Tips to Optimize Your Office Space

March 28, 2016 by Suzanne Lasky

Below is a guest post on the subject of how to optimize your office space to enhance productivity and the overall feeling in the office for employees. Choices and flexibility are two key words to keep in mind. Gone are the days of endless closed off cubicles and poor lighting. Spaces designed to encourage collaboration and social interaction are important elements to include. More and more time is spent at work and the environment needs to support this reality.

Design tips to keep workers engaged and get the most out of your office space

The office space is one of the most important parts of your workplace, designing it correctly is instrumental to maximizing productivity and ensures your staff is happy. The better the environment for your staff the higher the rate of loyalty and the less likely there will be any issues regarding staff turnover. The following design tips will ensure your employees are well motivated and fully engaged:

Wiring

The first step to a productive office is to get the wires out of sight. Wires everywhere can make a room look cluttered and this can be distracting when you are trying to focus on a job in hand. There are also risks concerning trips and spills when cables are left exposed. There are many desks designed with specific areas to hide cables in or electrical trunking can be used.

Outdoors

The outside can be brought inside by adding a few plants and reclaimed wood walls or even artworks. These items will help to make the office feel more natural and user friendly as opposed to a work station. This has been shown to improve productivity and your employees will be a lot happier and satisfied.

Workspace

Offices are changing; there are no longer dedicated seats and computers. The portable computer has made it possible for anyone to work anywhere. This has led to offices which have benches and seating areas which can be used for working at, taking breaks or even multimedia presentations.

Flexible working arrangements and height adjustable desks are encouraging staff to make the most of their space, it can also ensure that people do not feel chained to a desk or seating position; they say change is as good as a rest!

Lounges

It is important to take regular breaks and relax in order to get the most out of your time at your workstation. To encourage this it is essential to have a place where people can relax, or talk business in a more informal atmosphere. This can make it a more enjoyable working experience.

Custom furniture

Customized furniture pieces make offices seem look original and modern. If your company loves a nicely-decorated open-space work environment, then you should invest in glass tables to welcome more light and add fluidity into the office. Glass is sleek type of material that comes in a wealth of types and models. Use it for coffee table as well, chairs, or desks, and your employees will become extremely fond of your unique sense of style.

Having a place to escape to can be essential to allow all staff the opportunity to distress and refocus their thoughts. It can also be an excellent spot for brainstorming as a more relaxed atmosphere can free the mind to make the most of the options available.

Color

Color is an essential way of both stimulating and soothing your employees. Pale colors have been associated with soothing, relaxing atmospheres whilst brighter, bolder colors are stimulating. You do not need to completely repaint the walls! Colors can be introduced through chairs and office accessories to give the office a funky, trendy feel. It has been suggested that the brighter the intensity of the color the more effect it will have on your employees, whether it is designed to stimulate or sooth.

Community tables

The community table gives all employees the chance to collaborate on ideas and to share work as well as providing a break from their regular working area. It will encourage team work in the workplace and a feeling of satisfaction which will encourage both productivity and loyalty.

Textures

Using different textures in the workplace can create a more comfortable, homely feel. This will help people to feel comfortable at work whilst they are stimulated and can even feel that they have a personal space; a home from home.

Offices are no longer set up and contained. Every item of furniture can be seen to have a variety of different uses and this can help to create a fun, exciting workplace for all employees. The more stimulating the workplace is the easier it is for people to feel productive and be willing to collaborate on projects.

By Charles Goodwin and TomFaulkner.co.uk!

Flat Packed Furniture

December 18, 2015 by Suzanne Lasky

Is FLAT a ‘4 letter word’ ?? When I received this request to share this guest post at first I was put off by the subject matter. Isn’t flat packed furniture cheap? Flat packed furniture may be a good option to consider in certain circumstances. First apartments, second homes, kids rooms, home offices are a few places that using flat packed (R.T.A.-ready to assemble) furniture may make sense. The article below shares some pros and cons to consider.

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Budget Is Not A Four Letter Word

November 25, 2014 by Suzanne Lasky

We received a guest post entitled “Tricks for Decorating on a Budget”. We suggest that a better title would be “Establishing Your Design Budget”. S Interior Design has prospective clients fill out a Client Profile. One of the questions asked is how much the client is comfortable investing in their project. A list of ranges are shown to chose from. Without knowing the level of investment, we cannot make sound design recommendations. Is it an IKEA level furnishing project or a high end strictly custom project? Something in between?

Before embarking on your design project whether a professional interior designer is involved or not, it is a very good idea to assess what you are ready to spend on the project.

Photo Credit: Homebuyers Centre

As there are two sides to everything, the same goes for decorating. On one hand the prospect of having the home refreshed, bathed in new colors and equipped with several new pieces of furniture is definitely a reason for joy, on the other, the preparations are certainly not.

If you have set yourself with a task of redecorating your home and are not in a situation to spend much money, you should know that it can be accomplished according to your wishes and within budget, all it takes is some research, time and taste.

1. Stay within budget. The first thing that needs to be done is determining the budget. Once we know how much we can spend, it is easy to choose within a specific range of items. Things we will pay more for are those that we do not replace so often, like couches, sofas, dining room tables and larger furniture. These are used the most, so they must be of higher quality. However, you can save even on armchairs, dining room and coffee tables, shelves or night stands if you decide to reupholster them.

If there is nothing you can do with your furniture, before resorting to buying retail, you can visit a garage sale or eBay. You can sometimes get a bargin, especially if you go for second hand items which you can transform on your own. (are you creative and handy?)
2. Accessorizing. Guests should feel the owner’s character the moment they enter the home, which is why special attention should be paid to the entry area or hallway. It is easy to stay within the budget by placing a fruit bowl in the hallway or an interesting key stand. Coat hangers, shoe racks, framed pictures or souvenirs from the travels can tell a life story if they are the right color and placed the right way.

Home accessorizing does not have to be expensive. An affordable way of redecorating is using accessories such as cushions, covers, throw blankets, curtains, glass shelves, vases and picture frames for getting the new look of the house.

What is also gained is a possibility to change the interior seasonally or whenever we feel like it without much effect to the home budget. This is easily done by changing accessories or replacing the smaller decor items with the one of different color, but still according to our mood, season or current trend.

Photo Credit: Flickr

3. Rearrange furniture. When people get bored with the furniture they have, instead of starting with redecorating and spending additional money, redesigning the furniture layout is something to consider.

The sense of novelty can be achieved by making one piece of furniture central and organizing other items around it. Changing placement of the flower pots, decorative baskets or paintings from one room of the house to another will instantly refresh the home and give it a dash of originality.

Whenever there is a wish to change something, we can start by changing the focal point of the room. We can also do this by making some other pieces of the furniture stand out through lighting.
4. Renting appliances. If you need a new appliance and you do not have the money to buy it immediately, you can always rent it. With rent to own stores, you have the option of having an appliance for a weekly or monthly fee. There is also an option of signing a contract which will guarantee owning the appliance after a certain time period, with the amount you paid for renting deducted. On the other hand, if you decide that for some reason you no longer need it, it can always be returned.

The reasons why we redecorate are many, from moving to another home or apartment and having a clean start, to just replacing the old furniture with new. However, there does not have to be a reason for redecorating other than indulging the need for creating our private sanctuaries and expressing our creativity.