Return to Retail: How Wallcoverings are Luring Customers Back into Stores, Restaurants and Hospitality Spaces
When the pandemic forced the world to stay home and set up remote workstations, we never realized the profound societal changes that would occur long-term. News from career placement website Ladders.com shows that a quarter of all U.S. jobs remain remote, and this work location shuffle will continue to increase over the next several years.
Meanwhile, consumers are looking for an escape from their in-home workspace. As the spring and summer travel seasons heat up, many retail, restaurant and hospitality spaces have refreshed their interior décor to lure in more customers with fresh and inviting aesthetics. To help with transitional trends, wallcovering manufacturers and distributors have introduced new designs that provide a retreat for hospitality, restaurants and retail spaces.
With a nod to bringing the outside in, elevating open space and incorporating natural elements, members of the Wallcoverings Association say retail, restaurant and hospitality décor featuring bold, graphic design that’s enchanting and comforting will help lure more customers back in.
Environmental Harmony
The Versa Barege Collection presents a polished design with a nature-inspired texture and a graphic overlay. The innovative detail awakens the senses with a soft grasscloth emboss with a harmonious nod to the tactile nature of our environment and offers an immersive wallcovering experience. The understated design blends well in hospitality and retail indoor spaces. In addition, Barege features Versa’s proprietary evo® PVC-free technology delivering the same look, feel, and performance of luxury vinyl wallcovering.
Fly Me To The Mural
Bring the moons and the mountain into your retail space. Instantly transport customers to the peak of guest service with this Rocky Mountain look. Spanning the expanse of space, the new Level Digital Wallcoverings Luna design is a mural that can be installed in no time. The Luna design features an inlaid wood effect that combines natural surfaces with a bold, graphic design. In addition, the wood grain can be customized to suit multiple color palettes. Plus, the designs can be printed on pre-selected materials, including vinyl, PVC-free, rigid wall protection and acoustic wallcovering to meet your level of durability needs.
[Related: Dynamic Walls Help Make Return to the Office Worthwhile]
Dessert Near the Desert
From the mountains to the Sahara, Momentum Textiles & Wallcovering introduced the new P3TEC Sahara Stone wall protection with a blended look of natural rock and distinctive linear details. Available in eight colors, Sahara Stone offers a hand-crafted, dynamic design with textured layering and intentional tool marks. Transport customers to another continent with subtle yet striking detail.
Floating in Florence
The Command Florence Collection offers an array of muted colors that provide calm tranquility. The cloud-like orbiting pattern floats on a horizontally textured surface to produce a waterfall effect. Providing the feeling of movement and peaceful serenity, the Florence Collection invites guests to feel the warmth of the Tuscan sky and feel the hospitality of the Italian breeze. Command products utilize recycled content and offer beautiful, environmentally-friendly wallcovering, which are essential elements to sustainable retail and commercial designs.
Fun, Festive and Frolicking
Through a collaboration with Farmbird (restaurant) and //3877 (design firm), Astek developed a custom wallcovering perfect for a fresh new restaurant décor. And what’s more fun and inviting than farmyard friends and fresh produce artwork. Using an on-brand color scheme and quirky repeating pattern, the durable vinyl wallcovering instantly lightens the mood and space of this restaurant design. What’s more, as Farmbird continues to expand the brand, the uniquely memorable wallcoverings will help each location feel familiar and offer a significant thread of commonality to grow with the brand.
As customers zoom out of their home offices and flock to restaurants, hotels, and retail centers for an opportunity to enjoy a day of shopping or a night out with friends, commercial wallcoverings help transport any retail space for the perfect escape.
About the author: Matthew Jones is executive director of the Wallcoverings Association (wallcoverings.org), a nonprofit trade association representing wallcoverings manufacturers, distributors and suppliers. The WA educates consumers, designers and specifiers about the beauty and use of wallcoverings. The association keeps the industry at the forefront of sustainability with specifier tools such as NSF 342, Sustainability Scorecards and Environmental Product Declarations. Designers and design students can obtain an industry sample book from the WA at www.wallcoverings.org/samplebooks.
Read next: Wallcoverings Create Immersive Design Experiences in Post-Pandemic Spaces
