How can a restaurant fitout in Sydney help your business succeed when others fail?

Well, you might already know that a lot of restaurants don’t last their first five years in the business, but 80%? That’s a lot of restaurants.
So to help you select the best value for money equipment, here are some questions to ask yourself before making your purchases.

Can good design counter a poor location?

The biggest mistake made by these restaurant owners was in selecting the wrong location, but can good design counter a poor location? It might come as a surprise to learn that a professional hospitality fitout can help to counter some of the negatives of a bad location in Sydney. For example, how many times have you seen a restaurant or café that’s booming where it has no right to be?

Success + an awesome reputation

Given a poor location, the success of a restaurant usually comes down to one single factor – an awesome reputation. This reputation is built on good food and an atmosphere that calls to the crowds.

You can guess what happens – a few people stumble across the restaurant in an out of the way place and are amazed at the food and vibe, they talk to their friends and before you know what is happening, your restaurant is full every night.

All despite a location that might have ruined many other businesses.

The importance of design

At Liteco, we can’t help with the food (unless you count our kitchen fitouts), but we can use our expertise in restaurant design to give your business an interior design layout that just begs customers to stop, stay and return, again and again.

So if business isn’t going so well at your restaurant and you believe that location is a problem, you have two choices – relocate or make your restaurant so awesome that it succeeds despite its location!

Whether you are opening a new establishment or renovating your existing restaurant or café, one of your main purchases will always be the commercial kitchen equipment. In fact, since this equipment can take up a large part of your kitchen budget in Sydney, it’s important that you choose wisely.

So to help you select the best value for money equipment, here are five questions to ask yourself before making your purchases.

1.  What’s the cost of the kitchen equipment?

If you are on a tight budget, then cost might be your priority. This should, however, be tempered with quality, because there’s no point in buying poor quality kitchen equipment, just because it’s cheap.

2.  Does your kitchen have enough space for the equipment?

Th design features of any good commercial kitchen are ease of use, efficiency and safety, but you also need sufficient space for your equipment. With the right plan to hand, you can select the best commercial kitchen equipment for your space.

3.  Is this the best quality you can afford on your budget?

On a limited budget, you might not be able to buy the best of everything. So buy equipment with multiple uses and splash out on one or two essential, but high quality, items.

4.  Is the commercial kitchen equipment easy to use and clean?

The commercial kitchen equipment you purchase needs to be easily cleaned and easy to use. So do some research into your preferred items, making sure they are not difficult to operate and can be cleaned quickly and efficiently.

5.  Do you need advice refitting your commercial kitchen?

Designing an efficient kitchen with a good work flow and finding the right suppliers can be difficult, even if you are an experienced chef. So you might want to consider engaging a kitchen designer for your project. Someone who can help with the layout of your kitchen, select the best value for money equipment, and locate reliable suppliers.

Are you considering a hospitality fitout in Sydney this year?

Updating your restaurant isn’t something that’s taken lightly, but with the impact of the virus on the industry, it actually makes good business sense.

This is because you need to attract both old and new customers to your restaurant. One of the ways to do this is to give people confidence that you are handling their concerns about the virus in an appropriate manner. So some aspects of your hospitality fitout will most probably stay the same, but others will need to change.

Here are the top 6 hospitality fitout trends in Sydney that you should consider for your new restaurant design.

1. Shared condiments

Leaving condiments on the table or sharing them between tables can transfer the virus between customers. So these condiments are now being brought to the table on request and cleaned between tables.

2. Shared tables

Communal tables also pose problems for many people, so again, there’s a movement away from this type of dining towards a more innovative restaurant design that provides distance between diners.

3. Restaurant apps

Using apps to access menus and order food in your restaurant is gaining momentum as it plays on the use of technology and supports contactless interactions.

4. Outdoor dining

We have seen an increase in outdoor dining during the pandemic and this will continue as we start to return to a more normal lifestyle.

5. Social distancing

Whilst social distancing may be eliminated at some time in the future, it will continue to be important for many people. So layouts that foster a safe distance between diners are becoming more prevalent in restaurants.

6. Buffets

Even though we may return to normal, it’s likely that many customers will continue to have problems with the close social interactions around buffets. This means that the trend for hospitality fitouts is moving away from shared buffets to creating new dining experiences that allay these fears.

In Part A, we covered your business plan and now in Part B, we take a look at the final steps needed to start your own restaurant or café.

These steps begin with engaging the best interior project specialists for your new restaurant or café fitout in Sydney and ends with the launch of your business!

1.  Arrange your restaurant or café fitout in Sydney

With your business plan and funds organised, your next step is to hire interior project specialists to start your restaurant or cafe fitout. This includes the front end with its furniture and décor, as well as the back end kitchen and all the necessary equipment.

2.  Select the best POS for your situation

Now that your cafe fitout is well on its way to completion, you need to organise your Point of Service or POS as it’s usually called in the industry. This is a computerised system that helps you track sales, food inventories and cash flow for your business. It will make your bookkeeping and tax much easier at the end of the month.

3.  Organise food and liquor supplies

You might not be selling alcohol at your establishment, but if you are then it’s time to organise these suppliers, as well as suppliers for your food. Finding reliable providers is an important part of a successful business venture, so it pays to take your time and get it right.

4.  Hire staff for front of house and kitchen

Now is the time to hire a manager for your restaurant or café, as well as all the staff for the front end and kitchen. Having staff on board (particularly the chef) will help you with the final step in your venture, outlined below.

5.  Test your new menu on staff, family and friends

Your cafe fitout should be nearing completion, so it’s time to design and test your initial menu. This will also allow you to spot check your new suppliers for quality and reliability.

With all ten steps covered, you are now ready to launch your new café or restaurant!

If you’re thinking of opening your own restaurant or café, you need a solid business plan before you start looking for interior project specialists.

So in Part A of our cheat sheet we cover the five steps you need to create a business plan for your new venture. It’s not until Part B that we cover restaurant and café fitouts in Sydney, as well as the remaining steps that need to be completed before launching your new business.

At the end, you will have a ten-step cheat sheet to starting your own restaurant or café!

1.  What type of restaurant or café do you want?

You might have a preference for a fast food restaurant, casual dining, organic café, family restaurant or even fine dining, but what does the market need? Match your location with what people want and you have a goldmine!

2.  Identify the regulations that apply in your location

Each state or territory has its own regulations, permits and compliance standards that cover the sale of food and liquor, as well as food safety. Check these out and know exactly what’s expected of your restaurant or café.

3.  How will you fund your new business?

Make sure you have enough funds to pay for everything for at least six months, including your restaurant or café fitout, utilities, staff wages, food, liquor, marketing, rent and licences. Forecast your cashflow needs and make sure you can last until you start making a profit.

4.  Identify the right location and look at leases

Your success can rely heavily on your location, so do your research and find a site that is popular with people, as well as easily accessible with parking and transport nearby.

5.  How will you brand and market your business?

You also need to have your branding message organised before you contact interior project specialists. This means that once you have your new lease and commence the fitout, you can start marketing your new café or restaurant, building momentum for your awesome launch!

In Part B of our cheat sheet we cover the final steps for making your dream a reality!

There are two ways to increase your café’s revenue in Sydney. One way is to move to a better location where there is plenty of foot traffic. The other is to invest in your business by focussing on the latest trends in café fitouts.

As interior projects specialists, we keep our finger on the pulse of all the latest innovations and trends in the hospitality industry. Our clients benefit because they know that their new refurbishment will engage their customers and grow their business. So if you are ready to revamp your café, here are three of the easiest trends to follow.

Focus on comfort

Some of the best café fitouts in Sydney are those that make people feel as if they are in a comfortable living room. So instead of cramming as much seating as possible into your café, consider a range of stylish sofas and armchairs, low set coffee tables, floor lamps, book cases, and so on. This design style encourages customers to linger in your café, meet up with friends, and tell everyone about the wonderful time they spent there!

Mixing textures

It’s time to move away from heavily themed café fitouts in Sydney and focus on textures. More specifically, you want to layer all these delicious textures on top of one another so that you overwhelm your customers with delight! This means combining old timbers with new, concrete floors with plush rugs, recycled chairs with new sofas, copper, iron, glass and marble. This approach will give your café a unique look and feel, which is what customers love!

Industrial & unfinished

Mixing an industrial and unfinished design with a focus on comfort and textures can take your café to the next level. At Liteco Projects, we recognise that café fitouts focussing on an industrial and unfinished theme have been trending in Sydney for a few years.

This is mainly because it’s a very functional and practical design. The way to make this interior your own, however, is to use the latest trends as your inspiration, layering textures and introducing comfort to create a vibe that draws customers into your cafe.

With a focus on work-life balance, many companies have been slowly investing in office fitouts and refurbishments that focus on flexibility and adaptability.

With the recent COVID-19 pandemic, however, we are likely to see a much bigger emphasis on these type of office fitouts. That’s because many employees are now working from home and may continue to do so as restrictions ease.

Many others, however, may return to the office, whether that’s on a full-time basis or splitting their time between the office and home.

So what are the benefits to a business owner when some of their employees work from home? Are there any disadvantages of this business model?

Benefits of a work from home business model

One of the biggest benefits of a work from home business model is a reduction in infrastructure costs. For example, you don’t need to lease such large office spaces and when you need to pay for office fitouts, less space equates to less costs.

However, with social distancing likely to be with us for the foreseeable future, you will also need to focus on interior design and refurbishments that promote this new way of working.

Other advantages of this business model are that your employees are generally happier with their work-life balance. Productivity increases, attrition reduces and fewer sick days are taken.

Another benefit is that employers can hire people based on their skill-set, regardless of their location.

Disadvantages of a work from home business model

Working from home doesn’t suit everyone.

As a business owner you don’t want to lose control of your employees, so you need a business model that supports this way of working.

For example, Skype and Zoom can be used for meetings and team collaborations; targets and goals will need to be closely monitored, and insurances and security issues addressed.

Do you need help with interior design for your office fitouts or refurbishments? Liteco Projects can help your company redesign your office spaces with a focus on social distancing, flexibility and adaptability to a new working environment.

In Sydney, café fitouts might be the furthest thing from you mind right now, but future proofing your café is going to be vital to your on-going recovery. By this we mean that the interior layout of your café needs to adapt to social distancing and the demands of your COVID-19 aware customers.

So what does this really mean for your café and what changes do you need to make before reopening fully?

Interior seating needs to be optimised

Hospitality fitouts in Sydney now need to focus on social distancing, which means no more benches, booths, sofas or bar stools. Instead, café fitouts need to focus on creative designs that maximise the use of space, whilst still enabling social distancing. This might include partitions or dividers to separate customers and flexible seating layouts that allow families to sit together, whilst providing separation from other customers.

Exterior seating should be utilised

If at all possible, hospitality fitouts should extend their creativity to exterior seating that increases the available space and promotes social distancing. Sydney rooftops and footpaths are two options that might pose interesting challenges, particularly with local councils, but they can be a practical solution for struggling cafes.

Encourage patronage with more enticing café fitouts

Revamping the interior of your café to make it more appealing to your customers has always been one of the aims of cafe fitouts in Sydney. Now, however, it’s a strategy that may be vital to the recovery of many hospitality businesses as restrictions are lifted.

Increase revenue with more take-away options

With a focus on social distancing, new cafe fitouts could refocus on takeaway services and home delivery. This strategy might help to increase revenues, as more people socially distance and self-isolate at home.

Sensor based handwashing in kitchens and bathrooms

These high-tech innovations might seem over the top, but the more no-contact options you offer your Sydney customers (and are seen to practice), the more they may gravitate to your café, rather than the competition.

The team at Liteco Projects has a strong reputation for creative hospitality fitouts and we are working full-time to help our clients in their hour of need.

With the global pandemic still underway and people starting to return to work, how can you connect your restaurant to the local community? These are the people that support your restaurant, so it makes sense to create an environment that resonates with them. This is particularly relevant if you are investing in a refurbishment, for example a new restaurant or café fitout, but it can also simply mean reengaging with your local community.

So here are three ways you can reconnect with the local community in your area.

1.  Highlight your use of local products

When everyone is suffering from a loss in trade, supporting other local businesses is a fabulous way to engage the local community. So look around for wineries, fruit and veggie growers, even wholesale butchers and dairies, any type of business that markets the produce you need for your menu. In fact, why not change your menu to incorporate local produce, even grow some of your own herbs and veggies? If you include these potted herbs (or even your restaurant’s garden) into your new fitout, everyone wins!

2.  Support local fundraising events

Whether it’s community sporting events, fetes and wine tasting nights or fundraising for your local school and hospital, charity work connects you with your community. You can hold fundraising events at your restaurant, even donate a $1 for every $50 spent in your restaurant on a specific date. Charities, schools and hospitals are only too happy to promote your restaurant as one of their sponsors, so everyone wins!

3.  Refurbish an unused shop

If you want to expand your business on a limited budget and connect with your community, why not refurbish an unused shop? Locals will love that you’re breathing life back into their community and if you opt for an urban inspired fitout for your restaurant, it doesn’t have to cost a fortune!

If you want a welcoming and community focused fitout for your restaurant or café, the team at Liteco Projects are full of great ideas! Please contact us for a free quote, call us on 02 8068 1755, email us at info@liteco.com.au or complete our online enquiry form.

The increasing complexity of office spaces reflects the ever-evolving needs of businesses to both innovate and embrace their company’s culture. In response, office refurbishments have been heading towards more flexible environments that can promote both performance and productivity, whilst enhancing the comfort and health of their employees.

As we can all appreciate, trends come and go, but some remain because they fulfil a particular need within a business culture. These enduring interior design trends can help to future-proof office spaces and significantly impact the way we work for many years.

So as autumn turns to winter and the days become shorter and colder, refurbishments put in place now can reap the rewards of good interior design. This is achieved by maximising productivity and enriching employee well-being. The following three trends will help to foster creativity and connectivity in the workplace and create a welcoming space for your employees this autumn.

1.  Multi-functional workspaces

Gone are the days when bulky office furniture limited what could and could not be done in an office space. Future-proofing your workspaces means interior design that is multi-functional, dynamic, and flexible. The transformation from workstations to meeting rooms to private study areas can be achieved in the blink of an eye, accommodating the fast changing needs of your employees.

2.  Collaborative environments

With more and more people choosing to work at home, particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic, office spaces need to meet their employee’s expectations. This means that office refurbishments need to promote collaboration (and a return to the office if needed) by creating warm and welcoming spaces with comfortable environments and home-styled fixtures.

3.  Sustainable interior design

The majority of employees appreciate an environmentally-friendly workspace. This means reducing your company’s carbon footprint by using sustainable practices during your office refurbishments. Green building materials, energy efficient heating and cooling, and thermal insulation are just some of the basic steps that can future-proof your office spaces.

Liteco Projects has extensive experience in office refurbishments that create workspaces designed to anticipate the ever-evolving needs of both employers and employees.

If you are thinking of a new office or shop fitout please contact us for a free quote, call us on 02 8068 1755, email us at info@liteco.com.au or complete our online enquiry form.

With COVID-19 restrictions easing and people going back to work, new office fitouts might be the furthest thing from your mind! However, don’t forget that you need to make your office spaces safe for your employees when they return to work and there’s still the government’s asset write-off available until the end of June.

These two factors might be enough to push you over the line, but how can office refurbishments help to make your office spaces COVID-19 safe?

Identify multiple use facilities

Printers, faxes, and phones are used by multiple people everyday in your office. What about hot desks, lunchrooms, and meeting areas? Are clients allowed into your office spaces? If your office has a dedicated printing room, post COVID-19 office refurbishments can include moving this equipment into a more open area. For example, spaces where people aren’t packed in together for extended periods of time, such as at the end of office partitions. You can also remove stud walls to make these areas more open plan and less confined.

Office fitouts for social distancing workstations

Workstations that are ‘U’ or ‘L’ shaped aren’t conducive to the recommended 4 metre square workspace distancing. So consider changing to bench based workstations, as these make the most of your available floor space and fulfil the social distancing guidelines. It’s a good idea to include modular furniture in your post COVID-19 office refurbishments, as this allows you to make further modifications as the government recommendations change over time.

Office fitouts for social distancing lunchrooms

With everyone congregating in the lunchroom at one time, changes need to be made quickly. Staggered breaks will soon become the norm, reducing the number of people in these confined areas, and allowing adequate social distancing. Office fitouts should focus on a layout that reduces employee crossover between the sink, fridge, microwave, kettle, crockery, and cutlery.

From screen extensions and glass safety barriers to moveable workstation dividers, automated doors, and more flexible layouts. Liteco Projects specialise in office fitouts that are tailored to your company’s specific needs.

Liteco are here to help. If you want a free quote for your office fitout, call us on 02 8068 1755, email us at info@liteco.com.au or complete our online enquiry form.

It’s hard to avoid the impact that COVID-19 is having on everyone around the world, including small businesses.

One positive move from the government however, which will help small businesses to navigate this new landscape, is the $189 billion COVID-19 Stimulus Package.

The government has designed this package to help small businesses remain viable and continue to employ staff until the world returns to some sort of normality. One way you can leverage this package is if you were considering an office refurbishment pre-COVID-19, but have put it off for the time being.

In fact, this package may even encourage some businesses to invest in new office fitouts during this enforced downtime.

How can you leverage the COVID-19 Stimulus Package for your office refurbishment?

Within this package there are three key areas that benefit small businesses, two of these can be directly leveraged for your office fitouts.

1.  Guaranteed loans

This package guarantees 50% of any loans (up to $250,000) taken out by small businesses with an annual turnover of less than $50m. If you are in a position to borrow money for an office refurbishment, then these loans can make a huge difference!

2.  PAYG wage subsidy

Small businesses with an annual turnover of less than $50 million will also receive a $100,000 credit on their activity statements. Whilst not having a direct impact on office fitouts, a positive cashflow can put your business in a good position to take on a loan that’s guaranteed by the government!

3.  Asset write offs

In an effort to stimulate the economy, the government has increased asset write offs to $150,000 per asset. This means that you can write off the costs of office fitouts immediately. Currently however, there is a cut-off date of 30 June 2020, but it may be extended until 2021.

Liteco are still operating during the COVID-19 pandemic, maintaining social distances and obeying all the rules. If you want a free quote for your office fitout, call us on 02 8068 1755, email us at info@liteco.com.au or complete our online enquiry form.

The hospitality industry is pretty tough and we have seen some very big names close their doors in the last 12 months. It’s clear that long term success means not only moving with the times, but also meeting the needs of your customers. This is why all successful restaurant & café fitouts in Sydney follow a process that ultimately future-proofs their business.

So if you are considering investing in a refurbishment this year, here are six steps that will help you to create your own magical formula to success.

1. Identify your customers

To create a restaurant or café that your customers will love, you need to identify your customers. In other words, you need to identify your target market and give them what they want, when they want it and for the right price.

2. Pinpoint your competition

It’s essential to identify your competition in the area. What are the competition doing that you can do better? How can you gain an edge on the competition with your design?

3. Know your budget

Don’t go into the refurbishment with an open wallet, instead create a realistic budget and stick with it. After all, it takes hard work to erase debts, so do what you can, but within your budget.

4. Define your interior design theme

All successful hospitality fitouts are designed around a specific concept and interior design theme that reflects their brand and appeals to their customers.

5. Make it Instagrammable

With Instagram now being so popular, creating Instagrammable vignettes will engage your customers and promote your restaurant or café to a much larger audience.

6. Find the right interior projects specialists

Always engage a company experienced in restaurant & café fitouts in Sydney to ensure your refurbishment is top quality and on trend.

Liteco are highly experienced Interior Projects Specialists. For a free quote on restaurant & café fitouts in Sydney, call us on 02 8068 1755, email us at info@liteco.com.au or complete our online enquiry form.

Whether you own a café, restaurant, retail store or office, keeping on trend with the latest colours is a great way to engage your customers.

As one of the leading Interior Projects Specialists in Sydney, we are always searching for new ways to add a little zhuzh to our client’s refurbishment, so we were happy to note Pantone’s new colour of the year is Classic Blue (19-4052).

How can you use Pantone’s Classic Blue for your refurbishment?

Pantone describes their Classic Blue as instilling calm, confidence and connection for the new decade, as well as a timeless simplicity. Peace, tranquillity and sanctuary are other words that describe this fabulous hue. It can be used in bold swathes or as a highlight to other colours.

One of the easiest ways to include Classic Blue into your Sydney refits is in items that can be removed or replaced easily. This means that you can update your colours every year, keeping your business on trend at all times!

For café fitouts, you might reupholster your casual seating (comfy arm chairs and lounges) in Classic Blue, whilst restaurants might reupholster their dining chairs for example.

Retail stores can repaint their walls in Classic Blue and offices can add promotional art or comfortable seating in the foyer.

Classic Blue is truly a classic, because it fits in well with most colour palettes. However, as it’s such a dark colour, it needs to be balanced within a space, otherwise it can become overpowering.

If you need help from Interior Projects Specialists in Sydney, call Liteco Projects on 02 8068 1755, email us at info@liteco.com.au or complete our online enquiry form.

The aroma of roasted beans and a good cup of coffee are just part of the whole experience customers demand when they give their loyalty to a café.

That’s why our café fitouts in Sydney focus on enriching your customers’ senses and enveloping them in a warm and exiting ambiance when they enter your café.

As shopfitters and interior projects specialists, we know that in 2020 it’s all about a positive and welcoming experience for your customers. The interior design of your café’s refurbishment needs to gently encourage your customers to sit awhile over their coffee, engage in idle chit-chat, and simply enjoy the invigorating atmosphere with friends. If you want to offer your customers a genuine, warm and unforgettable experience in your café, here are three growing trends that you can’t ignore for your 2020 refurbishment.

1. Warm timbers and urban chic

Urban chic is all about making use of old materials to create a more modern interior design, based on reclaimed timbers, old brickwork and recycled metals. You don’t need to use all these elements in your café, but most successful café fitouts in Sydney have nailed it down well. On trend materials include railway sleepers, old boat timbers and iron with divots or dents, all softened with vintage leathers, industrial lighting and a hint of steampunk nestled in the corners.

2. Comfy communal seating

Communal seating using long benches and tables made from recycled timbers encourages customers to socialise, meet new people and engage in conversation over coffee. You can also offer other more exclusive seating areas, such as sofas and coffee tables, so your customers can choose to mingle or relax on their own in comfort.

3. Instagram worthy interior design

Some of the best café fitouts in Sydney have focused on an interior design that is unique and exciting, yet still comfortable. Creating an Instagram worthy interior with a number of photographic vignettes simply encourages customers to take snapshots and promote your café online to their followers.

If you need more inspiration for your café refurbishment, call Liteco Projects, interior projects specialists, on 02 8068 1755, email us at info@liteco.com.au or complete our online enquiry form.

Office refurbishments are a necessary part of business and are important to both your employees and your customers. Your employees need a comfortable, bright and efficient office space and your customers need to know that you are a caring and modern business.

As you can imagine, a sloppy, poorly designed office is off-putting for both employees and customers, reducing employee efficiency and quite possibly, turning customers away. However, when you are on a limited budget, how do you afford new office fitouts?

Well, your refurbishment doesn’t have to break the bank, because with the following 7 interior design tips you can easily create an affordable, warm and comforting space that suits everyone – even on a budget.

Lighting

The best office refurbishments start by assessing how much natural light is available. If you have lots of natural light flooding into your office, then you are fine. On the other hand, if your office is fairly dark or you rely on florescent lighting during the day, then it is best to consult a lighting specialist and select the best energy efficient lighting you can afford. This one, single upgrade can make a huge difference to the look and feel of your office space and is one our best tips for affordable office fitouts.

Second hand furniture

Depending on your business, you might find that pre-loved or vintage furniture suits your interior design. There is nothing wrong with this approach to office refurbishments and you will find many high quality pieces online. You can either look for overstocked office furniture that is sold below RRP in your local area or opt for an eclectic mix of pre-loved furniture that suits your ethos. The interior design tip here is to look for style, comfort and practicality.

Plants

There is nothing quite like being surrounded by nature to give us a calm and relaxed feeling. Many office fitouts could easily benefit from a few well considered plants to bring life and energy into the work space. First of all, make sure that the plants will flourish indoors and that you have chosen the right locations for them. Then you need to choose the right size plants and the right size pots. A few small, half dead plants is not the interior design look you want, instead check out your local council or government buildings and steal some of their ideas for indoor plantings.

Artwork

This is one of the easiest ways to brighten up a dull office space and doesn’t have to cost a fortune. Two of the most affordable strategies we often use in our office fitouts are absolutely free!

First, you can ask local artists to display their artwork on your walls (especially if they will be seen by customers), so they are effectively using your office walls as their own personal gallery. If that idea doesn’t suit, then you can simply enlarge some digital images and frame them on your walls. Always pick images that you have taken yourself, so there are no copyright issues, and for just the cost of a few frames, you have beautiful, unique wall art.

With these 4 easy refurbishment tips, you should make a world of difference to your office space.

If you want more help with your next office refurbishments, call Liteco Projects, on 02 8068 1755, email us: info@liteco.com.au or complete our online enquiry form.

Eco-friendly interior design and sustainability are some of the more popular buzzwords that have been bandied around over the past few years. As interior projects specialists we recognise that whilst sustainability is important, it needs to be melded into a healthy and productive working environment.

Building fitouts are one of the areas where we can reduce our ecological footprint and at the same time care for our planet and create a pleasant and stylish space. So let’s take a look at the 5 essential interior design components of an eco-friendly and healthy refurbishment for your establishment.

1. Using sustainable materials in your interior design

The essence of eco-friendly building fitouts is to use sustainable materials as much as possible. This means that the materials are sourced from processes that are non-toxic, can be recycled easily and will create as little waste as possible. For example, your refurbishment can include recycled timbers or timbers from renewable plantations, bamboo or cork flooring, and sustainable concrete that incorporates recycled materials in the mix. Don’t forget about eco wallpaper, zero VOC paint, sisal flooring and organic cottons and linens.

2. Sustainable insulation is ideal for eco building fitouts

As interior projects specialists in Sydney, we know that thermal insulation is essential to counter the extremes of hot and cold weather, and is also handy for cutting down on your power bills. The trick is to use eco-friendly insulation in your roof and walls. For example, sheep wool, cotton or cellulose insulation, which is natural and toxic free, as well as environmentally friendly.

3. Reduce energy consumption in your refurbishment

Reducing power bills is a hot topic for many business owners and there are many interior design elements that can help in this area. Think about including large windows or skylights in your building fitouts to let in lots of natural light, particularly if you need to use lights during the day. Energy efficient bulbs, automated timers to turn lights on and off, motion detectors for lighting, tinted windows, automated air-conditioning and heating, and energy efficient appliances.

4. Incorporate recycled materials in your design

Reclaimed or recycled materials help to reduce your carbon footprint and can include furniture, timbers, artworks, blinds, filing cabinets, tables and carpet tiles. Depending on your interior design style, your refurbishment can include pre-loved options, vintage and reclaimed fabrics as well. Don’t worry, your establishment doesn’t have to look retro, recycled or emulate a second hand store, as a sustainable interior can look beautiful, stylish and quite normal, if done correctly.

The focus of sustainable refurbishments is on using renewable resources that provide good thermal insulation, are low maintenance and recyclable, use as little energy as possible during sourcing or manufacture, and reduce your power usage. For interior projects specialists this means using natural light and natural ventilation as much as possible, using efficient heating and cooling equipment, maximising the use of space and using smart computerised building control systems if possible.

As interior projects specialists we are always sourcing new ideas and materials that we can incorporate into our client’s sustainable refurbishments.

If you want help with an environmentally friendly interior design for your next refurbishment, call Liteco Projects, on 02 8068 1755, email us: info@liteco.com.au or complete our online enquiry form.

As interior projects specialists and experts in new office fitouts, one of our main jobs is to select the right colour schemes for our clients.

We usually suggest that it is best to stay away from trendy colours, because they come and go so quickly; what is in vogue this year, might be really old hat next year! That is unless you are happy to pay for new office refurbishments every year or more importantly, they are your branding colours.

Colours you should avoid in office fitouts

Below are 7 colours that you should avoid in office refurbishments, but mainly when they are used as block colours. You can use them as accent colours sparingly of course, but it is never a good interior design idea to paint your office walls lime green or bright pink.

1. White: This is too stark and clinical and doesn’t do much for promoting productivity, particularly with overhead fluorescent lighting. Too much brilliant white can be overwhelming in office fitouts, making people feel isolated, detached and disinterested.
2. Dark grey: This colour lacks energy and tends to supress our creativity, fostering a lack of confidence, sleepiness and even depression. If you really want to use dark grey in your office refurbishments, use it sparingly on accessories and furnishings, adding in other colours for a more upbeat contrast.
3. Yellow: Even though yellow can be uplifting, making us feel warm and happy, too much yellow in your interior design can have the opposite effect. As interior projects specialists we know that too much bright yellow can evoke anger, irritation and frustration, in much the same as too much red.
4. Red: For stimulation, a racing pulse, and an eye for detail, you can’t go past fire engine red. However, if you really want to avoid unrest and arguments in the office, it’s best to steer away from too much of this colour and just use pops of it around the office instead.
5. Lime green: Another exciting and trendy colour, lime is ideal for creative environments as it bounces energy around the room. The problem for office refurbishments however, is that it can be too distracting, reducing productivity and efficiency. On the other hand, as an accessory colour it is energetic and is perfect for creative office spaces.
6. Purple: Most people either love or hate the colour purple, but it has been known for its romantic connotations for many years. For a creative and efficient office space, you should avoid lots of purple in your interior design, as it has the potential to increase romantic feelings, causing distractions and lowering productivity.
7. Bright pink: This is another distracting colour that reduces focus and concentration in the work environment. It is also too extremely feminine, causing men to be even more distracted than women.

Colours to embrace in office fitouts

If we have to avoid all of these colours in our office refurbishments – what’s left? Well, for block wall colours you can’t go past light greys, tonal whites and pastels. So think about light blues for subtle energy and creativity, peaches for freshness and comfort, and light greys (which are trendy right now) for security, reliability and experience. Just add pops of colour from the ‘7 colours to avoid’ and you will have the perfect office makeover.

For help with your office fitouts, call Liteco Projects, interior projects specialists on 02 8068 1755, email us: info@liteco.com.au or complete our online enquiry form.

The seduction of open plan office fitouts is obvious. This type of layout is said to promote collaboration, increase productivity, and reduce setup and refurbishment costs, leading to greater flexibility and layout options. On the flip side, critics state that there is a lack of privacy, too much noise and a lack of morale, leading to a decrease in creativity, focus and productivity.

So with both sides battling it out, which type of refurbishment is best for your business?

Pros of open plan office fitouts

The interior design of an open plan layout consists of one large space with few if any barriers between workstations. Everyone can see and hear everyone else, promoting collaboration, team work and informal group chats. If this is your business’s modus operandi, then open plan office refurbishments will suit you perfectly.

Some businesses encourage group collaborations on the fly, as they believe that these ‘brain-storming’ sessions increase creativity. As such, there is no need for formal meeting rooms or private offices in this interior design, as everyone is already in the same space, making it easier to share ideas and communicate with each other.

Apart from productivity and creativity, cost and flexibility are two other big factors when you are considering modern office refurbishments. As you can imagine, a large open space allows managers to move workstations around fairly easily to accommodate new employees or to create pockets of collaborators or specialists.

An interior design that allows constant intermingling is said to foster the flow of information and teamwork as employees no longer have to knock on doors, make appointments for meetings and generally interrupt the flow of their own work.

Cons of open plan office fitouts

While there are clear positives to office refurbishments that favour open plan layouts, there are many documented examples of negative effects that do the reverse. For example, whilst an open plan interior design is said to enhance collaboration and team work, a 2013 study found little evidence for this belief. In fact, they found that any perceived benefits, such as increased interactions between employees, were offset by the startling disadvantages of open plan designs.

They even found that the increased noise and lack of privacy inherent with these type of office fitouts, was the main cause of dissatisfaction in the workplace. A more recent study in 2016, has supported this earlier research, demonstrating that employees find it difficult to concentrate and to perform their work, amidst so much noise and distraction.

Many employees are disgruntled with the lack of privacy in open plan office refurbishments, not appreciating the encroachment of other employees on their perceived personal space. The ability to personalise their own space is an important part of employee satisfaction, as is the ability for private conversations and a sense of heightened security, all of which comes with a private office space.

Open plan spaces can actually lead to conflicts with other employees, due to excessive noise, annoying habits and a lack of personal space. All of this means that private offices and partitions between work stations are becoming increasingly popular once again.

In the end, it seems that open plan interior designs lend themselves to creativity and collaborative teamwork, whilst closed spaces lend themselves to more productivity and increased employee satisfaction.

For assistance with your office fitouts, call Liteco Projects, on 02 8068 1755, email us: info@liteco.com.au or complete our online enquiry form.

Keeping on top of interior design trends in the hospitality industry is vital if you want to keep your business busy and popular with customers. That is why we have put together the 3 top trends for café fitouts in Sydney, which will keep your business humming along in 2017.

We know that some of these trends might not suit all cafes and restaurants, however hospitality fitouts that incorporate at least some of these elements, will find themselves at the leading edge of interior design!

So let’s take a look at our top 3 café and restaurant trends for 2017: LED lighting, recycled timbers and polished concrete.

LED lighting in hospitality fitouts

LED lighting is no longer boring, because there are lots of fabulous new designs that can make your café or restaurant shine. Lasting up to 10 times longer than regular halogen bulbs, they are also cool to touch, more durable and more cost effective.

Apart from being eco-friendly and saving money on power bills, we now have LED lighting solutions that offer huge interior design options for café fitouts in Sydney. Some of these designs are fabulous and can be used in unique signage designs, as well as in a variety of spot lights, pendants and table lighting.

Polished concrete in Sydney café fitouts

No longer the domain of urban or industrial buildings, polished concrete offered a clean, modern and slick interior design option for cutting edge hospitality fitouts. Decorative concrete has an aesthetic appeal all of its own and is now seen as a modern flooring option that is durable, easy to maintain and simple to keep clean.

Polished concrete is also very reflective and can increase the lighting in a space, which is particularly beneficial when used with high quality LED lighting. For café fitouts in Sydney, this type of flooring offers a seamless finish and a minimalistic look that is appealing to both customers and staff.

As a blank canvas, polished floors give you endless opportunities to create a unique interior design for your café or restaurant. Whilst some people might see them as a cold and clinical flooring material, with some clever design ideas, you can easily add warmth and uniqueness to the interior design of your café or restaurant.

This type of flooring can also be enhanced by using contrasting materials, such as recycled timber, which is very on trend at the moment.

Recycled timbers in hospitality fitouts

The combination of unique LED lighting solutions, polished concrete flooring and recycled timber is perfect for many new hospitality fitouts. Recycled timber is not only inexpensive, but it offers a warmth and character that is difficult to match from any other materials.

Many cafes and restaurants are veering away from the one size fits all interior design mentality, looking for ways to make their spaces truly unique, comfortable and inviting, finding that timber adds a charm all of its own.

There is no end to the uses for recycled timber in Sydney café fitouts, offering a beauty and timelessness that is appreciated by customers. Recycled timber can be paired with stainless steel, polished concrete, glass and stone, and just about any type of building or design materials, making it extremely versatile and cost effective.

If you want more design ideas for Sydney café fitouts, call Liteco Projects, on 02 8068 1755, email us: info@liteco.com.au or complete our online enquiry form

Does the popularity of online shopping, make you wonder how commercial shop fitouts will cope with the competition? Maybe you ask yourself if it is even worthwhile sinking money into a retail refurbishment, when you see so many people shopping online.

Well, all is not lost because even though online shopping is here to stay, we will always need retail stores. In fact, as one of the leading shopfitters in Sydney, we know that a clever interior design can help to augment or even offset online shopping.

Will online shopping replace physical stores?

We will go so far to say that this will never happen. Customers will always want to visit physical stores because they like to feel, touch and examine the products before they buy. More importantly, as a retail store with a physical presence, you can have the edge on ecommerce stores, if you plan your business accordingly.

The key is to take advantage of the increase in online shopping by also offering online shopping yourself. This may sound simple, but as shopfitters in Sydney, we speak to lots of business owners and managers, who are already taking this vital step. All it takes is a website, shopping cart and a payment gateway or if you prefer, you can simply offer online ordering with payment and pick-up at the store.

Suggestions for commercial shop fitouts

Clearly, retailers might have to work harder in some instances to encourage customers away from the internet and into their stores, but this is where clever marketing and expert interior design can help. From a marketing point of view you will need to integrate your online and offline businesses and from an interior design standpoint, you will need to design the interior of your stores to take the customer’s needs into account, now more than ever before.

This means that commercial shop fitouts and retail refurbishments need to turn a retail store into a destination and a meeting place, rather than just a shopping outlet. After all, if customers only want to peruse and purchase merchandise, in many instances they can do that online in the comfort of their own home. So you need to give them a reason to enter your store, as well as a reason to visit your online store.

To achieve these lofty outcomes, you need first class marketing skills, a top of the line interior design and an unparalleled knowledge of shopping behaviour. The future is all about integrating online and offline shopping, so giving customers an experience in your physical store that is not achievable online is essential.

Your marketing strategy for this new model of integrated shopping also needs to take advantage of social media, as this is one of the most popular forms of communication today. Include not only images of your new refurbishments on your website, but also images of your products, and post offers and discounts (available in-store only!) to your business’s social networks.

It is clear that commercial shop fitouts need to leverage the power of online shopping and use it to their own benefit. Without a doubt, a top of the line interior design refurbishment and a friendly designer atmosphere is something that cannot be equalled by an ecommerce store.

For more information on competitive, top-end commercial shop fitouts, call Liteco Projects, specialist Sydney Shopfitters on 02 8068 1755, email us: info@liteco.com.au or complete our online enquiry form.

New office fitouts can make or break a business. As every good business owner knows, employees are far more productive in an environment that is both physically and mentally comfortable and also conducive to their work.

You don’t have to go all out and offer an interior design that emulates the Google environment with a variety of different play areas, outdoor sunny terraces and gourmet meals on tap. There are however, 5 golden keys that all successful office refurbishments share and if you follow these steps, you should see a significant uptick in productivity.

1. Work flow assessment

When it comes to office fitouts, there is no point in painting the walls a different colour and moving all of the work stations around, if these are not the causes of low productivity. So perform a comprehensive work flow assessment, taking into consideration disabled access, sufficient storage and work flow patterns in the office space.

2. Employee wellbeing assessment

Keeping your employees happy in their working environment will pay dividends in the short and long term. This might mean that you need to change the interior design of your office, add more natural light, bring in ergonomically designed office furniture and add a swanky coffee machine. Happy employees result in less absenteeism and longer retention rates, which leads to greater productivity and more profits.

3. Design a flexible plan

Successful office refurbishments are always designed with one eye on the future. For example, this might mean designing your office space so that it can easily accommodate additional work stations, if you need to hire more staff next year. A flexible work space is one that can expand and contract as your business demands without requiring expensive remodelling or structural changes.

4. Fix your budget

Don’t spend one dollar until you have organised the budget for your refurbishment. Without a realistic budget, the cost of office fitouts can really blow out, so be very clear about what work needs to be undertaken to increase productivity. On the one hand, you don’t want to scrimp on your budget, because your refurbishment has a purpose and that is to increase productivity, but at the same time you don’t want to overspend and waste your money on poor choices.

5. Leverage the experts

Office fitouts can be complex and time consuming, so it is always best if you hire a company that has proven abilities in office refurbishments, as well as completing on time and within budget. These qualities are the hallmark of Liteco Projects and we guarantee that your refurbishment will be swift, professional and uplifting.

There are many ways to increase profits when you are in business, but at the end of the day one of the vital factors in the road to success are your employees. If you can provide them with a happy, healthy and stimulating work environment, then you are pretty much assured of a positive ROI on your investment.

For professional, high quality and employee friendly office fitouts, call Liteco Projects on 02 8068 1755, email us: info@liteco.com.au or complete our online enquiry form.

Have you always had a dream to open a café of your own? Many café fitouts in Sydney are simply cookie cutter designs and don’t offer anything new to their customers. So the way to make your mark and run a successful business is to offer something different in the design department.

Hospitality fitouts that are innovative will always bring in the customers, and at Liteco Projects, we have seen a lot of cafés and completed an uncountable number of café fitouts in Sydney. So we know what is boring and dull, as well as what’s popular, trendy and out-of-the-box in café designs and layouts.

To give you some interior design inspiration for your new or refurbished café, here are 5 hospitality fitouts that are cute, a little quirky and will help you to stand out from the crowd.

1. Living room designs

Once the domain of universities and the hippie culture, a few café fitouts in Sydney are moving towards a comfortable living room feel, offering something different to their customers. A few of these have popped up around Australia and they add an extra level of intimacy and intrigue to the customer’s experience.

2. Industrial rustic

This might seem like a misnomer, but it is essentially an unfinished look to your refurbished café. Unfinished hospitality fitouts have industrial girders, open brickwork, exposed timbers and other interior design These can actually be easily ‘finished’ and altered in the future, if the design no longer suits your ethos.

3. Open kitchens

Having an open plan kitchen helps to make your customers feel part of the overall café experience and also heightens the transparency of your business. Café fitouts in Sydney that incorporate open plan kitchens find that customers flock to their establishments, because they like to watch their food being prepared, an idea that has become popular in many restaurants over the past few years.

4. Mixed use

In the USA, you see many hospitality fitouts that are a mix of both a retail outlet and a café. This design style is becoming more and more popular here, as customers appreciate being able to enjoy good food, whilst also being able to actually buy the same food items to take home or read one of the books on the shelves with their coffee.

5. Textural layering

The beauty of this design is that with a change of textures you can have a whole new interior design. Think about brick walls and polished concrete floors, then add in copper light fittings, timber tables and chairs, brocades, cushions, carpet mats and lots of glass. To make a complete change in the future, you just need to change the furniture and accessories and you have a whole new concept.

Only you know the ambiance you want in your new café, however with our help at Liteco Projects, we can bring your ideas to life with one of the most innovative and trendy café fitouts in Sydney.

For on-point hospitality fitouts in Sydney, call Liteco Projects on 02 8068 1755, email us: info@liteco.com.au or complete our online enquiry form.

There are so many different ideas for restaurant and café fitouts in Sydney that it can be difficult to see the wood for the trees. Every year, new trendy interior designs seem to rear their head, making the design process hard work and confusing for many business owners.

This is particularly relevant in busy metropolitan areas, where the design of your café or restaurant truly reflects its popularity with customers. This means that when you are in the market for new café fitouts in Sydney, you need to keep your ear to the ground, so you know what works and what doesn’t, as well as the hot new trends that are attracting customers.

As we all know, hospitality fitouts are not cheap, so it is important that you spend your money on a fashionable and trendy interior design that will appeal to your customers. After all, the most successful cafés and restaurants tend to hit the mark in the design arena and this is also where you need to position your business.

So to help you create a fresh, modern and welcoming atmosphere for your café or restaurant, here are 7 interior design ideas for hospitality fitouts that are trending in 2016.

1. Open plan kitchens

This is not a design that suits all businesses, but when you match an open plan kitchen with the right type of cafe or restaurant, it is pure magic.

2. Distressed and recycled

Many trendy cafés excel at using distressed timbers and recycled materials in their interior designs, and reusing old materials seems to hit the mark with many customers.

3. Living room designs

This interior design really suits café fitouts in Sydney, having a strong focus on comfort, along with home cooking styles, natural produce and heart-warming recipes.

4. Exposed ambiance

This is very popular with the younger set and is a twist on an urban industrial design with exposed beams, ducts and wiring, essentially looking unfinished, but eminently workable.

5. Organic and natural

An emphasis on natural and locally grown produce lends itself very well to café fitouts in Sydney. These fitouts focus on natural or recycled timbers, bamboo, natural stone, wicker, greenery and communal dining, all in an open and airy space.

6. Themed cafés and restaurants

Creating an interior design around your passions is very much on trend right now with hospitality fitouts, but not many people are brave enough to go this far. For inspiration consider that customers love cafes where they can take their pets or those designed around books, bicycles or sports.

7. Focus on seating

A simple and easy trend to follow is to add unusual or mismatched seating in your café or restaurant. For example, instead of 4 matched dining chairs, add a comfortable bench seat along one wall and two dining chairs for each table.

If you add your own special twist to any of these 7 hot trendy interior design ideas for café fitouts in Sydney, you will have a comfortable, innovative and unique space.

Liteco projects offer professional, high quality and on-trend restaurant and café fitouts in Sydney. To bring your interior design ideas to life, call us on 02 8068 1755, email us: info@liteco.com.au or complete our online enquiry form.

Many shop owners attempt to design and project manage their own retail fitouts themselves, instead of hiring interior projects specialists to do the job.

This is all well and good, but there are some serious reasons why hiring a firm experienced in retail fitouts is a much better and more cost-effective move in the long run.

The main objection to engaging interior projects specialists to take on the whole refurbishment is usually the cost. Right at the start this needs to be put into perspective, because we have seen so many poorly thought through retail fitouts, which end up costing owners a lot more money than the cost of a professional project management team.

So let’s take a look at 6 reasons why engaging interior projects specialists for your next retail fitout makes good business sense.

1. Within budget

At Liteco Projects we have years of experience in project managing retail fitouts and every single time we complete within budget. Left to themselves, many store owners lose track of their budget and considerably overspend, eating into their profits before they even reopen their store.

2. On time

Completing fitouts within a set time frame is essential for all retail businesses, but it is vital for stores in shopping malls where the management designates the timeframe for the refurbishment. As interior projects specialists, we make sure that your store is up and running on time, every time.

3. Professional service

Handing over your refurbishment to an expert team leaves you free to focus on other aspects of your business and gives you peace of mind as well. Our service is second to none and you can rest easy knowing that it will be on time and within budget.

4. Superior design

Whether it is a franchise design or your own design, we offer professional and expert advice for all retail fitouts as needed. We will make sure that your customer’s shopping experience is the best it can be in your store, enhancing flow through and optimising your interior design.

5. Qualified tradies

We have a team of qualified and experienced tradies available, so you don’t have to worry about finding an electrician or plumber at the last minute. We cover all of your trades and the costs are all included in your initial quote.

6. Maximise profits

As interior projects specialists we make sure that the money you spend on your refurbishment is well spent in areas that will maximize the customer experience and your profits as well. We know where your merchandise displays need to be placed, how to optimise the flow through your store, the best location for POS counters and how to avoid visual overload, whilst enhancing visual breaks to increase profits.

So whilst you might think that managing your refurbishment yourself is a good idea and a great way to save money on retail fitouts, in reality it can turn into a long term headache.

For professional, commercial shop fitouts in Sydney, call Liteco Projects on 02 8068 1755, email us: info@liteco.com.au or complete our online enquiry form.

Commercial shop fitouts can be one of your largest expenses, so any mistakes can be costly and long term.

Many business owners consider their interior design refurbishments to be an expense, but if done correctly, they are an investment in your business’s growth and continued success.

Poorly orchestrated commercial shop fitouts can easily turn customers away, so it is essential that you find the best interior projects specialists to manage your next fit out. At Liteco Projects, we have seen numerous, costly mistakes made by unaware business owners that have led to rapid customer drop offs and reduced profits.

To ensure that you don’t make these same mistakes, you need to be aware of the problems that can cost you a lot of money and which will turn your positive ROI into a dismal failure.

So here are 5 of the most common problems made by well-meaning, but uninformed business owners in commercial shop fitouts.

1. Poor layouts

The golden rule of commercial shop fitouts is to have a clear layout that optimises the customer’s shopping experience and exposes them to your best selling products. A meandering maze with inadequate signage, narrow walk ways and poor navigation is an issue you need to avoid at all costs.

2. Inadequate lighting

Whether you are selling books, clothes or jewellery, poor lighting is guaranteed to turn customers away. As interior projects specialists we know you need to provide sufficient lighting so that your customers can easily see your products, read your materials and feel that your store is light and airy. A closed in dark interior, is not the way to enhance a buyer’s shopping experience, not unless you are a nightclub!

3. Small POS counters

One of the biggest problems in many commercial shop fitouts is that their check-out counters are too small. Customers need room to place their handbag or other purchases on the counter safely and within reach, while they are making their current purchases in your store. Experienced interior projects specialists will also tell you that you need space for displays of impulse purchases to increase your profits as well.

4. Blank walls

Whilst we all need some visual relief now and again, new commercial shop fitouts that leave walls blank are leaving money on the table. Wall spaces are the ideal place for shelves, hanging racks, branding, graphics, signage and even complementary artworks, depending on your merchandise and customer base. A modern and up-to-date interior design has a subtle mix of white wall space and usable space, optimising the buyer’s experience, while not overpowering them from a visual point of view.

5. Lack of speed bumps

These are the points in the shopper’s experience where they can pause and engage with your brand. In commercial shop fitouts, speed bumps are visual breaks that relieve the monotony of rows of clothes, books or shoes for example, and allow your customers to examine a branded display, a group of complementary gifts or a seasonal display. Visual breaks are vital to enhancing your customer’s shopping experience and are one of the most forgotten strategies of marketing.

For professional, commercial shop fitouts in Sydney, call Liteco Projects on 02 8068 1755, email us: info@liteco.com.au or complete our online enquiry form.

One of the essential components of commercial shop fitouts is the shop counter, which is one of the most noticeable aspects of your store.

The position of your checkout counter is vital to the interior layout of your shop and all good shopfitters know that this location needs to be at a natural stopping point in the shopping experience.

Retail fitouts can be an expensive exercise, so your checkout counter needs to flow smoothly with the interior design of your refurbishment, whilst also offering enough space for transactions, as well as for gift wrapping, packaging, folding and handling of purchases. With commercial shop fitouts in mind, your priority is to help buyers feel comfortable while making their purchases, providing sufficient room for their handbag and other belongings on the counter.

Once you have decided on the location of your shop counter, it is time to consider its design, and your choice will rely heavily on the interior design and style of your store’s refurbishment. Nevertheless, there are generally four different types of shop counters available on the market.

Cash Wrap counters

These are suitable for retail stores where purchases need to be wrapped and packaged, in particular commercial shop fitouts for clothing stores. One of the common features in cash wrap counters is a large area for impulse displays. This is where customers can view additional items while making their transaction and hopefully add one or two more extra purchases.

Glass counters

Many new retail fitouts take advantage of the style and elegance of glass counters, as glass can really make a positive impact on your customers. These are very popular with commercial shop fitouts for jewellery stores and are a simple way to display valuable items, whilst keeping them safe and secure at all times. Counter tops and display fronts can all be manufactured from glass or you can opt for a mix of glass and aluminium or even timber to suit your design.

Timber counters

Whether traditional and natural or sleek and modern, there is still a place for timber POS counters in many retail stores. Timber is very hard wearing and can easily enhance your interior design with its raw, natural appearance. A long expanse of timber countertops can really impress customers and give you plenty of room for impulse displays at the same time.

Custom made counters

There are lots of ready-made shop counters available for commercial shop fitouts, which come in a variety of colours, styles and sizes. Many retail businesses however, opt for bespoke counters, because this is the most cost effective way of highlighting their brand. After all, one of the reasons for your refurbishment is to keep your brand fresh and new in the eyes of customers, so a custom counter is an easy way to show off your brand and impress buyers.

There are many important aspects you need to consider in commercial shop fitouts, however the shop counter is too often overlooked. This is a shame, because your POS counter can have a big impact on your sales and can make the difference between customers who tap their foot while making their purchase or those who linger to make additional purchases.

For more information on commercial shop fitouts, call Liteco Projects, interior design and retail refurbishment experts, on 02 8068 1755, email us: info@liteco.com.au or complete our online enquiry form.

As interior design specialists, we recognise that with the continuing growth in online shopping, it is more important than ever that stores are designed to engage shoppers and optimise their shopping experience. Regularly redesigning an entire store however, whilst usually part of a shopping centre’s leasing requirements, is an expensive endeavour.

So here are 10 cost effective retail fitout tips for ‘on the run’ changes that will help to increase your bottom line, before your next major retail fitout is due.

1. Strategically place your lowest priced products at the front of your store to encourage shoppers to enter, and display the higher priced items at points of high traffic, within your store.
2. Research has shown that the right hand side of a store is the most lucrative, as shoppers tend to turn right when they first enter a shop. So take advantage of this fact and have your best and most enticing displays on the right hand side of your store.
3. Once the shopper turns right, create a pathway so that they are led on a wandering journey throughout your store, exposing them to as many of your products as possible.
4. Make sure that the aisles are wide enough for shoppers to walk through in comfort and don’t forget to make it easy for parents with strollers or people in wheelchairs to navigate your store.
5. Place top selling products at eye level and add a display at the end of product aisles to encourage impulse buying.
6. One of the best additions to your store is to provide seating for your customers. A few minutes resting their weary feet gives them ample time to cast their eyes over your products and to then hone in on their choices. Seating also helps to take the weight of a male partners feet and gives the lady shopper plenty of time to shop in peace and quiet.
7. One of the more annoying retail fitout designs is the lack of counter space at the checkout. Trying to juggle handbags, shopping bags and young children at the register can be made a whole lot easier if there is enough counter space to place their bags while they find their credit cards.
8. Always add an additional fixture or two at the register to encourage impulse buying. You can display discounted items or frequently bought items, so long as they are easily reached from the register.
9. Design your store so that the aisles and fixtures can be easily changed. Customers become bored with the same layout and a quick change adds an extra sparkle of interest and encourages customers to return more often.
10. As your customers wander along the path you have made for them, add interesting displays or product information, discount signs etc., with the aim of slowing their journey towards the exit. The addition of seating also helps to slow their progress through your store.

As you can see, the perfect retail fitout doesn’t have to cost a fortune and many of these ideas can be achieved in a very short space of time with hardly any cost.

For more information on retail fitouts, call Liteco Projects, interior fitout specialists on 02 8068 1755, email us: info@liteco.com.au or complete our online enquiry form.

Over the past few years we have seen a growing trend where shoppers are steadily moving away from retail stores and outlets and towards online shopping. This trend seems set to continue and as a result, we see retail stores cutting prices, offering discounts and bumping up their sales offerings.

Traditional holiday sales times are no longer the nirvana of retail outlets and competition for shopping dollars is increasing in leaps and bounds. Maybe this trend will hit a ceiling and the numbers of online shoppers will reach a plateau, but then again, maybe not.

So how can retail operators accommodate this change in shopping behaviour or is there nothing to be done – and over the next few years we will witness many smaller stores closing their doors?

The loss of physical stores has many ramifications, not the least of which is the loss of employee jobs, but there is also the loss of business to shopfitters, interior designers and interior project specialists who are essential to setting up physical retail outlets.

So what is the solution to online shopping for retailers?

One solution is to copy online retailers and jump into the online market. Of course this will involve a change in marketing, warehousing and lines of distribution, but the addition of an online channel to a retailer’s physical presence may just be the break that is needed.

It goes without saying that online marketing and sales can be very lucrative, just think of Amazon and EBay, and as we are all well aware, many smaller stores are already established in the internet space. Many in fact, do not have physical stores at all and only sell their products online.

So one solution is to beat them at their own game and set up an online store for your products. Another possible option which has huge possibilities are Hub Destination Centres (HDCs).

Hub Destination Centres

The best way to explain these centres is as a meeting place where people can meet, mingle and share their experiences about the brand. This concept is in direct contrast to the current shopping centres where you go to shop, grab a cup of coffee and leave. The shopping centres of the future may be more about the destination and the experience, rather than the shopping.

As an example, think of the Apple stores, where people congregate to share their experiences of the brand. We may even find that these HDCs help to influence people in their shopping behaviour, where they can see and touch the latest designs and then go home and order online.

The whole point of HDCs is engagement and it is believed that these futuristic shopping centres will provide food, entertainment and special product linked events, all of which will lead to greater product awareness and engagement.

Clearly these HDCs will help to translocate many store employees, as well as requiring interior project specialists – as the design and retail fitouts of these new centres will need to be highly innovative.

It will be interesting to observe the changing trends in physical and online sales over the next few years and whether these customer-centric HDCs will in fact, be the future of shopping.

For more information on retail fitouts, call Liteco Projects, interior design specialists on 02 8068 1755, email us: info@liteco.com.au or complete our online enquiry form.

Trends come and go and that is just as true with café fitouts in Sydney as it is with website designs and ladies fashion. Each year there is always something new that is said to be the next miracle solution and everyone scrabbles to be the first in line to show off their new designs.

Despite these waxing and waning yearly trends, café interior designs and refurbishments need to keep the customer in mind, whilst still remaining ahead of the game. There is no point in following trends if they don’t have a positive effect on your ROI and increase your bottom line.

So to help you attract new customers through your doors, here are 7 ideas rather than trends that you might consider including in your next café fitout:

1. Live music: Music makes the world go around and adding live music, rather than piped background music will set you apart from the herd. A small stage might be appropriate, but if you don’t have sufficient room for a designated stage area, then just set aside an area as needed.
2. Ovens: Depending on the type of food you serve, consider investing in a wood fired oven. These are a great draw card for customers and the smell of perfectly cooked roasts, grills, breads and pizzas will have your customers lined up down the street.
3. Exclusive parties: People love private parties, but they don’t like to be out in the main café area, they much prefer to have a small private area all to themselves. So if you want to expand your business this year, consider partitioning part of your dining area for private parties, which increases both your flexibility and your income.
4. Coffee Equipment: Make sure that your espresso equipment is up to date and high tech. The aroma of coffee wafting through your café will have your customers returning day after day for their fix of fabulous roasted coffee beans. So position your coffee machine facing the entrance of your café or at the very least, have it facing your customers for maximum effect.
5. Barista layout: If you want lots of sales then you want a perfect working area for your baristas and other staff. Don’t make them walk from one end of the bench to the other, instead have everything designed perfectly so they have whatever they need at their fingertips. It is worth your time to research hospitality fitouts, because the faster your staff work and the more organised they appear, the more cups of coffee you can sell.
6. Accessibility: Make sure that there is enough space in your café so that people with baby strollers or with mobility disabilities can easily move around. If customers see that you really care about them and that you have put some serious thought into making their lives easier, they will spread the word and keep coming back.
7. Branding: If you are ready for a new café fitout, then carefully consider how best to incorporate your brand into the new refurbished café. Simply having a sign above the café that announces your brand name is definitely not thinking outside the box. Start with colours, textures, feelings and ambiance – how does your brand express itself in your café?

For more information on interior design, refurbishments and café fitouts in Sydney, call Liteco Projects, interior design specialists on 02 8068 1755, email us: info@liteco.com.au or complete our online enquiry form.

Café fitouts and refurbishments can be a trying time, because you need a layout that welcomes customers and makes them feel comfortable, whilst at the same time increasing employee efficiency. As a business owner you have a responsibility to offer a healthy, safe and pleasurable work space for your employees and a safe environment for your customers.

This brings us to colour and furnishing, both of which need to reflect the idea you have for your café and for your branding. Colour is one of the most important factors in branding your café and since hospitality fitouts can take a large chunk out of your budget, you want to make the right choice at the very beginning.

Pantone’s colour for 2015

Did you know that every year Pantene announces the colour they predict will be not only popular, but will trend heavily in the design world? If you are looking for design inspiration for your new café fitout, then this can be a great resource that helps you to create a cohesive design that offsets your branding.

It’s fair to say that we all know how influential colour can be in our lives and if you pick the right colour for your refurbishment, you can have a gold mine on your hands. Well, maybe not a gold mine, but colour does affect our mood, doesn’t it? So how does the new Pantone colour for 2015 stack up?

Well this year their pick is Marsala (#18-1438 if you need to know these facts). Pantone states that this colour is impactful and full-bodied, and will make an elegant and grounded statement when used on its own or as an accent colour.

How will Pantone’s new colour effect your cafe fitout?

Well, Marsala is an earthy, rich red/brown colour which when used as an accent, lends itself perfectly well to cafes and restaurants that want to imbue a sense of comfort, warmth and home cooked meals to their branding. If your store specialises in freshly squeezed juices or you are a noodle bar for example, then Marsala is not really going to be the best colour for you – try limes or greens instead.

Marsala is more like a plush blanket that keep you warm, a roaring fire and a hot toddy or a succulent roast and a large glass of full bodied red wine. If these are the feelings you want your customers to sense as they enter your café, then Marsala might be the key to your new refurbishment.

So think of reds, browns, navy blue, dark timbers, stone work and glass with a background of cream or chantilly lace to ground your colour scheme and lift the ambiance. Marsala is a robust, organic colour that suits itself well to a sophisticated décor that emphasises creativity, whilst grounding itself in history, permanence and tradition.

Not everyone likes the same colour palette, so you might not please everyone, all of the time. Marsala though, certainly gives us food for thought.

For more information on hospitality fitouts, refurbishments and café fitouts in Sydney, call Liteco Projects, interior design specialists on 02 8068 1755, email us: info@liteco.com.au or complete our online enquiry form.

It doesn’t matter whether customers pop in for a quick takeaway coffee or for sit down lunch, it’s not just about the coffee, it’s about the whole coffee experience. Gone are the days when you were the only café for miles, now cafés are everywhere and competition is fierce. Some cafes even deliver coffee and lunches to offices, which saves staff spending time waiting in line for their coffee fix.

So if there is something that can give you a leg up on the competition, then it is certainly worth while taking a look. That brings us to café fitouts and refurbishments and the hottest trends that could quite possibly, make you stand out from the crowd.

Here are 5 recent café fitout trends that you might consider for your next refurbishment:

Communal dining: You might have noticed some of the more stylish cafes moving towards communal tables – what’s that all about? Well this feeds into the whole coffee experience and gives us a feeling of belonging, sharing and of community. You can still keep a few smaller tables, for people who prefer not to be so communal, however people tend to flock to community tables and sit around chatting for hours – more coffee anyone?

Themed cafes: These used to be considered odd balls with the most common being a coffee shop themed around a reading library or an internet cafe. More recent trends are moving towards retail therapy mixed with the coffee experience. Check out Lock 7 Cycle Café in Copenhagen or the MOJO in San Francisco where you can fill up on your favourite coffee and buy a new bike or have your bicycle fixed all at the same time.

Organic cafes: This is an increasing trend which sources locally grown ingredients and sustainable coffee beans and other products. The ambiance is one of recycling, favouring raw timbers, metals and lots of open space. Check out the Green Salmon in Oregon or Maple and Clove in Canberra.

Food staging: With the rise of the ‘selfie’, taking photos of food and posting them to social media networks is a growing trend. More and more café owners and chefs are creating food with the idea that photos of their food could be posted online, giving them free advertising.

Fast food: The younger generation are less likely to spend their money on fine dining and more likely to expect casual dining experiences with quality food. They are also moving away from fast food chains to more boutique cafes that serve organic fast food at a reasonable price. So give them fast food – but with a difference.

If your cafe is due for a refurbishment or you are considering a new café fitout then thinking outside the box and meeting your customers where they are comfortable is the key to a roaring trade. Customer expectations are always changing and the cafes of the future will serve fast food in a multifunctional space that enhances the coffee experience and provides a comforting ambiance.

For more information on hospitality fitouts, refurbishments and café fitouts in Sydney, call Liteco Projects, interior design specialists on 02 8068 1755 , email us: info@liteco.com.au or complete our online enquiry form.

There are many factors that contribute to the success of a restaurant and the first that comes to most people’s mind is the quality of the food. It is true that if the food is first class, your customers will continue to grace your door, but it is even better if the décor is stunningly fabulous as well.

At Liteco, we are interior project specialists, which means that we understand interior design and the influence that an inspiring restaurant refurbishment can have on your bottom line. A truly spectacular interior design can dramatically increase the popularity of your restaurant and bring an influx of customers through your doors

So we thought we would share with you 5 of what we believe, are the world’s most fabulous and most magnificent restaurant interior designs:

H.R. Giger Museum Bar, Gruyeres, Switzerland

The interior design of this bar is beyond stunning and was inspired by the famous and popular Alien movies. Opening in 2003, the walls, ceilings and fittings of this dramatically themed bar are the brainchild of Swiss artist H. R Giger. The cavernous bar has massive arches of vertebra that crisscross the vaulted ceilings, mind boggling ‘Harkonnen’ chairs with spinal cord backs and futuristically engraved stone floors. There is no doubt that this is a monumental design. (http://www.hrgiger.com/barmuseum)

Blue Frog Lounge, Mumbai, India

Opening in 2007, the Blue Frog Lounge is a monumental escape into the imagination. It is a lounge, bar, restaurant and music venue, so the interior design needed to give as many people as possible an uninterrupted view of the stage. The different sized cylindrical booths, all on different levels, the flowing cellular design and textured walls make this an elegant and world class example of a hospitality fitout with flair (http://www.bluefrog.co.in)

Truth Cafe, Cape Town, South Africa

At first this glance this coffee shop shrieks eclectic, industrial trash, but you would be deceived. This original and unique interior design by Heldane Martin is a futuristic fantasy based on the form and structure of coffee roasters and espresso machines. Filled with metal piping, old machinery, vintage type writers, sewing machines and candlestick telephones, the Truth Café pushes the boundaries so far, that it becomes aesthetically complete. (http://www.truthcoffee.com)

Photography: Shanna Jones

Jane Restaurant, Antwerp, Belgium

The former chapel of a military hospital in Antwerp is a structural masterpiece of interior design. The refurbishment in early 2014 by Piet Boon has transformed this quiet chapel into a unique experience where the ambiance and architecture of the building is not only enhanced, but is brilliantly magnified. Restorations were kept to a minimum, and the entire design is pure, understated and high-end. This restaurant is a journey into natural stone, leather, oak and glass – and the effect is simply stunning.

Le Pain Frances Restaurant, Gothenburg, Sweden

This glamorous and sophisticated restaurant designed by Stylt Trampoli is an amazing example of how proportions and colour can come together to create an experience like no other. As their first venture into the restaurant world, this established chain of French Bakeries has make a very promising start. Despite the complex mix in textures, materials and proportions, there is a magical quality to the interior design and refurbishment of this four-storey restaurant, one that verges on a Jules Verne era. (http://lepainfrancais.se)

For more information on interior design, restaurant fitouts and refurbishments, call Liteco Projects, interior design specialists on 02 8068 1755, email us: info@liteco.com.au or complete our online enquiry form.