Office Interiors Don’t Have To Be Staid
Would you like your place of business to be a bit out of the ordinary? Would you like to project an image that is a cut above the competition? Do you crave to be seen as something new and exciting? These ideals can be reached with creative office interiors.
Far too many businesses rely on the tired and trite floor plans that have been joked about for years. Are you surrounded by gray cubicles and cheap looking motel style carpeting? Is an exciting addition to your office space another silk plant in a basket? Do your customers politely decline to take a seat and wait for appointments outside or at a nearby coffee shop?
Fortunately, this is the type of accident that can be easily overcome with a bit a planning and an eye toward image. Most companies either already have an image to focus on, or are desperately seeking an effective image to focus on. Where your work gets done is an ideal place to begin honing this image conscious ideal. You can begin by, literally, thinking out side of the box, as in cutting down on cubicles. Open spaces foster open minds.
What are you using for furniture? Does your waiting area look like a lobby or like something from a bad movie? It is comfortable or industrial? Visitors and customers want to sit in a relaxing and comfortable space. Get some really nice settees and put that foam and pine box sofa out to pasture. Use cozy tones and maybe some wood for a down-home feel. Offer them the nice coffee cups and spoons. And take down those pictures that came form a discount store.
However, you might be a company that is not after comfortable at all. You could be seeking a harder edged theme at that. Here are opportunities as well. If you are fast paced, show it with high tech themes and graphics. Powerful lighting makes a space seem quick like a video game, and bright bold colors scream look at me. A powerful business statement can go either way, so do what feels right for yours.
Lighting, as mentioned, is a powerful emotion building source. More importantly is the light that you will be working under. Poor lighting makes for poor output and will create poor employee attitudes. This is proven by science, as are the ways to eliminate these problems. The answer is in the sun. Use the actual sun, or recreate it with proper bulbs, but do this simple thing for the mental well being of your office denizens.
Along the same lines as proper lighting are the ways to use colors. These are also powerful and emotional tools that can be utilized in creating a viable workspace as well as an appropriate image. Some colors soothe while others sedate. Some cause you to cogitate while others cause you to agitate. Clearly color choice should be highly regarded, and a bit of research will do you a world of good.
Finally, the bottom line may well rest on your bottoms. Seriously, the chairs you sit on can mean the difference between production and the need for security protection. When forced to captain a seat for large portions of the day, that seat should be of the highest quality. When designing office interiors, remember the posteriors.
