HOSPITALITY INTERIOR DESIGN
Hospitality interiors
designed around
your business.
I’m Kaya Ramesh, an independent hospitality interior designer working with restaurants, cafés, coffee shops, bars and pubs across London, Greater London, Kent and East Sussex.
I create considered interiors around how your business needs to look, feel and work — for your customers, your team and the way you operate day to day.
Your premises aren’t simply where you do business. They’re part of the experience you’re selling.
The way your space looks, feels and functions shapes how people experience your business. Your interior sits alongside your brand, your service and the atmosphere you want to create.
That’s why I see hospitality interior design as an investment in the business, rather than simply money spent making somewhere look good. A well-considered interior can support the way you operate, strengthen the experience you offer your customers, give people something worth talking about and help create the right conditions for future growth.
Every business is different, so I don’t design to a formula. I start by understanding yours.
Restaurants
Interiors where layout, atmosphere and practical considerations work together to create a space that feels right for your customers and works for your team.
Cafés & Coffee shops
Welcoming, practical interiors considered around how customers order, sit and move through the space, how you want them to feel while they’re there, and how the business needs to operate behind the counter.
Bars & Pubs
Interiors that create the right atmosphere, make good use of the premises and give customers a place they want to spend time in and come back to.
I work particularly well with independent businesses and smaller hospitality groups, where I can work closely with the people behind the business and understand what they’re trying to achieve.
You might be opening new premises, refurbishing an established venue, rethinking a space that no longer works as well as it should, or developing another location as the business grows.
Whatever the starting point, the design needs to respond to your business, your customers, your premises and what you want to achieve.
It needs to look good.
But it also needs to work.
A hospitality interior has a practical job to do as well as an aesthetic one.
When we work together, I look at the bigger picture: how customers experience and move through the space, how your team uses it, seating and comfort, lighting and atmosphere, acoustics, storage, visible service areas and the practical details that affect how the premises work every day.
The aim isn’t simply to create an attractive interior. It’s to create a space that looks considered, feels right for your business and works properly in practice.
Perhaps your space doesn’t reflect your business anymore.
Hospitality clients often come to me knowing something needs to change, but they’re not quite sure how to solve it.
Common challenges I help solve:
- The interior feels dated or underwhelming and no longer reflects the business;
- The layout isn’t making the best use of the premises
- Customer or staff flow feels awkward
- Storage and practical requirements haven’t been properly considered
- The physical space feels disconnected from the visual brand
- The original interior was created on a tighter budget and the business has since moved on
- You can see that something isn’t working, but you need help working out what to do differently; or
- You’ve taken on new premises that were previously used for something completely different and need to turn them into a space that works for your hospitality business before opening.
SELECTED HOSPITALITY PROJECTS
Real spaces. Real businesses.
WHAT’S INCLUDED
From concept to the details that bring it together.
Understand & plan
Once appointed, we begin with a detailed questionnaire covering your business, customers, practical requirements, aesthetic preferences and what you want the premises to achieve.
We’ll then have a kickstart meeting at the premises, where I’ll review everything with you and carry out the site survey. From there, I develop two layout options, considering how the space needs to work on a practical level.
Design & visualise
Once you’ve chosen your preferred layout, I develop two moodboard directions for you to choose from.
Your selected layout and aesthetic direction are then brought together in 3D visuals, allowing you to see and understand the proposed interior before it is implemented. We refine the design through the agreed amendments so you’re happy with the direction.
Specify & implement
Once the design is approved, I research the products, furniture, finishes and other specified elements needed to bring it together.
Rather than presenting you with endless choices, I typically narrow the research down to two considered options per category, with pricing clearly shown, taking into account the agreed design, dimensions, finish and budget. You receive direct purchasing links so you can place orders yourself and remain in control of your spend.
I also remain available for design-related questions during implementation. For commercial projects requiring greater involvement during construction, optional Construction Phase Design Support can be commissioned separately.
A simple, collaborative start.
Book a discovery call
We’ll talk about your business, the premises, the broad scope of the project and what you’re hoping to achieve. It also gives us an opportunity to see whether working together feels like the right fit.
Establish the scope
Depending on the project, I may suggest meeting you at the premises so I can see the space and discuss the scope with you in person.
For other projects, photographs or videos alongside our conversation give me enough information to establish what’s required.
Receive your proposal
Once I understand the scope, I’ll send you a proposal setting out the recommended service and an agreed flat design fee, so you know my fee before deciding whether you’d like to proceed.
Hospitality interior design FAQs
The earlier we can start discussing the space, the better. If you’ve taken on new premises, are planning a refurbishment or know an existing space needs to change, it’s worth bringing me in while you’re still planning rather than waiting until you’re ready to start building.
That gives the interior design time to inform the practical decisions that follow, rather than trying to make those decisions once work is already underway.
Yes. Ideally, I need to be appointed around six weeks before construction work is due to begin.
This gives us enough time to work through the design properly — from understanding your requirements and developing the layout, through to the aesthetic direction, 3D visuals and specifications — before your contractor needs those decisions.
You can absolutely have your contractor chosen or appointed already. In fact, having them ready to begin once the design is sufficiently developed can work very well. What I don’t recommend is waiting until construction has already started before bringing me into the project.
At that stage, important design decisions often need to be made very quickly, which puts unnecessary pressure on the design process and can limit the time available to properly consider your options.
If you’re planning a refurbishment or fitting out new premises, getting in touch around six weeks before you expect work to begin is a good starting point.
Yes. You’re welcome to appoint contractors and trades you already know or would like to work with.
I provide the interior design information and specifications included within my agreed scope, which can then be shared with the relevant trades to help them understand the approved design.
Where design-related questions arise during implementation, I can provide clarification. More involved design support and direct contractor liaison can also be commissioned through my optional Construction Phase Design Support service on suitable commercial projects.
No. My role is as your interior designer.
My standard service doesn’t include project management, contract administration, construction supervision, appointing or managing contractors, or managing the construction budget. You remain responsible for appointing and managing your contractors and trades.
For suitable commercial projects, I can provide optional Construction Phase Design Support. This can include agreed design-related liaison with your contractor and site visits to review progress from a design perspective and help protect the approved design intent.
This remains design support rather than project management or construction supervision.
Planning a new hospitality space or ready to rethink an existing one?
Tell me a little about your business, your premises and what you’re hoping to achieve. We can discuss the project and whether KaVaRa is the right fit to help you take it forward.