It’s important that school canteen furniture is well designed, suitable for purpose and as accessible as possible. As the school canteen needs to provide an eating and socialising space for both staff and pupils, a variety of furniture styles and sizes may be required.
This article will help to identify the essential school canteen furniture for your purchasing list.
Canteen furniture is first and foremost functional. It should include chairs and benches to accommodate different groups of people comfortably, hard-wearing tables and stations for food and beverages, and cutlery and condiments to help keep things organised.
Provision must also be made for frequent cleaning, both in furniture design and placement. This should include waste bins and recycling so that hygiene can easily be maintained.
As canteen users will vary in age and size, a variety of seating options are available. Individual chairs can pair with small or large tables, benches allow maximum seating at long tables and booth seating is a popular multi-purpose option.
The workhorse of the canteen, the canteen table must be designed to fit the users, be easy to clean and robust enough for everyday use. Plus if you need to store away foldable or stackable.
Types of serving stations can include everything from hotplates and heated food cupboards to bain maries and refrigerated displays for salads and cold foods.
These stations provide a ‘one stop shop’ for collection of utensils, condiments and paper tableware. These areas can also be used to store drinks and extras sugar.
Use different bins for rubbish and recycling. If tables are self-clear, have defined areas for dirty plates, cups and utensils.
Cleverly designed to help even the largest rooms to deal with a constant flow of people, partitions and dividers let you control the space. Storage units keep things tidy.
Wheelchair-accessible tables are designed with wheelchair users in mind. They may be height adjustable or have purposely designed frames and legs to provide the right amount of space or table overhang.
Adaptive seating may include height adjustable or adjustable positioning features and seat boosters. Seating can also be specified in the correct height for the age group.
These five important things to consider when choosing school canteen furniture can help you to work out your purchasing priorities.
Modern canteen chairs and tables are available in a huge range of colours as well as black, white and woods. Try matching your brand or school colours, or choose bright colours to create a great atmosphere and stimulate appetite.
You can make the most of all available space by choosing a variety of styles like round tables and cafe chairs, long tables and benches or bar stools and high tables.
Commercial dining furniture needs to withstand heavy daily use. Investing in contract-grade materials that are easy to clean will ensure that your furniture needs minimum maintenance and aftercare.
Buying better quality means that furniture lasts longer – always best for the environment. Our ranges feature FSC woods and recycled plastics too.
Consider stackable chairs that can be placed on a trolly and wheeled away for storage. Folding tables are easy to remove as required. Where the space needs to be multi-use, smaller groups of cafe tables and chairs may be easier to move about.
Buying from an expert school canteen furniture supplier like Spaceist means that you can be confident that you’re buying commercial-standard, contract furniture that is designed for purpose. We can advise on suitability and space planning too. Check out our canteen ranges here: canteen furniture and request a price list.
But before you start shopping let’s recap. The essential furniture items for a really well-equipped school canteen are:
Remember to use space planning to maximise seating and ensure that accessibility is considered.
Yes, you can buy a range of outdoor canteen furniture from Spaceist, like picnic tables and cafe tables and chairs in woods and metals which are suitable for outdoor use.
A full space planning service is available, using high quality images to ensure that you are making the best use of furniture in every room.
FSC wood is wood from sustainably managed forests as certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), an international organisation that promotes responsible forest management and standards.
