Creative Ways to Plan and Design a High-Performance Office Space

A high-performance office space isn’t just a sea of cubicles or workstations. You can have rows of open-plan bench seating or enclosed private offices but neither of those may encourage an atmosphere of goodwill and collaboration.

What can?

Furnishings that fit spaces defined for different needs.

Depending on their moods, many people like to move from one setting to another to finish their tasks.

What are the personalities of your team and how can planning and designing a variety of spaces develop a high-performance office environment?

Because you’re designing spaces that let people adapt to their individual needs.

The Purpose of Office Space

An office is an environment where work is done in support of a company’s goals. Think back to the 1950s and 1960s and you’ll see how drastically offices have evolved.

You may not remember the GM plant in Van Nuys but that’s a great example of an assembly line where the office space supported a highly regimented workflow. The aerospace, automotive, and entertainment industries reigned supreme.

Office spaces were functional with little thought given to personal comfort. The office was more of a one size fits all concept versus a flexible or multi-use idea.

How does your company or nonprofit organization operate? Let’s see how you might incorporate more personal comfort and use different spaces for different stages of product development or carrying out services.

Brainstorming Spaces

Tossing around ideas is important for just about any type of business. If your company in Orange County designs robots, then you’re conceptualizing the uses of a tool like a robotic arm and how you’ll improve the functionality.

If you’re a nonprofit with after-school programs in the San Gabriel Valley, you also have a conceptual phase. That could be identifying how to make your services more efficient. Perhaps it’s how to put a creative fundraiser into action.

Maybe you’re an engineering firm in the Ontario, California area and you’re bidding on a municipal construction contract. You need input on what to include so you don’t miss important elements.

Your bottom line is turning ideas into action and solutions.

What makes for a high-performance office space for brainstorming?

Society has become casual, especially in Southern California. Some communities, like Hollywood, have been re-designed so people can work close to where they live. There’s a co-mingling of our personal and professional lives in ways that didn’t exist during the height of our industrial output.


Photo: Humanscale Element Vision Desktop Light

Plan and design spaces that have the fabrics, colors, and feel of home with the durability of commercial spaces. Bring in accessories like ergonomic lighting, a moveable whiteboard, and office plants to design a lounge that’s both relaxing and offers surroundings for brainstorming.


Photo: Allermuir Kin Chair

You can brainstorm in a traditional conference room setting with the requisite chairs and conference tables, or you can change your options using modular furniture with a personal touch.


Photo: Global Ballara Lounge Seating

Look into the Global Ballera Lounge Seating arrangement. It can fit in an environment like a law firm in downtown LA or a grassroots nonprofit in Sherman Oaks. Want something more playful and just as functional? Try the Arcadia Lounge Seating and Bench. Choose from bold color options and an array of seating arrangements.


Photo: Arcadia Serafinita Lounge Seating and Bench

So what happens when it’s time to get back to the desk?

The Get-the-Work-Done Space

Once brainstorming finishes, each person retreats and focuses on their individual tasks.

Your work may be processing donations, analyzing enrollment data in a university, or project managing complex web designs. You could be designing marketing collateral, troubleshooting issues for clients, or managing a portfolio of sales accounts.

And you need a high-performance office space for focus to concentrate, perform and get things done.

Try the HON Abound Height Adjustable Workstation, designed for numerous configurations that meet the needs for one person or a team of people working together.


Photo: Enwork Cayman Desk

Private offices can use a model like the Enwork Cayman Desk with pleasing lines and the ability to add needed accessories.

Sometimes you need to get away from the desk and have relaxed personal space.

Take a Breather Space

Let’s say you get a call or you’re mulling over a report and you just need to get up from your desk. Stretch breaks can give you the breather you need and so can relocating to modular furniture. It’s useful for arranging into group spaces and serving individual needs, too. The furnishings are made as multi-use solutions.


Photo: OFS Coact Lounge Seating

The OFS Coact Lounge Seating is designed to fit in a private office or a social setting like a café. Plenty of privacy options are available so you can have alone space but not feel lonely.

A lounge space with just a few seats pulled together is also ideal for meeting with clients or vendors in casual conversations. They can feel welcomed but not isolated.

Don’t forget the break room. This casual space can be a valuable area to create stimulating conversations where people can exchange useful insights over coffee or lunch. Get ideas on how you can furnish this space by visiting the 2010 Office Inspirations page and browsing through modern breakrooms.

Now, how about training spaces?

Learning Together Spaces

Need to tackle compliance issues or similar topics?

Establish training spaces that are just right for your team. Resources you can use include architectural walls in open floor plans, specially designed tables for training, and stackable tables and chairs.

Set up a multi-media space for videoconferencing or meeting virtually with clients or employees working remotely.

Rely on Experience for High-Performance Office Space Setups

Plan and design spaces to get the highest possible performance and engagement from the talent you hire.

Contact the team at 2010 Office Space, a company with a combined half-century of experience planning spaces and furnishing for clients who are among Southern California’s most distinguished for-profit corporations and not-for-profit organizations.

Let them know your needs and ask how you can maximize your spaces.

Read Also: Plan Your Office Branding for the Employee Experience
Main Photo: OFS Applause Table
Resources & Special Thanks to Respective Product Manufacturers: Allermuir, Arcadia Contract, Enwork, Global, Humanscale, and OFS

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