Stylish Noise Reducing Office Furniture Trends for 2024

Noise Reducing Office Furniture OFS Intermix Table

Reduce office noise and boost employee engagement by incorporating noise reducing office furniture at the workplace.

That’s not an easy task because we’re immersed in noise.

During commutes, listening to an audiobook or the radio in your car is pleasant but there’s still noise. Think of the noises that you hear in your backyard. Or how about parking near your office, whether it’s in a downtown Los Angeles high-rise or an office near John Wayne Airport?

When you get into the office and settle at your desk, you won’t endure car horns or neighbors blasting music during backyard barbeques but you’ll have other distractions.

Take a look at this:

Even moderate noise in an office can result in high levels of stress and lower task motivation, according to a 2021 study from Cornell University:

“Workers in the noisy office experienced significantly higher levels of stress, made 40 percent fewer attempts to solve an unsolvable puzzle, and made only half as many ergonomic adjustments to their workstations as did their colleagues in quiet offices.”

Does that mean you have to put up solid walls?

No. Get fashionable.

You can use noise reducing office furniture that help with office acoustics with stylish designs that blend with your existing decor using some of the latest new fabrics.

Channeling and reducing sound helps make the office a desirable place for your employees.

Here’s a fabric that keeps the office looking stylish and absorbs noise: PET Felt.

What is PET Felt?

When you take the materials used to make plastic bottles and reuse it as fabrics — that’s Polyethylene Terephthalate, better known as PET Felt.

PET is especially well-suited for use in design-led acoustics since it’s lightweight, dense, durable, and rigid: all properties that make it ideal for acoustic design. Add to that it achieves a Class O fire rating, as noted by Sound Zero, an acoustic sound design firm in the U.K.

Let’s see a specific use of this recycled material.

Lamps with PET Felt

Reducing or channeling office noise doesn’t mean putting up barriers. Help can come from unexpected places using noise reducing office furniture with the right materials.

Like PET felt on office lamps.

Now, would you have thought an office lamp could absorb sound? Dutch designers did and showcased their products on Dezeen.com.

The lamps hang nicely above tables with a relatively low profile and act almost like an upside-down umbrella. They don’t call attention to themselves but blend in nicely with the surroundings.

Noise Reducing Office Furniture Absorb and Deflect Those Noises

Now let’s look at other ways to reduce noise in the office with accompanying noise reducing office furniture.


Photo: OFS Intermix Conference Table

Set up a welcoming type of conference room. Click on the 2010 Office Inspiration page and browse a modern conference room space. It doesn’t have to be completely enclosed. Imagine a space with one wall as a whiteboard, another wall being a clear architectural wall, and a monitor attached to a wall with a doorless opening to walk in and out of freely.


Photo: Snowsound Clasp Fiber Room Divider

Many lounge seating arrangements are attractive, comfortable, and are designed to keep conversations focused around a table so the noise doesn’t drift away. In fact they make great noise reducing office furniture because of the padding and fabric that they’re usually made from.


Photo: Arcadia Contract TOOtheLOUNGE Seating

Look at the Arcadia TOOtheLOUNGE Seating with practical configurations and colorful appearances to brighten any office environment. It can be an individual “oasis” or set up to accommodate a few people. Make it as closed or as open as you want.


Photo: Nevins Bio Canvas Frame

Green office panels help you control the acoustics while adding a touch of nature to your surroundings. The Nevins Bio Canvas Frame has a lightweight frame and uses bark, moss, and stone panels. No maintenance is required.

Bookcases are another way to absorb and deflect sounds and make great noise reducing office furniture. What do you put on them? Decorative pieces. Plants. Books. Trophies from the office softball team. Get creative.

You’ve got plenty of options to choose from. Look for an eye-catching design like the OFS Hitch Shelf and Storage. It’s a modular system to showcase your personality.


Photo: OFS Rowens Shelf and Credenza

The OFS Rowen Shelf and Credenza has a library feel while the DARRAN Chameleon Storage has a more boxy style.


Photo: DARRAN Chameleon Storage

Don’t forget green plants. Wider leaves deflect sound waves and all types of plants purify the air. Plus, they’re visually refreshing. Good Housekeeping compiled a listing of 15 plants including the spider plant and birds nest fern.

These ideas are relatively easy to implement and we didn’t even include cubicles or architectural walls.  But all these are good options for noice reducing office furniture.

Office Space Planning and Design for Noise Reducing Office Furniture

Absorbing sound waves are one part of overall office planning.

What do you feel your greatest needs are? Ask the team at 2010 Office Furniture and they’ll bring more than 50 years of experience into your space planning and furniture sourcing solutions.

2010 Office’s clients are Southern California’s most distinguished corporations, universities, and small businesses.

Contact them with your potential project needs and when you’re ready to include noise reducing office furniture into your office space.

Read Also: Choosing the Best Office Dividers and Filing Systems
Main Photo: OFS Intermix Conference Table
Resources & Special Thanks to Respective Product Manufacturers: Arcadia Contract, DARRAN, Nevins, OFS and Snowsound

Liven Up Your Virtual Meeting Rooms and Physical Meeting Spaces

Virtual Meeting Room TOOtheLOUNGE Seating

Step away from the same old environments and change up both you virtual meeting room and physical meeting spaces to keep your team engaged. Freshen up your in-office environment and your online world.

Think about it this way.

Got Zoom fatigue from too many online meetings? You might not get it with in-house staff who are full-time because you’re often meeting face-to-face. But you might still need to have online meetings with remote workers, clients, and vendors.

Don’t forget that you’ll also have training sessions if you need to be updated on new technologies or brief your team on compliance issues for your industry.

When you’re meeting virtually with teams and addressing people who have different roles and functions, then you’ll benefit from having online meeting spaces that reflect an in-person experience.

The Virtual Meeting Room Environment

There are virtual meeting spaces designed to appear on-screen like an actual office environment. You’ll see avatars at open benching solutions or cubicles in bright colors and you can easily move from a general meeting space to one-on-one chats.

Use interactive elements like YouTube videos and virtual whiteboards for jotting notes. Your virtual meeting room should be designed to keep the attention of attendees.

Now let’s look at your physical meeting space, too.


Photo: OFS Intermix Collaborative Table

The Physical Meeting Space Environment

Host from a comfortable in-house office space designed for teleconferencing and then connect with remote workers using their mobile phones, laptops, or desktops. Use furniture with integrated technology and connection portals.

Get inspired by what your conferencing center can look like. Check the 2010 Office Furniture’s Inspiration Page for Modern Conference Room and Meeting Spaces.


Photo: Source Scape Lounge

Liven up the dreary and stiff meeting spaces and create an atmosphere that opens people up to collaboration. Who says meeting spaces need four physical walls?


Photo: OFS Obeya Architectural Structure

Imagine a meeting space with a large monitor on a wall for easy viewing of video presentations with another wall used as a whiteboard. Another side of the space has a translucent architectural wall that lets light flow in while keeping the sound within the meeting area.

Making the Virtual Meeting and Physical Space Work

A dedicated physical or virtual meeting room is only one part of having a successful meeting. Set the proper expectations.

Create a positive meeting experience using protocols and the right technologies that support your goals. Send out key points of an agenda and, if appropriate, have people pre-meet to discuss the points and suggest courses of action.

Open a meeting with a brief personal check-in, especially with remote workers who don’t get much “water cooler” time in the corporate office. This breaks the ice and can foster positive communication. A minute or two for personal sharing can build bonds.

Keep people focused on the agenda, so don’t allow multitasking.

A virtual meeting space that simulate a live office environment provide a sense of realism and depth. The way we interact online is still different than if we were in person since picking up cues from body language isn’t as noticeable on a computer monitor or smartphone screen.

So wait for others to finish, and speak slowly when it’s your turn. Use icons to signify that your hand is raised.


Photo: Arcadia Avelina Table

For training sessions, use a well-designed virtual meeting space on a large screen. A larger conference table is a solution, but don’t crowd people so they’re uncomfortable.


Photo: DARRAN Bota Table

Try using individual tables or small groups of a few people per table if the topic requires note-taking and interaction with co-workers.


Photo: OFS Applause Table

Use Different Space Sizes

Step out of the same old meeting room by varying the space sizes. Use huddle spaces for up-close conversations. A style like the Encore Hado Lounge Seating can provide comfort and keep you at ease. Use a nesting table that can be easily removed when not needed.

Put your breakroom to strategic use with booths and seating solutions that offer some privacy.

The ERG International Laguna Lounge Seating arrangement is perfect for meeting over coffee or lunch. It’s designed so the conversation is channeled and has power management tools so you can stay connected, especially for your virtual meeting room.

Design a Home-Style Meeting Space

Get the durability of commercial furnishings with the comfort of home-like fabrics and colors. Create a resimercial meeting space with the Arcadia TOOtheLOUNGE Seating. The TOOthe LOUNGE can be configured for one person or can accommodate several people.

Want more ideas on relaxed meeting and working spaces? Check the Resimercial Office design on 2010 Office Furniture’s Inspiration page.

Stay Current with 2010 Office Furniture

Stay up-to-date with trends in planning office spaces and furnishing the office environment. Connect with the team at 2010 Office Furniture for input on your project.

The 2010 Office Furniture team has more than 50 years of combined experience advising and sourcing furniture for clients who are among Southern California’s most distinguished corporations, nonprofits, and small businesses.  Let their experts help you design and create your next virtual meeting room or physical meeting space!

Read Also: Staying Productive with an Effort for Holistic Office Wellness
Main Photo: Arcadia TOOtheLOUNGE Seating
Resources & Special Thanks to Respective Product Manufacturers: Arcadia, DARRAN, OFS & Source

Social Distancing Tips and Adjusting to the Realities of Covid-19 in the Office

Social Distancing Tips and Adjusting to the Realities of Covid-19 in the Office

(IMPORTANT NOTICE: The recommendations on this article about Covid-19 in the office are NOT from health experts, and have not been medically tested nor proven as an effective cure or prevention for COVID-19 or any other diseases.)

Amazing changes are shaking work environments as the world tackles the prevention of spreading Covid-19 in the office.

The open office was the trend with clusters of employees sitting together until the pandemic hit. Now, the puzzling question is how do workers keep their physical distance and still collaborate?

How far apart should people be?

Six feet is the best answer, but do you know why?

That’s the average distance that respiratory droplets from a sneeze or cough travel before they settle and aren’t likely to be inhaled by other people.

In the real world, people sneeze at different levels of intensity so we can’t accommodate every person, and staying six feet apart isn’t always possible. But we can make adjustments to help create a healthy environment and show workers that your company is looking out for their best interests.

Ways to Help Achieve Healthy Social Distancing in the Office

Covid-19 in the Office Groupe Lacasse Paradigm
Photo: Groupe Lacasse Paradigm

Modular furniture to the rescue!

Workers can use their office furniture with flexible set-ups to help keep a proper distance and stay productive.

Here’s what you can do:

  • Change seating arrangements
  • Install counter shields, desk shields, space dividers, or freestanding panels
  • Create modular rooms for meeting space
  • Use breakrooms with caution

Change Seating Arrangements

Benching solutions brought workers face to face and side by side in the open office. Remember those long rectangular benches with several people on one side and then several on the opposite side? The only separation between the two sides was a low-profile divider.

In cubicle work pods, employees looked toward each other, but that was before the pandemic hit.

How do you make it work now?

Reconfigure work pods so employees are working at angles and turn their seats so they’re back to back. This minor change can also help create more personal space and privacy.

Once you’ve chosen your seating arrangements, install what are now known as sneeze screens.

Screen styles are tailored to fit a variety of desking options and counter needs.

Use Clear Dividers


Photo: Enwork Acrylic Screens

Challenges create the need for solutions. Dividers may offer protection from the spread of Covid-19 in the workplace and 2010 Office Furniture carries a wide variety of these office essentials.

Don’t worry. Workers don’t have to feel like they’re stuck within canyon walls because the dividers are clear and allow light to filter through. They can work well with rectangular bench seating stations by helping to protect workers on either side of the screen.

The dividers are crafted from glass and can easily be installed. Certain products like the Fulbright Isolate Mobile Glass Screen are easy to re-arrange so they can also be used in places like lobby waiting areas and between office workers.

Partitions can work well in open plan workspaces and restaurants.

Create Signage Guides to Help Prevent Covid-19 in the Office


Photo: OFS Obeya Archictectural Structures

Use signs with positive messages that let visitors and employees know the office follows guidelines for personal safety.

Marketing teams talk about the customer journey, but your employees have their own journey from home that leads to the office. Gensler, a global design and architecture firm, advises businesses to create signs with their brand to guide employees as they travel that path. It’s easy to buy off-the-shelf signs, but mass-produced signs can bring on stress since “the color palettes and typography of some signage can make a space feel harsh, dangerous, and unwelcoming. Shifting the design to something more friendly and human can help to instill a sense of community and common purpose.”

Use brightly colored duct tape as guides along floors or walls, and to mark 6-foot distances near elevators, restrooms, the break room, and other places people gather.

Install Architectural Walls to Help Prevent Covid-19 in the Office

Covid-19 in the Office Trendway Clearwall
Photo: Trendway Clear Wall

Modular furniture of all types is economical and that includes architectural walls to create conference rooms or delineate private working spaces. You can define private spaces that look inviting and help provide the health security people need. You can create spaces with floor to ceiling walls or cubicles with guards to help reduce the likelihood of moist droplets spreading from one person to another.

Trendway offers three options for offices that want a sleek, modern look: Clear Wall, TrendWall, and Volo Wall. Clear Wall is a floor-to-ceiling solution with no framing between adjoining walls, while TrendWall provides the same services with framing. The Volvo Wall is another alternative that combines aesthetic with functionality with its glass sliding door. Glass options include clear or glazed.

Offices that want a framed wall with a wood grain look can choose the OFS Obeya Architectural Structures. Walls can be open or closed and make it possible to install tables, media equipment, and planters or other accessories.

These are office walls that define spaces without blocking out people.

Greater Use of Teleconferencing in the Office

Covid-19 in the Office OFS Slate
Photo: OFS Slate Media Wall

Even with all these modifications, social distancing may be even more effective with the use of teleconferencing equipment.

The digital platform makes it easy to livestream meetings. With projectors, screens and monitors to video conference, there is no need to crowd in small spaces and heighten the risk of COVID-19.

Inter-office streaming between floors or departments can help reduce foot traffic and people moving from one space to another.

Modify Food Events and Breakroom Habits

Covid-19 is changing how people will gather in breakrooms.

The Society of Human Resource Managers (SHRM) says social gatherings to celebrate retirements, milestones or birthdays may still be conducted if you’re careful and aware of your surroundings and how you serve the food.

Let’s say a company is providing pizza to its employees.  Instead of having the pizza readily accessible to everyone in a buffet-like setup, consider designating one single person wearing a mask and gloves to serve the pre-cut slices to each person.  This is much more sanitary as it will help minimize the number of people the pizza comes in contact with.  Also, for those who would like to share homemade goods at work, make sure each cookie or brownie has been carefully and individually wrapped, and that the person who made it wasn’t sick.


Photo: OFS Obeya Archictectural Structures

To help maintain physical distancing during typical workdays, reduce the number of chairs available in the breakroom and stagger break times for different departments.

Use fun signage to mark six foot distances and make sure tables are wiped down after they’re used.

Extra precautions and a few strategic configurations will promote a healthy office environment and help reduce the risks associated with the potential spread of Covid-19 in the workplace.

Ask your teams to get involved and supply them with adequate amounts of hand sanitizer.

For employees who are telecommuting, ask if they need additional equipment to work from home. You can create guidelines for home office best practices.

A virus like the coronavirus doesn’t have to shut down operations. Taking smart steps that follow public health guidelines can help make employees feel secure and take ownership of their own health and the well-being of those around them.

Get the Expertise You Need to Help Prevent Covid-19 in the Office

Get expert advice on re-configuring your office and making it safe. Talk to the team at 2010 Office Furniture. They have more than 45 years of combined experience advising corporations, non-profits and small businesses throughout Southern California.

Read Also: How to Help Protect Workers in Open Office Floor Plans from Covid-19
Main Photo by: OFS LeanTo
Resources & Special Thanks to Respective Product Manufacturers: OFS, Groupe Lacasse, Enwork & Trendway

(IMPORTANT NOTICE: The recommendations on this article are NOT from health experts, and have not been medically tested nor proven as an effective cure or prevention for COVID-19 or any other diseases.)