Elevate your office from the mundane to a setting that generates collaboration and inspires your team to do their best. The thought invested in planning spaces, choosing the right furnishings, and using color schemes that matter keep morale high and your employees working at peak efficiency.
Tech companies around Los Angeles are known for breaking out of the traditional gray and brown industrial colors to use shades that represent the sun and surf.
Companies that have a break-the-mold business model such as The Honest Company, founded by actress Jessica Alba, maximize light and use sleek-looking architectural walls to frame meeting areas.
Symbols also create unique experiences. At Red Bull’s headquarters in Santa Monica, a 420-foot skate ramp flows over storage spaces down the center of the office.
Read on for ideas that will perk up your office’s design, make the best use of your existing space, and boost goodwill among your employees.
Getting Started
Look at your goals and budget, then choose the need that best describes your situation:
- freshening up your office
- overhauling an existing space
- planning a brand-new interior
Consider what you want the end result to achieve, like creating more common spaces for office collaboration or deciding how to get the most from your current floor plan.
Look at your overall use of space, color, and light. Set the tone for the atmosphere or vibe by considering your company’s brand. Are the promises you make to customers carried into your office setting?
Plenty of options exist to give both small businesses and corporations vibrant settings that become valuable places for employees.
Photo: Arcadia Domo Lounge Chairs
You may want a minimalist design with clean lines and plenty of natural interiors, also called the Scandinavian office.
Photo: Stylex NYC Loose Lounge Sofa
A minimalist interior can also come in an industrial flair like the Modern Industrial Office using a brick- and-mortar approach. Or try a modern look with bold colors and eye-catching designs.
Photo: Source International Scape Lounge Sofa
Get Smart with Ergonomics
Make your environment and equipment work in support of your team and their overall office collaboration – so they are more efficient while staying as healthy as possible both physically and mentally.
Ergonomics is more than having a height-adjustable desk so a keyboard and laptop monitor are at the right height.
Photo: OFS Aptos Private Office Desk
Accessories are important but investing in furniture, lighting, and colors helps the overall environment by assisting the workers and boosting morale. You promote productivity, profitability, and goodwill among your team members.
Seating
Select chairs that are designed for long-term comfort and well-being so that team members can fully engage in their tasks. A quality ergonomic chair is sensitive to the user’s body weight and shifts effortlessly as the person moves.
Look into the 9 to 5 Seating Agent Chair for durability; the mesh technology in the Humanscale Diffrient World Chair; and the OFS InSync chair that’s customizable.
Sitting for long periods of time stresses the body so use chairs that support different body shapes.
Desks and Workstations
Desks that aren’t chosen properly can make a room feel crowded and make the user uncomfortable. Decide how much surface space is needed and how the person likes to do their work, such as spreading out and then gathering things when finished with tasks.
Some desks will convey authority or fit in with the surrounding décor regardless of title and position.
Open plan benching and modular workstations accommodate teams performing similar tasks while creating personal boundaries. Use configurations that work the best for your area.
Photo: Friant System 2 Workstation
Need face-to-face with privacy screens and mobile storage?
How about clustering people in a group for easy sharing of ideas?
Your options are highly customizable. You can shape your setting in numerous ways and choose from colors that complement your office surroundings.
Movement
Allow for as much movement as possible in the office. This is important especially to promote office collaboration and office wellness. Encourage stretch breaks every couple of hours. Provide lounge furniture and break areas inside or outside where your employees can sit comfortably to work away from their desks, have a focused discussion, or just take a quiet moment.
Moving keeps blood circulating and eases pressure on the lower back, wrists, and knees.
Photo: Arcadia Domo Bench Seating
Colors and Light
There is a science to choosing colors that inspire or soothe to create a pleasant background. Just for kicks, here’s a fun experiment from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Cal Tech in Pasadena showing how beads seem to change colors under different shades of cellophane. Different shades affect moods and emotions.
Aristotle believed all color was either black or white and related them to the elements of water, air, earth, and fire as described by the Smithsonian Libraries. His views were held for 2000 years until Isaac Newton studied how light changed when passing through a prism.
Now, let’s hear it for sunshine. Bringing in as much natural light as possible keeps people upbeat and emotionally sound.
Knowing the result you want from your office environment, using the right equipment, and planning for an overall pleasing atmosphere will help your place of work become a desirable destination. If done correctly, you will see obvious improvement in quality of work, team camaraderie, office collaborations and overall employee wellness.
Photo: Koncept Lighting Splitty Lamps
Call on 2010 Office Furniture
Planning an office that works for your firm requires a custom approach. Do you need a hybrid model with work-at-home solutions? How will your plan support flow of information and tasks? Is it conducive to good office collaboration?
The team at 2010 Office Furniture has more than 50 years of combined experience working with clientele that are among Southern California’s most notable corporations, leading universities, and small businesses in all industries.
Contact them with your office needs and questions.
Read Also: 3 Popular Office Layouts to Meet Your Office Culture
Main Photo: AIS Conference Table
Resources & Special Thanks to Respective Product Manufacturers: AIS, Arcadia, Friant, Koncept, OFS Brands, Stylex and Source International
