When designing a hospitality venue like a hotel, restaurant, or bar, making spaces look appealing is important. So too though is keeping people safe. There are laws called “compliance standards” that businesses must follow to protect customers and staff.
Some owners think these rules make their places look boring or ugly. But, with clever design you can have beautiful interiors that are also compliant and secure.
Fire Safety
Fire Exit Signs
One area with strict laws in place is fire safety. All public buildings need clearly marked emergency exits so people can escape quickly if there is a fire. Typically, the signs above fire doors feature bright green men running or green arrows.
Some venues see these as eyesores that ruin their stylish look. Nevertheless, there are more attractive options that are still legal. Some hanging fire exit signs come in sleek black frames with minimal white lettering spelling “EXIT”. Positioned above a dark wooded or glass door, they blend in subtly whilst clearly showing the way out.
Similarly, instead of harsh neon green lights, small LED exit signs with soft glows meet codes without disrupting classy decor.
Emergency Lighting
As well as exit signs, backup lighting is vital in case power fails in a fire. But strip lights on the walls or ceiling can make bars or lounges feel overly bright or clinical. Low-level floor lighting along evacuation routes is a more aesthetically pleasing alternative.
Different colours can match different spaces, from cool whites in bathrooms to warm amber glows in restaurants. The lights still perform their safety function but add to the ambience rather than detract.
Extinguishers and Alarms
Bright red fire extinguishers and alarms stand out sharply in most colour schemes. But there are ways to incorporate them elegantly. Extinguishers can be placed in cabinets with fronts matching the wall colour, only visible when opened in emergency.
Alarms can sit inside discrete boxes, painted to blend with ceilings. As long as their locations follow guidelines, concealing them maintains mood while upholding security.
Promoting Accessibility
Ramps, Lifts and Handrails
For hospitality venues to cater for all customers, they must provide disability access through ramps, lifts, or graded steps. But chunky concrete ramps or metal lifts often look industrial versus high-end.
Modern materials like glass, wood and less abrasive metals create accessible features that integrate seamlessly into sophisticated settings, whether a boutique hotel, swanky cocktail bar or upmarket eatery. Where handrails are required for steps or steep sections, glass panels or wooden rails feel more fitting for formal spaces than chunky metal bars.
Compliance for disabled guests can harmonise with aesthetics if natural textures replace clinical additions.
Doors and Corridors
Hospitality venues should allow adequate circulation space for wheelchairs or mobility aids in seating plans. But meeting door and corridor width codes need not mean a cold, vacuous atmosphere. Clever layouts hide excess space required for access within alcoves, thicker walls or decorative archways.
Compliant 800-900mm doors integrate better when in keeping with room designs, like dark wood for traditional decor or glass for modern feels. And circulation routes feel less obtrusive with furnishings, plants, or art drawing the eye away from wide paths rather than leaving visible blank spaces.
Light and Sound Levels
For certain customers, extremes of light, sound, or noise can cause discomfort or confusion. While venues want lively, vibrant environments, this needs to be balanced with calmer sections. Creative lighting design focuses bright lights only where needed, using muted lamps and candles to soften other areas. Acoustic wall panels and sound-absorbing soft furnishings lower noise levels without sacrificing style.
Tables further from speakers or dancefloors cater to patrons looking for quieter spots. With clever spatial planning, hospitality venues can sparkle without overstimulating.
Slip Hazards
Flooring and Steps
In hospitality, spilled drinks or food create slip risks, especially on hard floors like wood or tile. But compliance standards do not mean having utilitarian carpet or mats in stylish lounges and restaurants. Modern slip-resistant floor coatings, varnishes and waxes provide transparency and sheen while meeting grip regulations.
Step edges can also be slipping hazards, but visible grips or high contrast nosings jar amid high-end interiors. Instead, strips of glow tape along stair rises or plexiglass rods shine subtly under ambient light yet improve visibility when descending in low light or impaired states. Such intelligent design enhances both safety and aesthetics.
Outdoor Areas
Hospitality venues like hotels and restaurants often have appealing outdoor sections like terraces, courtyards and pathways surrounding premises. However, these come with risks like uneven paving, poor drainage, and lack of illumination. Rather than detracting from natural aesthetics with harsh lighting or obtrusive railings, more elegant solutions can fulfil compliance duties.
Strategically placed garden lamps ensure safe visibility while retaining a subtle ambience. Effective yet unobtrusive drainage prevents pooling water from becoming slipping hazards. And natural stone finishes level changes for wheelchair access without industrial concrete intrusions. Where guard rails are obliged near drops or water features, glass barriers or woven rope offer visibility with greater sensitivity to contexts than metal railings.
With smart specification, alfresco hospitality areas can harmonise safety requirements with indulgent atmospheres.
Conclusion
Some owners see compliance as at odds with creativity and beauty when designing hospitality interiors. But using thoughtful finishes and positioning, safety features and accessibility can be woven into stylish spaces seamlessly. From fire exit signs to circulation widths, regulations support operation, whilst materials from tactile paving to acoustic plaster boost enjoyment.
When aesthetics and compliance work in harmony, hospitality venues become more accessible, profitable and legal businesses where all guests can relax. Most importantly, integrated safety protects lives whilst still delivering the superb service and surroundings people expect when spending their hard-earned cash.
When regulations and aesthetics are locked together in a complementary partnership, the results are hospitality venues that work better, feel better, and look better. Safe surroundings allow people to have carefree and enjoyable experiences.
Attractive but secure spaces see venues thrive as customers return and recommend repeatedly. And seamless compliance means venues avoid the reputation damage and lost revenue from enforcement actions. Ultimately, ethics and aesthetics combine to create hospitality spaces that responsibly welcome, wow and serve all who enter.