Popular Trends in Restaurant’s Restroom Design

If you’re opening a restaurant, one of the most challenging rooms for a restaurant owner to design is the restroom. A bathroom must be both visually appealing and functional. If it lacks in either area, restaurant patrons can be deterred from returning. One of the best ways to source inspiration for your restaurant’s bathroom’s design is by browsing through current restaurant restroom design trends. Make sure that your restaurant’s bathroom matches the rest of your restaurant’s décor, otherwise it can look like an afterthought.
In this article, we will present several popular trends in restaurant restroom décor:

Sustainability

In today’s world sustainability is incredibly important. If your restaurant’s restroom wastes energy or water, you could annoy and potentially anger some of your sustainability conscious patrons. Governments throughout the world are introducing laws and mandates designed to quell unnecessarily high carbon emissions. If you’re being given a blank slate to design, then do your part and promote sustainability. Make sure to introduce water-efficient fixtures, which will help to conserve water. You could also add sensor lights to your bathroom, which will prevent the bathroom’s lights from being left on when nobody’s in there. Sensor triggered water and even soap dispensers are all a big plus.

Universality

Another popular trend is universality. Instead of designing restrooms that are distinctly catering to specific genders, you should think about universal designs. Your restaurant’s restroom should be a space of inclusivity and comfort. While you will of course need bathrooms specified for both men and women, they can still be the same. Forgo urinals in favor of toilets in the men’s bathroom, unless required by your building code. The Universal Design trend promotes a feeling of inclusion. It creates a space in which all are welcome. In today’s political and social climate, universality is more relevant than ever before. You could also consider unisex bathrooms, again, if your local building code allows.

Stainless Steel Partitions

A lot of restaurant owners are introducing steel cubicles into their restroom, instead of plastic. Plastic bathroom stalls can be dangerous because the plastic can react to cleaning chemicals. According to bathroom experts from Fast Partitions, steel cubicles are virtually unaffected by cleaning chemicals. They also resist the spread of fire and smoke, which is very useful. Stainless steel bathroom cubicles are incredibly well made, high-quality, and safe. They’re also sleek, modern, and trendy. If you’re going to create a universal bathroom, then steel cubicles are a great addition. You can use the money saved on urinals to invest in them.

Above: Airport toilet partitions from honeycomb

Hygiene

Hygiene is obviously the most important thing to think about in a public restroom. Because of the number of people who use public restroom, they can become a breeding ground for germs, bacteria, and disease. With the COVID-19 pandemic in mind, patrons of your restaurant will massively appreciate you going to great lengths to ensure that your bathroom is hygienic. Make sure that you create a bathroom that’s clean and spacious. Ideally, your restaurant’s restroom would have windows, to allow fresh air and even some sun light in. But good mechanical ventilation is a must in any commercial restroom.

Vandalism

For restaurant owners, vandalism is a big concern. It’s inevitable that at least one of your patrons, at some point, will take out a pen and write an obscenity in a bathroom stall. It’s a good idea to use vandal-resistant products and fixtures for your bathroom, which will make sure that your bathroom’s safe, clean, and friendly environment. Using vandal-resistant products will also save you time and money you would otherwise have to invest in repairing, replacing, and cleaning. Vandalism is something you’ll have to deal with at least once, so try to safeguard against it from the beginning.

Hands-Free

Considering the COVID-19 pandemic and the fact that bathrooms are breeding grounds for disease, hands-free bathrooms make a lot of sense. More and more business owners are converting their bathrooms into hands-free ones. You can do this by installing sensors on your faucets, cubicles, toilets, and hand-dryers. It’s also a good idea to install electronic doors, which can often harbor a lot of germs. People who have just washed their hands can instantly collect lots of germs simply by touching a door handle. Hands-free bathrooms are the future.

Photo of Automatic Touchless Sensor Faucet Motion Activated 

Connectivity and Monitoring

Another trend that’s proving to be very popular is connected bathrooms. Connected bathrooms are bathrooms that, through applications and technology, plug bathroom-goers in with the business’s management. Through their applications, they are able to call for cleaners, report a fault, make a complaint, or leave positive feedback. Connecting your customers is a great way to improve their opinion of your restaurant. It promotes transparency and openness and also allows you to see how your staff are managing their cleaning duties and responsibilities. A good way to connect your customers is through applications, which you can tell them about at the door or by the mirrors.

Solid Surfaces

Considering materials to use in your restaurant’s bathroom, solid surfaces, such as granite, corian, or quartz, is a great idea. Solid surfaces are both visually pleasing and easy to clean. They also make your restaurant look expensive and special. If you can’t afford to furnish your bathroom’s counters with solid surface, you could consider faux marble ceramic tile which still look great and retain solid surfaces’ cleanliness. Additionally, solid surfaces reflect light, which will make your bathroom look lighter. Solid surfaces are very durable and don’t break easily.

Color

Color is something else to think about designing your restaurant’s restrooms. Unfortunately, a lot of restaurants don’t think about color and instead opt for plain grey, black, or white walls. Color can give your bathroom a touch of character. It can also make it look much brighter and more spacious if you choose the right color. Make sure that the colors used match the rest of your restaurant’s décor, otherwise, your bathroom will look out of place. Most building codes require to use wall tiles, at least for the five feet from the floor up. Make sure everything in your bathroom goes well in a nice playful design.

Above image: color board of a restroom design by Mindful Design Consulting 

Personal Touch

Personal touch in any restaurant’s restrooms is a must!  It can be simple small things like scented candles, intriguing light fixtures, fun personal messages in a form of a neon sign or an interesting wallpaper.  Even though the mirror’s size is typically dictated by a building code, it can still have fun and original frame.  Restaurant’s restrooms these days became a place of taking selfies so create that fun environment that will be shared on social media!  Do not forget to add door hooks inside each stall, or on a wall in a single toilet restroom.  Small things like this count a lot and get appreciation from their visitors.

If you’re going to open a restaurant, then you should take these current bathroom trends into consideration. This will allow you to stay ahead of your competition and keep on top of what’s popular at the moment because what’s popular is often what your patrons want. This one design touch will also help to gain more respect from your visitors in no time.

If you are thinking to open a new business or are in the process of rebranding and remodeling your existing business, contact us to get a free consultation from Mindful Design Consulting. Click HERE to price your project design.

Also, take a look at “Branding By Interior” e-book, the only book written on this subject at this time. It brings insight on how you can turn your business into a market-dominating competitor by using human cognitive responses.