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

Designing for Comfort and Employee Well-Being with the Resimercial Office Trend

Resimercial Office Trend HON Westhill Lounge

Lines between our personal and professional lives have blurred with instant communication and cloud storage. Kids and colleagues can get in touch as needed. There are boundaries, of course. But the 2020 stay-at-home orders showed that many companies found a way to keep operating with nearly all of their employees at home.  Enter the Resimercial office trend.

Now that the focus is once again on the corporate setting, the Resimercial office trend is more popular than ever.

Create an inviting office where home-style comforts are mixed with commercial durability. The benefits of resimercial design include increased comfort with a boost in productivity.


Photo: Snowsound Perline Acoustic Panel

Why can’t a corporate office have the needed functionality plus personality?

This type of office bridges the settings of home and work—while being flexible enough to incorporate the best of both residential and commercial.

A well-planned resimercial office space following the resimercial office trend will have the furnishings that are needed with intangible elements that can make your office a welcome destination.  The addition of biophilic design (bringing elements of nature indoors) also is a huge benefits as it helps improve overall office wellbeing and positivity.

Resimercial Office Trend: Attitude and Atmosphere

Use as many large windows as possible to get rid of stuffy feelings inside. Southern California has a diverse landscape of beaches and mountains, plenty of sunshine, and some of the best weather in the U.S.

Office settings that incorporate natural elements create a pleasant atmosphere—especially when maximizing natural light and using colors that represent the surrounding environment.

Offices in Pasadena or Monrovia can use as much window space possible to capture the red and purple hues of the afternoon sun on the San Gabriel Mountains.

In Playa Vista or Culver City, an office can make use of ocean scenes and equip an outdoor space to experience the ocean breezes.

Use green on your walls strategically with the Nevins Bio Canvas Frame. Bark, moss, and stone panels are tastefully arranged in this no-maintenance option.

These touches make an office personable while getting rid of a sterile feeling.

Work is demanding, but these familiar connections can reduce stress and show employees that they don’t have to be separated from the soothing elements of the world.

Resimercial Office Trend: Furnishings and Fabrics

Office spaces that are planned effectively have a clear purpose. Visit 2010 Office Furniture’s resimercial office trend page to stir your own creativity.

Don’t wall people off from each other. Use furnishings that allow for a flow of open interaction yet provide private spaces. Placement, look, and feel are factors that the team at 2010 Office Furniture considers when assisting clients in planning their spaces.


Photo: Maverick Apex Desk Workstations

You’ve got many choices ranging from the inventive DARRAN Chameleon Workspace to the Maverick Apex Open Plan Desking and the Global Zira Desking Workstation.


Photo: Darran Chameleon Workspace

Each solution is unique with finishes that look pleasant, has comfortable seating, and can be incorporated into a soft, office design.

In a home office, you should have a dedicated workspace, but you’re free to move around and work on the sofa or at the kitchen table. Design that same freedom into your office setting.

Make your breakroom personally stylish using items like the Arcadia Betwixt Table.


Photo: Arcadia Betwixt Table

Consider the DARRAN Honey Lounge Seating. It’s a seating solution that incorporates nature, provides ergonomic comfort, and has been proven to help reduce stress, bolster productivity and enhance well-being.


Photo: Darran Honey Lounge

Storage space is important in both the residential and commercial worlds. Step away from gray metal with the OFS Hitch Shelf and Storage, a unique, modular storage system available in a range of wood veneer finishes.

Resimercial design has a range of ergonomic benefits when quality furnishings are used.

Expect durability. Commercial grade furniture is meant for heavy use, several hours a day, while a sofa in your home is meant for much lighter use. You can still have comfort with quality seating and workspaces.

People and Productivity

The Resimercial office trend isn’t just about furnishings. It’s about letting your employees work in comfort while maintaining high levels of productivity.

Promote well-being.

Quality office chairs are a good place to begin.

The OFS Pret Chair is the type of ergonomic seating solution that’s pleasant to look at while supporting an individual’s body weight and shape.


Photo: HON Solve Chair

Lighting matters, too. Forget big and bulky lamps. Sleek is in for corporate settings and home offices. The Workrite Fundamentals 2 Desktop Light focuses light as needed without getting in the way. It’s one of many ergonomic lighting options.

Channeling sound is another way to make the office pleasant and comfortable. Use acoustic panels of all shapes and colors to deflect and absorb potentially distracting conversations and clacking keyboards.


Photo: Nevins Bio Canvas Panels

As you make the office comfortable, employees will find it a desirable setting to work in. It could become their home away from home.

Rely on 2010 Office Furniture for Resimercial Office Trend

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, universities, and other not-for-profits, and small businesses in all industries.

Contact them with your office needs and questions.

Read Also: 6 Reasons to Use a Resimercial Design for Your Office
Main Photo: HON Westhill Lounge
Resources & Special Thanks to Respective Product Manufacturers: Arcadia, Darran, HON, Maverick, Nevins & Snowsound

6 Types of Spaces Every Office Needs

6 Types of Spaces Every Office Needs Trendway Standing Height Table

Keep those cubicles up and the office lights on. Why? If you’re thinking work-from-home isn’t working for you and your company, you may be right.  Studies show that there are essential, different types of spaces that make for a productive and positive workplace, that working from home just doesn’t accommodate.

The corporate office remains important because we think more clearly and benefit from collaboration. 

The return to offices after COVID-19 showed that the office setting provides social interaction that individual remote offices can’t.

Researchers also learned that employees were productive in the home setting. 

In conclusion: the two environments don’t need to be mutually exclusive. 

Instead, plan to utilize spaces effectively so team members feel comfortable in the corporate office or the home office. Think through the types of spaces your office needs to help your team function productively.

Offer Welcoming Spaces

Home offices are often pleasurable because you feel welcome and comfortable in a space that you know well. It’s yours. 

Well-planned corporate offices can integrate the elements of home yet maintain an atmosphere where tasks are accomplished. 

Welcoming spaces include colors and furnishings like break areas that have a living room feel. Use bright colors or pleasant earth tones throughout the office space. Fabrics and accessories like throw pillows can give a down-home, be-yourself feel.


Photo: Encore Seating Chance Guest Chairs

Being at home is as comfortable as wearing a pair of old shoes while an office has more rigid expectations and requires equipment that gets the job done. Bring the personal and professional together with a variety of ergonomic chairs like the Friant Amenity Chair or the Humanscale Diffrient Smart Chair. Both have lower back support and adjust to the user’s weight and movements. 


Photo: Humanscale Diffrient Smart Chairs

Provide accessories that give workers support while using keyboards and well-lit desks.

Check our Inspiration Center’s Resimercial page to see how tables, lounge furniture, and specially designed chairs lend to collaborative conversations.

Bridge Distant Spaces 

We’ve been convening from long distances long before the pandemic hit, but with quarantine, media rooms have become even more of a necessity.

Provide a setting where your team can access the latest technologies needed for teleconferences and other forms of distance communication by using architectural walls that have character, yet maintain a clean, professional atmosphere.

Different Type of Spaces with Trendway Volo Wall
Photo: Trendway Volo Wall

Enhance Group Spaces

Trends show a continuing reduction in the individual workspace, but an increase in spaces for group work. How should you approach planning your space for either individuals or groups, like ad hoc groups?

Are informal meetings an important part of your company’s culture? If so, remote work can undermine it according to a 2021 article in the Harvard Business Review, Do You Really Need All that Office Space?

Managers “need to think carefully about what role informal interaction plays in their team and how working from home will affect it.”


OFS  Beck Table

Group workspaces can, and should, be welcoming spaces, too. Plenty of quality benching solutions are available. Keep it sleek and simple with the ODS Artiv Open Plan Benching, or create a group setting for personal privacy using acoustic panels with the DARRAN Honey Workspace. 

Different Type of Spaces with DARRAN Honey Workspace
Photo: Darran Honey Workspace

You can have a traditional meeting room or in an open office plan, designate an area for group discussion with the use of specific chairs and modular furniture. 

Mobile whiteboards, plants, and bookcases with artfully placed pillows and books help muffle the sound.

Use Clustered Spaces

An open office design can have a cluster of workstations with privacy screens and mobile or stationary filing cabinets. 

Use office plants to serve as boundaries between other workstations while helping filter the air and deflect sound waves.

Allow for Empty Spaces

Try reading a web page or printed page with huge blocks of text and no white space. 

Sound intriguing? Hardly. You’ll gloss over the page or skip reading it entirely. 

Think of office design like text and images on a web page or in a magazine. Layouts should attract the users and empty or open space has tremendous appeal if used correctly.

Desks and accessories that are simply squeezed together or scattered with no thought to flow or organization create an unappealing space. Concentrating is tough and so is finding personal space to reflect.


Photo: Darran Chameleon Workspace

Empty space can be a strategically designed space to give the office a clean look.

Personal Space

In an atmosphere with daily or weekly deadlines, it’s necessary to have spaces where employees can move away from their desks to work, take calls, or simply sit and refresh. Break rooms or lounge areas can fulfill this purpose for a change of pace.

Different Type of Spaces with OFS Tangent Lounge
Photo: OFS Tangent Lounge

Partner with 2010 Office Furniture – Create Different Type of Spaces

There are many ways to make the office a desirable destination for employees.  Creating different type of spaces is one important one.

The team at 2010 Office has over 50 years of experience advising and supplying the most distinguished corporations, nonprofit organizations, and small businesses in Southern California.

The team will show you how to create a pleasant and productive atmosphere. 

Contact them with your space planning and furnishing needs.

Read Also: NeoCon 2022 Trends: The Future of Office Furniture
Main Photo: Trendway Standing Height Table
Resources & Special Thanks to Respective Product Manufacturers: Darran, Encore Seating, Humanscale, OFS Brands and Trendway

 

Your Guide to Equipping Your Home Office

Guide to Equipping Your Home Office SitOnIt Chair

Your home office space can be as simple or sophisticated as you need to do your work. For those working remotely, or working on hybrid arrangements, here is your strategic guide to equipping your home office.

Make sure it’s well-equipped and well-connected. The space should be pleasing and comfortable to work in, just like a corporate office setting.

Let’s look at what makes a home office inviting for home-based businesses and remote workers.

List Your Needs

As we start your guide to equipping your home office, one of the first important things is to list your needs to be addressed.

Your physical needs may be minimal like room for a computer, a filing cabinet, printer, and nearby outlets to charge computers and phones.

How often will you be on the phone or online with clients and potential customers?

Reliable Internet connections and a smartphone are vital. A headset is useful so you avoid cradling the phone between your neck and shoulder. This way, your hands are free and you don’t risk cramping your muscles.

Get sound panels if there’s the potential for noise from kids or pets. 2010 Office Furniture has great options that are perfect for a corporate office or home office setting. They have attractive designs in a variety of colors.

Panels to reduce noise or delineate space are especially important if you’re going to have co-workers or clients stopping to visit.

Don’t forget the surroundings, even if you facetime clients or your colleagues. What will they see in your background?

Your greatest need in a home office is likely one that we all understand: a place to concentrate.

Elements of an Effective Home Office

Make the space distinct from the rest of the house to prevent or reduce distractions. Don’t let TV, snacks in the refrigerator, and barking dogs drag you down.

Aim to locate your office in an area with lots of space so you don’t feel cramped.

You might have your office in a room that’s completely separate from the rest of your living area, but if you’re in a corner of a living room or family room then use indoor plants to create separation. Privacy screens that rest on the floor can serve the same purpose and so can an item like a moveable white board.


Photo: Snowsound Baffle Sound Panel

In Los Angeles and Orange County, you also have the option of working on a patio in comfortable temperatures for about 9 to 10 months out of the year. That could be your second space, if needed.

Keep it Minimal

Don’t let the space get so cluttered that your work area becomes storage. Get the filing cabinet you need and consider using a cubicle as a solution. We know that the term “cubicle” has a negative connotation, but there are now attractive modular solutions that can be used in a home office.


Photo: HON Abound Workstation Storage

Many have small cabinets with drawers like the HON Abound Height Adjustable Workstation. Numerous configurations are available and frosted glass is an option for privacy.

Get the Light Right

Find a place where you can get the most natural light flowing into the room. Make use of ambient lighting too, so you don’t have to squint to see the computer screen.

The right type of lighting is part of ergonomics, making the surroundings comfortable to support the worker. Proper lighting reduce eye fatigue and the possibilities of headaches.

Lamps don’t need much space on a desktop. The Workrite Fundamentals 2 Desktop Light has a minimal base and narrow arm, but doesn’t compromise size for ability with it’s LED-powered high beams.


Photo: Workrite Fundamentals 2 Task Light

Sit Comfortably

One of the most important points to cover in your guide to equipping your home office is that your health should always come first.  And in most cases, its all about the right ergonomics.

A supportive chair is a necessity, not a luxury. Think of how many hours you’re on a chair throughout a typical workday. There are occasional evenings and weekends, too.

Ergonomic chairs have back and lumbar support to keep the strain off your spine and lower back muscles. Do your part by sitting with good posture.


Photo: Humanscale Liberty Task Chair

Check the Humanscale Liberty Task Chair as an example of a quality office chair. It comes with a recline system that automatically adjusts to the user’s weight and body movements.

Adjust Those Desks

Sitting for long periods of time strains the lower back. When you’re sitting, you’re placing double your body weight on your spine.

Use a height adjustable desk, or another idea is to have a surface that’s higher than the typical desktop surface. Have a higher chair with a comfortable back rest so you have the option to sit or stand when you want.


Photo: Deskmakers Haverford Touchdown Table

Remember to Take Breaks

The demands of home can mean that you’re forced to take breaks to grab the mail, feed the pets, and help the kids or pick them up after school. If you’re sitting for up to two hours at a time, remember to take a 15-minute stretch break.

It’s not a waste of time or an interruption. It’ll help keep your blood circulating and reduce the chance of a foggy brain later in the day.

Make Your Home Office a Positive Place

Work, by its nature, has an inherent stress level to it. Design and furnish your home office so it’s comfortable and a positive space. This way, you can do your best whether you’re self-employed or a remote worker.

Employees can function in home offices just like they do in corporate offices, which the Harvard Business Review refers to as “a culture space, providing workers with a social anchor” that enables professional collaboration.

As your guide to equipping your home office, one point can’t be stressed enough: Your home office shouldn’t be treated as an afterthought, but a center of strategic importance.

We Can Be Your Guide to Equipping Your Home Office

Create extraordinary spaces.

Get expert input on planning your office space, whether it’s a corporate office, hybrid office arrangement, or dedicated home office. The team at 2010 Office Furniture has a half-century of combined experience in space design and furnishing Southern California’s leading companies and distinguished nonprofit organizations.

Contact us to share your needs.  We’ll be happy to be your guide to equipping your home office.

Read Also: Essentials for the Corporate and Home Office Spaces
Main Photo: SitOnIt Seating Wit Chair
Resources & Special Thanks to Respective Product Manufacturers: Deskmakers, HON, Humanscale, SitOnIt Seating, Snowsound & Workrite

Design Your Office Space as a Welcome Gathering Place

Welcome Gathering Place SitOnIt Reya Desk

Why the need for an office welcome gathering place?

Just a few years ago, the office was everything. Remote work or occasional telecommuting was talked about, but in reality that practice was the exception. In 2018, only a third of the workforce could do their jobs at home, according to figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

What’s it like now?

A 2021 survey from FlexJobs conducted in July and August shows that up to 97 percent of workers want some form of remote work. The 10th annual survey shows that:

  • 58 percent of respondents want to work remotely full-time
  • 39 percent want a hybrid work environment

What’s going to happen, and how does this impact how you should plan and design your office space?

A Work Trend Index from Microsoft published in March 2021 found that 66 percent of employers worldwide are redesigning their offices to accommodate hybrid work arrangements.

We don’t know how long the hybrid work model will continue. If companies, and especially the major corporations, find that they’re more profitable with employees in the office, then there will be a push to have workers return either full-time or mostly full-time.

But we know that employees can easily be connected from their home offices. People are also saving money on commuting costs, especially with the current price of gas in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area ranging from $4.05 to nearly $5.00 a gallon.


Photo: HON Solve Chair

The reality is that our professional and personal worlds have merged like never before, and leading architects say that we shouldn’t make hard boundaries between the home and office.

Perhaps it’s time to blur the lines; a convergence.  Merging spaces to accommodate this shift in our work culture and create a welcome gathering place.

Blurring Categories to Create a Welcome Gathering Place

At the NeoCon gathering in October 2021, the most important event for the commercial design industry, the award-winning architect and interior designer Lauren Rottet told attendees that, “The world separates us, wants to categorize us.”

She disagrees with the philosophy and is blending spaces through her designs.

Offices are becoming fun, says Rottet. When she’s pitching a major office design, she says she doesn’t hesitate to refer to previous work she’s done in hotels for inspiration to her clients.


Photo: HON Westhill Lounge

The trend is bringing communities together in a instead of separating them.

A keynote speaker at the conference, Jeanne Gang, and her firm designed the Vista Tower in Chicago which is a blend of hotel rooms, residential condominiums, a 5-star hotel, restaurants, and amenity spaces. It  creates “a vibrant social center.”

This welcome gathering place concept is similar to the Paseo in Pasadena and the Americana in Glendale where retail shopping and living spaces go hand-in-hand.

The Re-Imagined Office

Imagine your office as a social center and not just as a place to work. Given today’s array of modular furniture and a range of office design options, it’s easy to do.

What do employees want?

They want to know that they’re valued.

According to Gallup, engaged employees are “those who are involved in, enthusiastic about and committed to their work and workplace.”

Engaged employees outperform their peers that are not engaged. Overall, companies with high employee engagement are 21% more profitable.

How does office planning and design accomplish this?

Having remote work options is one way, according to Chief Information Officer magazine. That means giving your team freedom to work in the office from the most comfortable locations.

Use welcome gathering place designs that bring out the best in people and provide balance as we merge our professional and personal lives.

The Resimercial office design remains popular for that reason. Elements of home, or a residence, are brought into the commercial setting. Create spaces for people to meet and eat like using informal conference tables that double as a lunch or snack site. The spaces are warm, inviting, and informal so the sharing of ideas and interaction can take place easily and in a way that’s relational and not rigid.


Photo: OFS Obeya Wall and Nineteen20 Table


Photo: Safco Resi Collaboration Workstation 

Use colors that stimulate creativity and are calming, and select attractive furniture that’s durable and made with antimicrobial fabrics.


Photo: Stylex Still Screens

Get Expert Input on a Welcome Gathering Place

Get more ideas for planning your office as community using the expertise of 2010 Office Furniture. Our team at 2010 Office Furniture has about 50 years of combined experience working with Southern California’s most distinguished corporations, universities, and small business from Los Angeles and Orange Counties to the Inland Empire.

Contact us and let us know about your potential project needs.  We can help you create the welcome gathering place for your office.

Read Also: Work From Home Office Furniture
Main Photo: SitOnIt Seating Reya Desk
Resources & Special Thanks to Respective Product Manufacturers: HON, OFS, SitOnIt Seating, Safco & Stylex Seating

Your Guide to Office Feng Shui for the Best Office Environment

Your Guide to Office Feng Shui OFS Riff Table

Creating the best office environment isn’t only about arranging furniture and equipment, it’s also developing an ambiance that has a positive flow of energy. Consider laying out your workspace using office feng shui.

Imagine the benefits:

  • Having a workplace with reduced stress
  • Using appealing natural elements
  • Maximizing employee comfort
  • A cleaner and organized office

What is Office Feng Shui

The word feng shui means “wind” and “water,” and is based on the concept that we’re impacted by our surrounding environment. The most productive offices are planned and laid out with purpose and aren’t arranged in a haphazard manner.

Office feng shui design is meant to bring harmony between people and their surroundings. Nature plays an important role.

Finding Balance in Office Feng Shui

Feng shui incorporates five elements that create a balanced atmosphere when they’re used well together. This can be accomplished in an individual home office or in a corporate setting.

See how each element plays a role and blends with the others for a balanced and harmonious work setting.

Wood

Wood represents creativity and includes growth, birth, strength, and flexibility. Trees, plants, or green objects can represent wood. Feng shui practitioners don’t define wood as hard surfaces, but they look at what flows out of wood like greenery and flowers.


Photo: Nevins Leaf Living Wall

Now, let’s add boldness and energy into the mix.

Fire

As you might imagine, fire represents passion, energy, boldness and change or transformation. Natural light, candles, and the color red bring the fire element into a space.  Feng shui practitioners say this element promotes leadership.

Now think about combining this leadership with inspiration.

Your Guide to Office Feng Shui Stylex Metrum Lounge
Photo: Stylex Metrum Lounge Seating

Water

The element of water is linked to emotion and inspiration. Colors in shades of blue represent water. The incorporation of water in office feng shui balances personalities and temperaments, and encourages ideas and inspiration.


Photo: Stylex Free Address Table 2.0

Certainly so far, each element has a universal quality. Let’s look at strength as a foundation to build on.

Earth

Stability and strength are found in the earth element. Rocks, carpets, old books, decorative pottery or other items that are brown or tan in color capture the tones of the earth and provide stability and strength. Now, let’s focus and bring everything together with the next element.


Photo: Source International Lore Lounge

Metal

Metal is a unifying force with all the elements. It promotes focus and order. The colors of metal are white, silver, or grey.


Photo: Arcadia Worksmith Meeting Tables

Ideas for Using Feng Shui in Offices

Feng shui identifies and eliminates stress points and is compatible with biophilic design, or using natural elements at work. Basic initial steps are to get rid of unnecessary clutter and have good air circulation.

Browse ideas from 2010 Office Furniture’s Office Inspirations for ways to use colors and furnishings so you reach a result that promotes well-being among your team.

Discover how the elements blend together in green offices with an emphasis on nature. Or, combine the properties of residential and commercial spaces with a resimercial layout. The industrial space promotes strength while a minimal office lets you use the elements in subtle ways.

You can also decide how many of the feng shui elements already exist in your current layout and decide how many of each are needed.

If an office feels lifeless or drab, then use office feng shui elements to generate freshness and vitality. Is there an overabundance of one element, like wood and not enough of fire or water? Too many elements related to earth can create a sense of boredom or dullness.

Too many bold designs can be overwhelming.

The Use of Elements in Offices

If fire is related to leadership, then use red tones in specific workstations and executive offices. Blend with the needed strength and flexibility.

A graphics department, marketing, or other area needing a creative boost can decorate with blue and teal.


Photo: Source International Lore Lounge and Clever Plane Tables

If the office space has plenty of natural light but creates glare, don’t use heavy draperies or dark shades to block the light. An idea from Workplace Design.com is to use material that diffuses light so it shines in but reduces the stress of glare.

Feng shui will impact how furnishings are arranged. Desks have a power position when facing a door from the furthest spot in the room. Workers also need support. In feng shui, this can be conveyed behind a desk with  solid wall and plants.

The elements of feng shui can also be found in the furnishings and brought together in one space. A helpful summary from Work Design.com shows a conference room with a large communal table that represents Earth.

A variety of light fixtures and natural light from the windows can bring in fire. Wood can be represented by using the material in communal table and chairs. A glass top on the table will introduce water, along with any blue chair, bench or sofa seating. Also, wall coverings that depict the image of gentle rain evokes the water element.

In the conference room, metal may be represented in the furniture finishes of the table, chairs, light fixtures and other objects. Wall treatments and art or photographs can represent metal, as well as the other elements.

Bring in Plenty of Plants

Plants contribute greatly in office feng shui.  It’s said that bamboo conveys health, happiness and long life.  Peonies help soothe emotional problems.

Succulents are seen as power plants, as they collect water in their stems, leaves, and roots. Feng shui practitioners believe the best places to set them are on desks, sunny terraces, and near windows.

Get Expert Input on Office Feng Shui

For further advice and input, contact our team at 2010 Office Furniture about feng shui and its benefits for your office.

The team members are experienced in office designs and space planning for corporations, nonprofit organizations, and small businesses throughout Los Angeles and Orange counties. 2010 Office Furniture also serves the Inland Empire.

Contact us with your questions and project needs.

Read Also: Checklist of Wellness Activities for 2019
Main Photo: OFS Riff Table
Resources & Special Thanks to Respective Product Manufacturers: Arcadia, Nevins, OFS, Source International & Stylex

6 Reasons to Use a Resimercial Design for Your Office

6 Reasons to Use a Resimercial Design for Your Office

There are many benefits to resimercial office design like boosting employee creativity and retaining your talent. If you’re looking to refresh an existing office or plan a new office layout, consider blending the look of a residence within a commercial space.


Photo: OFS Rowen Lounge Sofa

Resimercial Design is a Lasting Trend

Designing a commercial office with elements of a residence is a lasting trend. It certainly isn’t a fad. Think of the aptly named Residence Inn by Marriot as a good example. There are many spread around Southern California in cities like Rancho Cucamonga, Arcadia, Long Beach and throughout the Los Angeles area.

The name speaks volumes.


Photo: HON Westhill Lounge Sofas

Customers aren’t just guests for a night or two. They’re residents. The lobbies have the relaxed feel of a living space within a corporate environment. The rooms are smartly partitioned with decorative glass and have enough wood décor so that they don’t seem sterile. Each one has a personal appeal and looks as much like a living room as it does a hotel room.

And that’s a good way to think of office resimercial design—an office that uses the best elements of a home brought into a commercial office space.

Since so many employees are working remotely, you can also reverse the situation. It’s possible to have a home office with ergonomic chairs and commercial grade desks that are durable. A home office can reflect the brand of the corporate office.

The boundaries separating professional and personal lives are more integrated than they’ve ever been. And that’s a trend that will last. Resimercial has been called the defining office design trend for the 21st century. Nearly 90% of all companies expect to continue having remote workers in the aftermath of Covid-19. Of course, the widespread use of digital communication reduces the need to be physically present in the corporate office.

Useful for Employee Retention

An attractive office resimercial design that has plenty of natural light flowing through it is a pleasant place to work. It can boost overall morale and act as a way to retain your most talented workers. The days of gray cubicles are gone.

You can plan an office space to maximize workflow, but you can also make the space comfortable to boost productivity.

Using modular workstations and quality desking solutions shows that you’re committed to your employees’ well-being. This helps employees become more engaged in their work and motivates them to share in the company vision.


Photo: HON Solve Task Chair, Astir Lounge Chair & Mav Lounge Chair

Resimercial Design Appeals to All Ages

Each generation brings a unique world view to bear, yet a design that blends the best of a professional office setting with the warmth of a personal residence is accepted by all ages. Implementing ergonomic resimercial design standards to support the people working is a timeless principle.

Who doesn’t want the best possible environment?

Boosts Creativity

Fighting foggy brain syndrome gets old. Knees and elbows under pressure from sitting in the same position begin to hurt. A stale environment slowly drains energy, but a work setting that’s laid out well provides a morale boost when the day gets long.

Here’s what a resimercial office has:

  • Soothing color choices
  • Furnishings that are sturdy, yet comfortable
  • Fabrics that have a homey or personal appeal
  • An office layout that allows for employees to work at their desks or lounge areas

When you’re stuck on a problem, you feel free to take a walk or huddle with co-workers in a comfortable common area to find a solution.


Photo: National Delgado Seating


Photo: HON Preside Conference Table

Encourages Movement and Well-Being

Sitting in one position for several hours at a time hurts. A home office is inviting because you don’t have to be stuck in one position for hours. No one is looking over your shoulder so you can feel free to get up for a brisk walk or quick exercise to get the blood flowing.

Companies should encourage workers in corporate offices to do the same. Movement gets the blood circulating and that promotes oxygen flow to the brain.

An office resimercial design that uses ergonomic chairs, height-adjustable desks, and other equipment that workers can adjust to their specifications is another way that companies make an investment in office wellness. Customizable equipment in settings that are well lit reduce strain on the eyes, neck and lower back.

Your team is able to think more clearly, become less fatigued and in the process can remain productive.

Resimercial Offices are More Comfortable than Remote Offices

An office that’s designed to support the people working there and a space that’s aesthetically pleasing can be more desirable than a home office or a co-working space. Employees may get tired of home offices and want to work in the corporate setting at least a few days each week.

Companies today know that employees can have options for where they do their work.

What’s important is that employees believe in the mission and value statements so that they feel a part of the company’s overall success. That builds loyalty, employee engagement, and becomes a subtle, yet important, competitive advantage.

Plan and design a resimercial office space that works for your company’s brand. Consult with the team at 2010 Office Furniture. They bring more than 50 years of combined experience to each project and have worked with Southern California’s most distinguished companies.

Read Also: Planning Office Layouts for Today’s Workplace Needs
Main Photo: Stylex Seating
Resources & Special Thanks to Respective Product Manufacturers: HON, OFS, National & Stylex Seating

Resimercial Office Designs and Trends

Resimercial Office Designs and Trends

When looking at resimercial office designs, it’s important to go back and remember where it all started from.

Remember when all work was performed in the corporate office?

Then came use of the home office.

Third spaces then evolved as popular alternatives between home and work that helped avoid the grind of commuting in Los Angeles.

As coffee shops went from being grunge and turned fashionable, they became acceptable places where professionals could work on their laptops or have one-on-one client meetings. Co-working spaces attracted freelancers and employees who didn’t want to make the drive from their homes in places like the foothills to their employers near LAX or Long Beach.

The coffee shops came with a relaxed informality. Co-working spaces had perks added like coffee, snacks and even professional development seminars for the monthly fee of renting space.

Of course, the table and chair arrangements were nice as well.


Photo: OFS Rowen, Bistro, and Elani Seating

Boundaries between work and home continued to grow blurred with the popularity of urban villages. Retail stores and professional offices on the first floor with living quarters on the upper floors meant you could take the elevator down to the office or step outside and walk a few blocks to work.

You’ll see this trend anywhere you go in Southern California. The urban village concept drew young professional families to neighborhoods along Hollywood Boulevard.

Live-work spaces and third spaces are common in Irvine, Pasadena, and in Ontario or Rancho Cucamonga.

The trend has had enough of an impact to result in a new term: Resimercial.

What is Resimercial Design?

Resimercial design brings personal elements of home into the commercial office space. Think of it as an approach that respects the personalities of employees and their various moods and mindsets.

A mixture of familiar and business-like elements creates an atmosphere that’s less sterile and more welcoming to our senses.


Photo: OFS Rowen Lounge

The Upbeat Contemporary Office is a nice example of resimercial. Splashes of comfortable colors with soft fabrics have a personal appeal.

Resimercial doesn’t mean sloppy or random. Instead, the use of workstations and lounge areas with circles and triangles give structure with an inviting look.

Resimercial’s Growing Popularity

Policies and practices like implementing family leave for spouses after the birth of a baby was another way that private lives and occupations intertwined. Telecommuting had already been a widely used term and practice since the mid-90s, but when Covid-19 hit it became a forced reality.

The majority of companies let their employees work from home, and now, many will continue to work remotely. According to the National Association for Business Economics, only 11 percent of companies in the U.S. expect to have all their employees returning to the corporate office.

Tech giants Twitter and Facebook are currently letting all their employees work remotely while Google will likely go to a hybrid model of office-home later in 2021.


Photo: SitOnIt Reya Table

How Resimercial Benefits Employees

Evidence exists that resimercial design has a positive impact on wellbeing, collaboration, creativity and overall productivity in the workplace. Work Design Magazine describes how this arrangement means more “than merely placing residential objects in a commercial setting.”

Products and materials are used that are especially designed for the unique purpose of bridging the familiarity of home with the professionalism of workspaces. Doing so allows for more comfort for employees to work how they want instead of staying cooped up in sterile cubicles.


Photo: Stylex Still Screens

Resimercial and the Impact on Office Layouts

The look and feel of resimercial doesn’t have to affect the physical placement of departments in an office. However, the fabrics, colors and style of furnishings can reinforce a company’s brand while defining specific areas of an office.

Re-imagine the finance department. Instead of a traditional desk, there could be a comfortable use of open benchingthat has partitions with an attractive color. Lamps and tables with a wood grain finish can add personality.

A manager’s meeting space can be transformed from the inflexible looking cubicle into a more casual feel using modular furniture.

The furnishings can be budget friendly. The payoff can come from an atmosphere that boosts creativity and productivity.


Photo: SitOnIt Novo Chair, OFS Rowen and Wyre Lounge, OFS Staks Benching

If your office needs a refreshing, or you need to plan new space, then the team at 2010 Office Furniture has nearly 50 years of experience to share. They’ve worked with Southern California’s most distinguished corporations, universities, and growing small businesses.

Contact 2010 Office Furniture with your project needs.

Read Also: Developing a Supportive Office Work Environment
Main Photo: Arcadia Contract Delen Meeting Table
Resources & Special Thanks to Respective Product Manufacturers:  Arcadia Contract, OFS, SitOnIt & Stylex

Design Your Office Space for Residential Comfort and Professional Results

Design Your Office Space for Residential Comfort and Professional Results

An office is a place to tackle your work, and the office environment impacts how well you’ll do your job. This is important to note when you design your office space. The trend in resimercial design is a way of making employees feel comfortable, boosting their creativity and creating an environment to increase productivity.

But how do you know a new design can work?

Let’s look at the science behind the merging of commercial and residential design.

Look around your office and what do you notice?

How much natural light flows through the space? What colors are used?

These elements have been proven to be important in different ways when you design your office space.

In the mid-1980s, a researcher, Roger Ulrich, wanted to see if there was a relationship between the environment in health facilities and patient well-being. He was exploring if beauty, including the design and mood, affected emotional well-being and physiological stress.

He separated participants in two groups with some participants staying on one floor of the hospital and the other participants staying on another floor. One group looked outside their room and saw trees while the others had windows facing a brick wall.

Patients who saw the trees and not the wall needed fewer medications and reported a greater feeling of well-being than those who had the brick wall for their view.

Various elements in your surroundings will impact mood and energy levels.

Design Your Office with Colors

Colors play a key role when you design your office space.  There’s subjective opinion about which colors affects moods, but there are also universally accepted colors. Blue is one of the most popular colors around the world. So if you have an office with a diverse cultural mix, then blue can be a unifying color.

The London Image Institute provides a useful color chart and describes the emotions that the colors evoke. Blue is the color of trust, serenity and peace, while green evokes harmony and nature. Red is associated with emotions ranging from love to anger.

Photo: Friant Dash Workstation Table

Design Your Office with Lighting

Lighting is key in both corporate and home offices.

In a garment factory, improved lighting led to a 10% increase in production and one-third fewer errors. When you design your office space, let your team have as much access as possible to natural light. Lamps and other lights at workstations should have their light focused properly so there’s no glare or feedback.

Another benefit of letting natural light flow throughout the workspace is that it actually helps people sleep better at night.


Photo: OFS Tangent Lounge

Design Your Office with Layout and Movement

At home, rooms or areas are clearly designated for specific purposes. A kitchen has an obvious purpose and so does a bedroom. Some rooms don’t have clearly defined purposes. There are dining spaces but not as many formal dining rooms as there once were. And in today’s world, living rooms and family rooms blur in their use as well.

The home office is for doing work, especially if an employee is using the space to work remotely.

Yet, we also move naturally from one room to another depending on what we need. You can take calls in the office portion, but you may feel more comfortable sitting on the sofa while reading a report.

Traditionally, in an office setting you’re expected to sit and work at a desk for several hours a day. You do your work in one place and you remain stationary except for eating lunch and taking restroom breaks.

An office setting can be planned to have home-like qualities so that the environment is inviting and motivates people to do their best.


Photo: Friant My-HiteWorkstation, Allermuir Kin Chairs and Source International Laze Chair

When you design your office space, Consider the Abstract Modern Office with a variety of bold colors. Everything from a touch of mid-century modern to the newest décor can fit with this design. This is great for playful brands and companies that want to infuse a touch of energy.

More subdued colors are possible, too, even in an office that has open benching and cubicles since modular furniture comes in a variety of colors.

Layout options are flexible. Consider having workstations for each department in one area while lounge seating is available in a central area. Or, depending on the office size, there can be a lounge area in a central space like the hub and workstations on the perimeter.


Photo: HON Empower Height Adjustable Workstations

If you’re going to re-design your office or make substantial improvements, then let employees know and ask for their feedback since they’re the ones being affected.

Architect Donald Rattner, author of “My Creative Space: How to Design Your Home to Stimulate Ideas and Spark Innovation,” says address issues of durability and safety. Use products that have the residential appeal but are made with commercial manufacturing standards.

Let 2010 Office Furniture Help

Get your questions about office space planning and layouts answered by 2010 Office Furniture. The team has more than 50 years of combined experience, serving corporations, universities, and growing enterprises throughout Southern California.

Contact them with questions about your potential projects.

Read Also: Resimercial Office Furniture
Main Photo: OFS Ani Soft Seating
Resources & Special Thanks to Respective Product Manufacturers: Allermuir, Friant, HON, OFS & Source International