Room layouts · 5 min
Bar outdoor seating, laid out from the street rail back
The rail faces the street. That is the seat everyone wants: a ledge under the elbows, a drink in hand, and the traffic and skyline doing the entertaining.
Read this guideSidewalk & Sky Outdoor Restaurant Furniture / Topic collection
Outdoor seating layouts for sidewalks, roofs and bars
How many seats fit outside, and where do they go? These guides lay out outdoor restaurant seating, bar seating on a patio, sidewalk cafe rows and tables for eight, with clearances you can measure and the furniture count that follows.
Measure the curb before you buy
Every layout starts with the boundary your permit or building allows and the walkway that stays open. Planning ranges of 12 to 15 square feet per seat get you a first count; aisles of about 36 inches and 18 to 24 inches behind each chair keep it workable. Check local code limits before the order goes in.
Guides in this topic
4 guides
Room layouts · 5 min
Outdoor cafe seating starts at the curb line
Measure the curb line first. Not the facade, not the window, the curb.
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Room layouts · 5 min
Outdoor dining sets for 8 and the birthday table at golden hour
The call comes in at four. A party of eight, a birthday, and they want to sit outside at seven, right when the light goes gold across the street. You say yes.
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Room layouts · 6 min
Outdoor restaurant seating, planned from the walkway in
The curb is two feet closer than you think.
Read this guideTake it outside and set it up
Outdoor plans
Save finished configurations by space, then copy a plan when another sidewalk, roof or courtyard opens.