Create that inner space

With the smoking ban drawing near, attention isn't focused just on outside trading areas - hosts are also revamping and replacing interior furniture. Graham Ridout pulls up a chair.

The forthcoming smoking ban may not be to everyone's liking, but it's expected to stir action in the trade. Pub furniture suppliers say the ban could start a mini boom fuelled by licensees wanting to smarten up their pubs' interiors, either in advance of the ban or shortly afterwards. Their reasoning is threefold.

Firstly, smokers will look increasingly for comfortable surroundings to compensate for having to go outside in the cold or rain for a cigarette. Secondly, the increased emphasis on food will lead to the replacement of unsuitable tables and chairs - those that are too high, low or too uncomfortable for diners. And thirdly, operators that have delayed replacing or re-upholstering their furniture for fear of burn marks, smoke damage or nicotine stains, are now free from those concerns.

Sally Huband, director of furniture restorer Pub Stuff, which operates out of two customer warehouses in Banbury, Oxfordshire, and Salford, Lancashire, explains: "We expect to see a huge upswing in business when the smoking ban comes in. The feedback we get is that a lot of people will use the opportunity to revamp or completely refurbish their pubs."

Even now, she reports: "Poseur tables and high chairs are flying out of our warehouse doors. People like sitting on tall chairs and more and more landlords are moving the smoking areas away from the bar.

"We are also seeing more pubs swapping drinking-height tables for dining-height tables as they realise their food offer is going to be important after the ban."

Sheila Holland of family-run Benchmart says that bench and fixed seating remain popular because of their economical use of space. "A lot of restaurants and pubs realise that benches get more bums on seats."

The company, based in Sidcup, Kent, specialises in bench, booth and banquette seating, all of which are made to measure on site. "We can work around radiators or different-height windows and don't risk customers supplying inaccurate measurements," she says.

Cloth and imitation leather upholstery are most in demand, says Holland. "Imitation leather is far more upmarket than vinyl fabrics and you can hardly tell the difference from real hide, but it's one third of the price."

Although Benchmart will re-upholster existing seating, Holland says that 70% to 75% of her family's business is new build.

Barry Revell, managing director of Breachview Interiors, remarks: "A lot of pubs are going upmarket, particularly the chains, which are choosing fancy shapes, colours and fabrics for their tables and chairs. A few years ago, table tops would have been made from wood veneer-faced MDF (medium density

fibreboard); now they are solid wood."

He adds: "One year ago, the fashion was for antique-pine table tops; now it is for dark wood, especially in restaurants."

Breachview makes tables, but imports chairs from Italy, Romania, and Poland. Like Pub Stuff's Huband, Revell says poseurs are in demand. He says: "There is a particular demand for big poseur tables, seating four people."

Revell says Breachview's forte is bench seating, which is made at the firm's premises in Erith, Kent.

Combining form and function

Meanwhile, Chichester-based Furn Direct makes pub furniture from high-quality, interior-grade teak. The company's two founders brought the idea from New Zealand, where teak is used widely for both indoor and outdoor furniture.

Teak has a high oil content that makes it strong, stable enough for commercial applications, and both heat and water-resistant. The furniture can withstand hot plates of food and drink without the need for place mats, letting the warm grain of the timber show.

As well as having a tried and tested range of pub furniture, Furn Direct will design and manufacture tables, chairs and other items of furniture to a customer specifications and can also project-manage installation.

Smart Interiors caters for the niche market, specialising in leather sofas, chairs and stools. Beverley Greaves, director of the company, which is based in Arnold, Nottinghamshire, reports: "We are very busy because leather is in demand. We sell a lot of sofas and tub chairs to pubs because they want to create relaxing areas for their customers. Many of the pub chains are currently carrying out refurbishments which, together with the smoking ban, could be one of the reasons we are so busy.

"Many pubs in Scotland and Ireland, where the ban already exists, are investing in new furniture."

Smart Interiors imports directly from manufacturers to keep costs down and says items are always available from stock.

Advice from the experts

Pub Stuff's Sally Huband advises: "Don't have all the tables and chairs in the same style or design and don't go for the same upholstery throughout, otherwise your pub will look more like a social club. There is also a cost saving by mixing and matching, because you don't have to buy all the furniture at the same time and can budget accordingly.

"Also, people gravitate towards sofas, so position them to encourage customers into areas that are difficult to fill. The pub near to our Banbury warehouse had a family room around the back that was hardly used - they installed two of our sofas and now they even get people wanting to reserve the sofas."

Huband adds: "Take care when deciding on bench seating. It can look fantastic, but it dictates where you can put tables and it can be expensive to repair or refurbish."

Barry Revell of Breachview advises:

"Don't even think about domestic furniture. Always use furniture that is up to contract standard and make sure that both the foam and fabric are fire-resistant. A lot of Chinese leather-backed chairs are coming into the country that are not up to contract furniture standards - consequently, they won't last five minutes in a pub."