Downswood Community Centre in Maidstone is a well-used local venue that’s run by volunteers, with day-to-day income generated through hall hire and community fundraising. With the centre hosting everything from meetings and classes to parties and events, they needed seating that could cope with frequent set-ups, pack-downs, and cleaning.
To support their refurbishment, Downswood Community Association approached Rosehill for guidance on replacing their existing chair stock with a smarter, longer-lasting solution.
The brief
Downswood Community Centre required new chairs that would be flexible and support the centre’s use as a multipurpose space. Key requirements provided by Downswood included the need for the chairs to:
- Work for multipurpose community use.
- Be easy to keep clean and presentable between hires.
- Be practical to handle and store when the hall layout changes.
- Represents strong value for a volunteer-managed community facility.
The Rosehill approach
As we are always keen to do at Rosehill, we supported the Downswood team with a series of telephone consultations to compare a shortlist of chair models and narrow down the best fit for their space and usage.
To make the final decision easier, Rosehill also posted a set of sample swatches to the Downswood team. This allowed Downswood to see the finish and colour of the proposed upholstery ‘in the flesh’.
Tip: if you’d like to find out more about a fabric, then make use of Rosehill’s complimentary samples service.
The solution
After some deliberation and consultation, the Downswood team concluded that the Vesta Lightweight Stacking Chair would be the most appropriate option.
The Vesta is the perfect choice due to it being highly flexible, with the ability to stack up to 10 high on the floor (and up to an impressive 25 high on a transport trolley).
In the end, the Downswood team chose to upgrade the upholstery on the Vesta to a hard-wearing, yet premium looking vinyl. This was particularly pertinent as the vinyl allowed wipe-clean, easy maintenance in between venue hires.
As you can see from the photograph above, the Vesta chairs pair perfectly with the Gopak Folding Tables, that can also easily be cleaned, folded, and stored between hires: the perfect solution for multipurpose spaces.
Don’t just take our word for it!
The Downswood team were exceptionally happy with their resulting chairs, as they explained to us in an email:
“Just a quick thank you for your help in choosing and ordering our 250 new chairs. I found all your team very professional, helpful and lovely to deal with, please thank them all.
Everyone is pleased with our lovely new chairs, and our old chairs were donated to a church charity in London and are on their way to the Congo!”
- John Everett, The Downswood Community Association.
Looking for community centre furniture that’s easy to store and maintain?
If you’re upgrading the furniture in your community centre, then look no further than Rosehill for your needs.
Rosehill can provide swatches, samples, and – of course – truly expert advice and guidance.
To discuss your space and get a quote, call 0161 485 1717 or email: sales@rosehill.co.uk.
Explore stacking chairs for community centres at Rosehill now
For more commercial and contract furniture buying guides, information and advice, read the Rosehill blog…
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