low temperature or compressed air.
Finally, our Reindeer Moss is available in a range of hues that help Designers create an interior color palette that highlights warm, inviting hues. Preserved moss products are available in seven different shades of green (from dark to Pacific green) and two soothing shades of blue (blue lavender, and ice blue) to give designers a wide variety of options.
In the end, for those restauranteurs who want to create a space that expresses such core values as comfort, resilience, and uniqueness of story, the most cost-effective impact is in the details of design and vision. Contact Quiet Earth Moss today and discover the benefits of incorporating preserved moss into your restaurant’s reopening and redesign.