Seating Solutions Archives - Page 4 of 7

Published: 18 September 2013

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Event facilities like yours have to be as flexible as possible. While you may be booked through one month with games, another month may be solid with lectures. Still another month may demand space for job fairs. No matter what kinds of events you hold on a routine basis, though, your best bet is to have good temporary seating available, and Hussey has an amazing line to meet your needs.

Portable Seating 4000 Series

Hussy-portable-seating

If you’re looking for the perfect way to get that custom look that’s as flexible as your schedule is, this is certainly the way to go. There are lots of options within this line including padded backs, padded and foam seats, vinyl and embossed panels on the back of seats, logo choices, permanent armrests, detachable arms, and ganging capabilities. There are also a variety of add-on choices like weather fighter treatments for those outdoor events, K-Braces for seat storage, frame trims, slip covers for advertising, and even auto uplift features to help keep your rows clear. The entire line is made to give you the sophistication you need while still recognizing how essential portability can be.

Telescopic Seating

As great as portable seating is in many cases, telescopic seating often meets the needs of big event facilities too. When you think of telescopic seating, though, don’t just think of hard wooden bleachers in overcrowded high school gyms. Today’s choices are simply amazing. Whether you choose to go with metro style chairs, available both with and without upholstery, or classic, yet durable wood seating, the choices you find today can be contoured to fit your needs. What’s more, though, is that they give you recoverable space both in front of and behind the bleacher units, ideal for almost any activity. You can even add handrails, back rests, seat spacers, and media platforms. Need to take things to another level? Go with Power Glide choices to help you open and close your bleacher at the touch of a button. Perhaps one of the best options available is the ability to open and close a single row with some products, which means you only pull out the space you need.

Keeping your event facility as flexible as possible means more bookings every day, and the best way to do that is with great portable seating choices.

Published: 6 August 2013

Written by Carroll Seating

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Categories: Seating Solutions

You probably want every show to be a sellout, but the simple reality is that without the right seating, that’s just not going to happen. Sure, there are amphitheaters where folks still bring their own lawn chairs, but the biggest concerts, shows, and events just don’t book lawn chair facilities. They do, however, select facilities with a good amount of solid seating choices for guests. Before you choose any off-the-shelf solution, though, it’s key to take a needs-inventory for your facility. Here are just a few of the options you may want to consider.

Easy to Clean Seating

Guests are not always quite as considerate as they should be. That can make clean up after an event more difficult than ever. With the right seating choices, though, it could be a far simpler process with the right seating choices. With easier to clean models on the market today, you can select choices that will not only be comfortable for your guests, but easy to keep clean, ensuring your maintenance staff will be happy, even after the messiest possible crowd.

Weather Resistant

amphitheater seating

Amphitheaters often endure some of the harshest weather conditions month after month, even in the off season, and to make certain that you don’t end up replacing your seats for the next season. There are some amazing choices today that are completely weather resistant, helping to give you the durability you’re looking for, whether rain, hail, or even spring snow happens to come your way.

The Right Options

Seats don’t just have to be seats these days. Instead, you can add an entire range of options to your amphitheater seating to help entice people to book tickets with you for every event. Imagine choosing to build cup holders into your seats. Logos are also a good option. Looking for a way to increase the appeal for a VIP seating area? Consider padded seating options, too. It’s all completely possible when you go with a company willing to customize your seating choices to better meet the needs of your crowd.

The Secret to Success – The Best Equipment

No matter what options you choose to add on to your seats, the real secret to success is selecting the best equipment out there. You want something that will stay with you and create the ideal experience for guests whether it’s a concert or a play. Shop around for the perfect equipment before you make your final selection.

Published: 30 July 2013

Written by Carroll Seating

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Categories: Seating Solutions

Durable, comfortable chairs that meet the needs of your space is an absolute must, and for many, steel portable seating fits that bill exactly. Finding the right choice, though, may seem a bit more complex. Here are a few tips that will help you find the ideal seating choice for your space.

Do You Need Durable Choices? Carefully evaluate your needs before you choose the best steel portable seating. While chairs that are simply going to be stored as a backup seating option may not see much use, those that will be courtside game after game certainly will. Understanding exactly how your seating might be used will help you select the ideal choice for your use and for your budget.
Do You Need Upholstered Choices? Depending on your facility, you may want to consider a plush foam or even an upholstered steel chair to help give you a professional look standard steel chairs simply can’t. Folding chairs don’t have to be quite so average these days. It’s easier than ever to dress up your facility simply with your chair choice.
Do You Need Accessories? There are a variety of accessory choices available in the world of portable seating. Whether you need something a bit bigger than the average seat or you want to go with a tablet arm, cup holders, or even custom logos, it’s all very available with Carroll Seating Company.

Portable steel seating is perfect when you’re looking for real flexibility in an environment, but making the perfect selection can be difficult at times. Make sure you examine all of your options before you settle on any seating choice for your facility. Carroll Seating Company can help. With a wide range of options designed for any facility, you’ll find exactly what you need for your visitors. Contact us today to learn more.

Published: 11 July 2013

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There was a time when designing a lecture hall meant simply finding enough seats to fit in the room so students could passively listen to the professor, take notes, and occasionally look up at a visual aid. That time is long since gone thanks to today’s diverse learning and teaching styles. Designing the perfect lecture hall seating today takes some intuition and thought. Here are a few tips that might be helpful.

Keep the Classroom Style in Mind. You could go with a traditional classroom style, with the instructor at the front of the room and rows of seating moving back from that. You could also go with a banquet round style if you want students to interact with each other more than they focus on the presenter at the front. Another option is to go with theatre style seating, but like classroom style, you’re not going to get much interaction between presenters and students. The key here is to think about how much interaction is needed. In a lab-style class, it’s probably quite a bit. In a more traditional lecture presentation, the chances are good that it’s not much. Options like swivel or moveable seating can help out in this arena too.

Check the Fire Regulations. Your local fire regulations will tell you how many people you can place in each row as well as how many rows can go in each section, so take a look at that even before you contact your local seating company. In most cases, this number is around 20 people per row.

Think About Entrances and Exits. People are going to come and go from the lecture hall late. It’s just one of those things that happens. What’s more, though, is that it can be a real interrupter at times. If you make certain your seating is set up so the entrances and exits are near the back of your seating area, or at least off to the side, someone can slip in almost unnoticed without a problem.

Don’t Forget Obstructions. Support posts, speaker mounts, and more can create real obstructions for students in the room. Factor that in as you design the perfect seating.

Great lecture hall seating isn’t too difficult to achieve. Just make sure you factor in all of the aspects before you select seating that works for you.

Published: 2 July 2013

Written by Carroll Seating

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Categories: Seating Solutions

Libraries have special design concerns few other facilities have. Not only must there be the right storage space for books and materials, but you also have to consider the needs of the patrons and the librarians as well. Balancing all of it, whether you’re planning for a new library or renovating an older one, can be difficult, but here are a few tips that may help.

Include Enough Seating Space: If you’re designing a public library, you need to go with at least five seats for every 1,000 people within the service area. If you’re talking about a school library, that number will rely on class sizes. Keep in mind that those numbers shouldn’t include the seating you have in meeting rooms.
Don’t Forget About ADA Accessibility: Seating options, meeting rooms, bathrooms, and even your computer workstations must be wheelchair accessible. You may also want to have other accommodations like computer stations designed for the visually impaired and more so you can serve the needs of your entire population.
Electronic Workstations Play Into Design: Don’t forget that you’re going to need plenty of computer workstations throughout your library. Whether to meet online research needs or card catalog demands, electronic workstations should be readily available to all of your patrons.
Consider the Purpose: Nearly every library in the country has a core of patrons with a different purpose. For example, perhaps it’s research at your library. Maybe it’s current topics and titles. The purpose difference means everything to the design of your library. If you’re talking about research, you’ll want lots of table space, as patrons will not only spread out a bit, but they’ll be spending long hours there, too. If it’s the best seller crowd, create a warm, inviting atmosphere. Go for fewer, yet more comfortable seats, maybe even a fireplace, and good lighting.
Don’t Forget about the Staff: If you’re redesigning or building new, offer the staff a few perks, too. There are lots of great features you can build into the new design that may prove useful. Factor in your volunteer staff, or those temporary staff members you add during the busy season, to this equation too. You may even want to add in dedicated kitchen or break area seating just for your staff members. It may be a nice perk to which they hadn’t previously had access.

Designing the ideal library can be complicated, but there are lots of ways to create a fantastic look that patrons will love.

Published: 25 June 2013

Written by Carroll Seating

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Categories: Seating Solutions

Does the idea of walking into your office cafeteria bring up horrific memories of that first 7th grade lunch period? An office cafeteria should have a very different feel than your middle school experiences, and careful design can help ensure that’s the case. Not sure how to make certain that your new office lunch room seating does nott turn into 7th grade all over again? These tips can help.

Go with a Restaurant Feel. While family style eating might be appropriate if you have more than one cafeteria in your building, it’s not the best option if you just have one place to eat. Instead, you want your employees to feel comfortable, and restaurant style eating is a good way to do just that. Add some booths in there. Go with some pub style tables. Vary the seating a bit, and your employees won’t feel quite like they’re headed back to school.
Consider Capacity. You certainly want to make sure you have enough space in your cafeteria area, so don’t forget to think carefully about how many people you can seat. If no one can ever get a seat in the cafeteria, they’re certainly not going to plan to eat there on a regular basis. Don’t let these calculations terrify you into going with communal tables. There are many different seating options that still give you the café style you want without resorting to long tables with bench seats.
Consider Other Design Features. Seating is a big part of any cafeteria, but there are other design aspects you may want to factor in as well. Think about your choice of artwork, flooring, and even accessories like drink stations and pay stations, as they can affect the flow and feel of your space as well.

The office cafeteria can be just as hip as you want it to be. Don’t forget to factor the right seating choices into your redesign, and you’ll be on your way to creating a Google-esque feel for your employees.

Published: 18 June 2013

Written by Carroll Seating

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Athletic lockers are a no brainer, right? You simply need a bit of ventilation, storage for your team’s gear, and a place to stash their stuff while they’re on the field, right? Wrong. The locker room should be a point of pride for your team. Designing the perfect facility can make all the difference in the world to team spirit and that winning attitude that really matters the second they leave. Here are a few things to consider.

The Sport – All athletic lockers were not created equally. What may work out perfectly for a soccer player may not be ideal for a football player. Unfortunately, most teams are limited by budgetary concerns, so many locker rooms have to play double, triple, or even quadruple duty throughout the year. As the seasons change, so do the dominant sports, and that may mean a different purpose for the lockers for every season. If that’s the case in your facility, you want to go with lockers that are big enough to house gear for each sport. In most cases, football will probably be the sport that requires the most gear. To ensure your football players have enough space for their helmets and their pads, you need a 72” tall locker that is both 15” deep and wide. The shelf has to be about 18” from the top to house a full-sized helmet. Players are only going to get frustrated if they can’t fit all of their gear into their lockers as they walk off the field or court, so make certain they have a bit of room to breathe.

The Number of Players – In addition to having enough space for their gear, you want to have enough space for all of the players. The standard size football team is forty players. For soccer, it’s twenty-five. A track team can have as many as fifty members, depending on the size of the school. The same is true for a swim team. Every player needs to have a locker to house his or her gear, and if this means a few lockers happen to go empty for this season or that one, write it off as an expense of the game. Giving each player his own space is key to building the ideal team.

Security – The last thing you want is for players to feel like their stuff is unsafe between games or meets. If you’re sharing lockers from sport to sport, make sure you offer individual padlocks for players or team members. Built in locks typically come with just a few possible combination, making them quite unsafe from sport to sport.

Color Choices – Feel free to get a bit creative with your locker room. Go with your school colors instead of a drab gray or dull green. You want to create a bright environment where players can truly feel the team spirit enthrall them before every possible match or game.

Good locker room design does not have to be limited by budget. With just a few simple considerations, you can build a locker room that is perfect for your team.

Published: 11 June 2013

Written by Carroll Seating

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Categories: Seating Solutions

Few people have fond memories when they think of the school cafeteria. From nightmares over the interesting food to the forced seating arrangements on those uncomfortable picnic table style seats, looking back on the school cafeteria isn’t always a pleasant experience. Fortunately, that doesn’t have to be the case any longer. It’s completely possible to build a café feel into your school cafeteria, creating a comfortable, fun, relaxing environment that is the perfect mid-day break for students.

Consider a Variety of Seating Options: Go with a nice mix of booths, round tables, square tables, pub style tables, and more to help students feel more like they’re out and about than stuck at school. It will help bring students together, and it may even help some make new bonds that will hold throughout the school day. What’s more, though, is that it can actually make your cafeteria more versatile to students and staff alike.

Add Artwork: You may choose the best seating arrangement in the world, but if it looks institutional, it’s still going to feel that way. Get some customized artwork in there. One decal of your school mascot isn’t going to do it either. Go for a complete change of pace. For example, if you’re the Barracudas, why not create a marine environment for your school cafeteria? It sets a great mood that could help students relax.

Think About Flooring: You could go with that standard school tile, but why not go with a black and white alternating pattern that makes it look like a fifties malt shop? Why not add wood laminate floors to create a distinct coffee shop feel? Your flooring can enhance the overall look of your cafeteria, and with today’s choices, you can find something that is just as easy to care for and still looks great.

Other Great Options: Have you considered adding a mobile ice cream cart? What about a hands free coffee station for students or staff members? There are all kinds of different ways to inject that café feel to your dining room, and adding some of these unique options can do that for you.

Ask your Carroll Seating Company project manager what school cafeteria seating choices may be available.

Published: 4 June 2013

Written by Carroll Seating

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In many situations, a solid lecture hall is a must. From educational institutions like schools and universities to large company campuses across the nation, lecture halls are critical. The best lecture halls, though, have unique seating choices that meet both the needs of those listening as well as the speakers themselves. Before you simply go with the first lecture hall seating provider listed in a directory, it’s best to carefully consider every aspect of your seating needs.

Tiers – Within most lecture halls, tiers are quite common to allow everyone in the room to have a good view of the instructor as well as the front of the room. One key aspect of choosing the best lecture hall seating style to meet your needs is the number of rows per tier you wish to include. Talk to your designer to see what might fit best within your space.

Seating Styles – There are actually a variety of different seating styles available in the world of lecture hall seating, no matter how many rows per tier you want. Perhaps most traditional is fixed style seating. There are many options here, though. If space is tight, you may want to go with something that allows for maximum comfort while playing to your space needs. You could also go with swivel style seating to allow listeners to interact with those behind them. Portable seating is another option. Folding chairs, stacking chairs, stools and more are all options in a lecture hall. Each, however, tends to work best in conjunction with fixed tables.

Other Options to Consider – Lecture halls are changing these days, and there are so many different options to consider when you think about seating. Don’t forget to factor in ideas like whether you need modesty panels, space for instructors to move about the room, and even space for laptops, coats, bags, and the like.

As you design the ideal seating to meet your needs in a lecture hall, don’t forget to include concerns like handicapped seating options to help you remain ADA compliant. Talk with your project manager about your space, your goals, and your needs to come up with the best possible solution.

Published: 28 May 2013

Written by Carroll Seating

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Categories: Seating Solutions

These days, no two locker rooms are alike. Whether you’re in a high-end club setting or middle school, athletic locker rooms are changing fast, and with them, the types of lockers available to those who need them. Wondering which lockers might best meet your needs? Take these factors into account first.

Space Concerns: One of the first things you want to consider is how much space you have. In some cases, your space for the locker room will be quite limited, and that can not only affect where you put the lockers, but also the size and type of lockers you choose to use. Keep in mind that you’ll want to create a solid traffic flow around the lockers as well as a sense of privacy for those using the lockers to change, so be careful as you begin to think about where you may want to place your lockers.

Locker Size: There are three basic locker sizes: mini, half, and standard. Mini lockers are perfect for keys, a folded set of clothes, and maybe a set of court shoes, but not much else. Half lockers give you slightly better sizing, but they’re still small enough to wrinkle the bottom of a man’s shirt. Standard sized lockers are perfect for that suit, but they also typically mean a lot of wasted space. Carefully consider the facility and the needs of its patrons. High school kids may only need half lockers, but those in a commercial gym facility may need mixed sizes.

Locker Materials: Athletic lockers hardly have to be the standard metal ventilated type these days. You can go with stadium style lockers, open front lockers for gear, or even lockers with a wood laminate paneling look to enhance your dressing rooms. Depending on exactly who your facility serves, you may want to go with something that reflects your wants and needs.

There are a number of factors to consider as you plan the ideal athletic locker room. Your best bet is to chat with a project manager before you make any final decisions.