Nightclub & Bar Design Trends and Buzz

I admit it, I’m a sucker for writing about my favorite products. And for good reason. Nightclub and bar owners need to know about all the great stuff that’s out there.

Included in my list of favorite architectural design products is the open cell ceiling, manufactured by Hunter Douglas Contract, a division of Hunter Douglas. Since first introduced to the open cell product over 12 years ago, I fell in love with its beauty and simplicity and have designed it into many nightclubs and bars and in many contexts.

Design professionals are always looking for a new product or finish to add to their bag of tricks, and I’m certainly no exception. In our quest for being cutting-edge, however, it’s comforting to also rely on the tried and proven.

Driving under the influence, better known as ‘DUI’, has become a topic of daily conversation in the U.S. since the formation of “Mothers Against Drunk Driving” (‘MADD’) in the early 1980’s. At the heart of the DUI is the well-known phrase “blood-alcohol content” (‘BAC’), which strikes fear in the heart of every American motorist who drives after a “night on the town”.

Craft beer has been around since the early 1980's. Since the mid-90's, communities around the U.S. have seen an explosion of craft beer sales.

In an earlier Design Buzz post about architectural lighting (refer below), we discussed that many nightclubs today dedicate a great deal of financial resources to lighting. Lighting accentuates the club’s façade, guides people into the club, entertains them with theatrical lighting and video display panels, enables them to adequately see stairways and creates the club’s ambiance with accent lighting.