The cycle of influence or trend movements is an interesting one. Remember when offices were just desks, chairs and maybe a personal light at your desk? Suddenly pingpong tables and hot desk design became the norm, and now you're lucky if you even have a personal drawer, but remember, you do have a pingpong table and an uber cool cafe, so that makes up for the lack of personal space and privacy.

Cafes are now "designed" in Melbourne. When I first arrived from London, I was well experienced with pampering which people sought in hospitality. Paying for a fancy meal while heading out of the building for the toilet seemed wrong but it was normal here. The new normal. I needed to adapt to my new world. Happily in the 10 years that have quickly elapsed, cafes and restaurants are pulling up their socks and even paying design firms to create spaces we all dream of, with bathrooms in the building.

Its 2018 and at long last romance is returning to the hospitality industry. With welcoming, and even sexy interior architecture and design. Melbourne has been obsessed with an endless cycles of Danish design with its clean, and at times, overly sterile interiors. Now people subliminally a hug when they come to a cafe. They want to feel the love. There are a glut of amazing coffee spots with entertaining baristas who will happily supply your morning fix. But we've now graduated recently to the big leagues of hospitality design. (That is, caring about the space and knowing that a professional will help improve the business on multiple levels). Think about creating a design that is filled with your cafe's personality, a "branded space" as I like to call it.

How? Think of the space as a person. What does this person want to tell people? How do they want to say it? How do they want guests to feel? Do you want people to linger a long time or quickly leave? When designing a restaurant bring your awareness to the coming trends rather than those that are currently consuming everyone's frontal lobe. You don't want to invest in a design that will be dated before you open. Look at how people will move through the space. Create a personality for your cafe and look to the future and see where current trends are developing. The goal is to create a classical restaurant that will transcend time and become the local everyone wants to return to.

Slowfood in Europe recognises great restaurant food providers with their logo if they did not rush people to leave. The ideas is to slow down and enjoy life. Lets slow down and give yourself and your phone a rest. Give your guests lots of love with great food, powerful design and caring service. They will repay it tenfold with years of loyalty.

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