From drab to fab: upcycled and reclaimed pub furniture

Whether the modern interior design trend for industrial theming and repurposed furniture and decorations is about being frugal or picks up on current trends in society to be more introspective, conscious of the environment and dedicated to recycling principles, it's here to stay.

Let’s be honest, a big part of the craze for upcycling and using repurposed items is about aesthetics. Done properly, it looks amazing and also allows a huge amount of creativity.

Pubs, cafés, restaurants and clubs can differentiate themselves from their competition – even from branches of the same chain – with the addition of quirky and fun repurposed or recycled items.

Upcycling doesn’t just mean using bin lids, shovels and pressed down old tin cans to serve food on (yes, that’s a real thing). There are lots of ways to decorate venues using recycled bicycle frames, Victorian prams, antique sewing machines and wrought iron railings, for example. Use exposed brick walls and pipework and it looks stripped back and real.

This modern style of authentic and recycled décor can extend to your tables and chairs too. Using drab to fab reclaimed pub furniture can sit brilliantly in this more natural and real interior design.

It doesn’t have to look antique or slightly shabby either. Modern upcycling methods mean furniture can look completely different once it's reclaimed - think old school benches or the sort of stools and chairs you would find in 1970s workplaces; refinished and repurposed, they can be a real eye-catcher in your venue.

Upcycling also means you can easily find restaurant, pub and club furniture that combines wood and metal, one of the most popular interior design trends in venue refurbishments at present. Or, use funky, bold colours for reclaimed chairs, to create a statement in your venue.

Of course, there are venues that have taken the repurposed furniture and fittings trend to great lengths. How about the shell of a camper van converted into a bar, an elongated motorbike bar area or old church pews converted into chairs for drinkers to use?

If you are on a really tight budget for your catering and hospitality venue, decorating tables or using boards on bricks create quirky tables. However, part of the skill is not taking the trend too far and looking tacky or cheap. The repurposed and reclaimed furniture has to look fabulous, too!

Browse our range and talk to the team to make a virtue out of old pub furniture and stay in budget in a way that also gives your venue its own unique style and ambiance.