The Concept Loft: A New Kind of
Specification Space for Hospitality Design
In hospitality design, inspiration can come from anywhere - a texture, a silhouette, a fabric, a particular way light falls across a table. Yet the process of specifying the furniture and finishes that shape these spaces is often far less inspiring. It can involve endless sample deliveries, fragmented supplier meetings, and the challenge of visualising how individual elements will ultimately come together. Concept Loft was created to offer a different approach.
Developed by HRH Contract Furniture Procurement, the space has been designed as a collaborative specification environment where designers and specifiers can work, explore and develop projects in a way that feels both creative and practical.
Located just outside York, Concept Loft is not positioned as a conventional showroom. Instead, it operates more like a working studio - a place where hospitality designers, architects and clients can step away from their desks and immerse themselves in the materials, products and possibilities that ultimately shape the guest experience.
Within the space, visitors will find an extensive collection of seating - currently over 150 chairs - alongside tables, fabrics, lighting samples, finishes and other FF&E elements drawn from a network of manufacturing partners across the UK and Europe. The aim is to provide designers with the ability to see products side-by-side, compare materials in real time and experiment with combinations in a way that simply isn’t possible through catalogues or digital mood boards.
The tactile nature of this process is important. In hospitality environments, where durability, comfort and aesthetics must all align, the ability to physically engage with products can make a significant difference to the specification process. Designers can sit in chairs, test proportions, evaluate finishes and consider how different materials interact within a space.
Concept Loft has also been designed with collaboration in mind. Alongside furniture samples, the environment brings together a selection of complementary suppliers - including fabrics, wallcoverings, surfaces, lighting and artwork - creating a more holistic resource for designers working on complex hospitality projects.
This approach reflects a wider shift within the industry. As hospitality projects become more ambitious and guest expectations continue to evolve, designers increasingly benefit from environments that support experimentation and dialogue between disciplines. Concept Loft aims to provide precisely that: a space where ideas can be explored collectively before they are finalised.
The model is already demonstrating its value. The designers and client team behind the refurbishment of Rockliffe Hall recently spent time working within the space as part of the specification process for the property’s £20 million redevelopment. Being able to review seating and materials in a physical environment helped streamline decision-making and ultimately contributed to a substantial furniture specification across a number of front-of-house areas.
Importantly, the purpose of Concept Loft is not to influence design direction. The team at HRH operate purely as procurement specialists, supporting designers by sourcing, coordinating and delivering the furniture required to bring a concept to life.
Instead, the space simply provides the environment in which designers can do what they already do best.
In an industry built on collaboration, detail and experience, Concept Loft offers something refreshingly straightforward: a place where hospitality designers can work with real products, real materials and real expertise - all under one roof