Working to Develop Your Home and Garden

While it can be frustrating to work out in the sun, Australia's beautiful weather is perfect for relaxing and playing in.  This means that any outdoor space your restaurant or cafe has is a massive asset to you and your bottom line.  Utilised correctly, it can attract customers who not only patronise your business but love to spend time there.  That leads to repeat customers and excellent word-of-mouth marketing.  In other words, it's any business's dream.  But how exactly do you make your outdoor area memorable?  Easy—by adding visual interest and variety.  Here are a couple of smart options.

Shade Sails

Parasols and awnings will keep the sun away from your guests, but why not consider a more unusual and visually arresting shade sail?  These can stretch across any areas in which your guests are likely to sit or play, and they'll offer shade without being intrusive or unsightly.  They can be purchased in vibrant colours to match your branding or in something more simple to complement the rest of the outdoor area. Either way, they'll both look good and encourage your customers to spend more time in the area.

Creative Seating

Simple tables and chairs are very functional, but your guests can go anywhere to sit at a picnic table.  Choosing something that makes more of a statement will make your business stick out in their minds.  Just be sure to select something which is still practical to sit at and to eat and drink from, or your customers will remember the experience for a very different reason!

Children's Facilities

Whether it's a small play area or a maze and hopscotch court painted on the ground, having something to occupy your guests' children will be a massive bonus and turn your business into a destination for parents simply by virtue of being there.  Of course, an area that's designed for children will need to be carefully examined from a health and safety perspective.  If there are frames to climb on, the flooring should be soft; you should also consider providing shade, perhaps with the aforementioned shade sails, with the understanding that children are likely to want to spend a lot of time out in the area.

Art

Installing sculptures into your outdoor area is a great way to add visual interest.  Selecting local artists would also be a great way to incorporate the local area into your business, and add to the community feeling that surrounds any popular destination business.

Creating something different in your restaurant's garden, and making it a really pleasant place to spend time in, can be an expensive process.  However, you should see those costs as a serious investment.  It's not just a fresh coat of paint and a fancy way of keeping the sun off—it's polishing up the way your customers will remember your restaurant and increases the chance that they'll want to return to make more of those memories.  That's the kind of thing that can make or break a business, and it's something you'll be thanking yourself for in years to come