Unlike furnishing a home where relaxation takes place, furnishing the office presents different challenges writes, Lydia Opwaka stressing the need to ensure that the environment remains pleasant.
Decorating an office space can be a delicate balancing act. On the one hand you want your office space to be inviting and pleasant for both employees and visitors, while on the other hand it must remain professional in look and feel.
Here are some helpful tips on how to make your office space a pleasant and productive physical environment. They range from painting, decking the walls to minimising clutter to greening the surrounding and furnishing with care.
If you are going to be using a computer you will want to make sure that it doesn’t take up your whole desk, so you may consider this before buying a desk or the computer. A flat screen for the computer can help to leave you some room.
Color Your World
While painting office walls, pick colours that reflect the spirit of your business. If you work in a traditionally conservative industry such as banking or legal services, you’re better off choosing a neutral colour such as light green, beige, or a shade of white. If your business is traditionally staffed by more creative types such as designers or artists, feel free to go for walls with more visual pizzazz. Whichever tone you choose, be sure to use high-quality paint that will last for a long time, as repainting an office space can be a disruptive event.
Deck the Walls
Bare walls can give an office a dull, unlived-in feel, and that energy can affect the mood of your staff. Warm up your workspace by adding some tasteful framed photos, prints, or paintings to your walls. One creative idea is to invite local artists to display their artwork on your walls. It’s a win-win situation — they get exposure for their work while you get free office decor.
Indoor trees
Make Your Office a Green Zone. Adding a few plants and indoor trees to your office setup will make your employees feel less cut off from the outside world, especially in offices located in very urban areas.
Potted plants can help to give an office comfortable ambiance and there are now fake plants available that look exactly like real plants. Real plants never do well in an office environment due to the dry air and lack of sunlight.
However as you may also want to go natural; chose to shop for plants by read their identifying tags to determine what kind of light each needs, and make sure they will thrive on the amount of light available in your workspace. There are also many corporate plant services that will “rent” office plants and take over their care and watering onsite.
Furnish with Care
Office furniture plays a large role in how an office space looks and feels. As furnishing a large space can be very expensive, most businesses tend to rent or lease their office furniture.
Unfortunately, the majority of office furnishings available tend to be very bland and conservative looking. One important rule of thumb is to try to maintain the same style of furniture throughout the office.
Mismatched tables and chairs tend to make any space look rather cheap and thrown together. As with wall colour, try to go for a style in furnishings that reflects the energy of your industry. The move will help you save some money on Office Furniture as you make your space look great without breaking the bank.
Control the Clutter
It’s been said that with a clear desk comes a clear mind. Keep that in mind when arranging your desktop. A framed photograph of a loved one, a telephone, and a computer should suffice.
If there are office supplies you don’t use on a constant basis, tuck them away in a drawer. A chaotic physical environment will soon give way to a chaotic energy in the workplace, and this is rarely good for productivity or progress.
Break area
If you are going to have employees working for you will need a break area for them to break in and relax their mind a bit. Fatigued employees make mistakes and can become unproductive. If you are going to be working late nights you might also consider having a coffee pot on a table, so someone can have a cup of coffee if they feel a bit tired.
Relaxed air
Another thing that you might consider is to hang some framed prints on the wall with outdoor scenes to give the office a relaxed air. If you are going to have clients visiting your office then you might also consider installing a sofa for them to relax on and provide some magazines for them to read.
It is important to have a video screen available for clients with some promotional material showcasing services or products that potential clients can view while they are waiting. On the floor, consider to throw a rug to soften the look of the extensive tile floor.
