Three Basic Tips to an Office Space Design Overhaul

Last Updated on February 1, 2012

No matter if the business you run or manage is major or small, office design is essential to its success. It is vital to be trendy, current and modern when it comes to the atmosphere projected by your business HQ, for all your potential business partners and customers will look at it as a manifestation of your work, ethic and strategy. Therefore, if you’re considering an office space design overhaul, you’d better know where to start. Doing things randomly will only likely create a bigger mess than what’s going on right now—and that is definitely not the kind of look you are going for! As such, we’ve highlighted three areas which are apt to give you trouble when it comes to design and redesign. Read on, then implement at will.

Doors

Next time you rent office space, do not forget to check the state and quality of the doors, their locks and hinges. If they creak, fail to close properly or are in any way damaged, definitely take the issue up with the owner or broker. Down the line, poorly functioning doors will cause you lots of nuisances. If your office space is small, but the nature of your employees’ work allows for it, consider taking out all the doors and creating one large open space. Alternatively, you might decide to have screens put in, to delineate spaces with various functions, or install sliding doors, which take up substantially less space.

Storage Space

Messy offices are not only ungainly to look at, but they often create inefficient employees, who are having a hard time focusing on their tasks at hand because of the clutter. What can one do in order to avoid this issue? Invest in good storage solutions. Figure out if your current space configuration would allow you to set up a storage room, no matter how small. If not, invest in good cabinets for each employee, or at least for the ones who appear to be drowning in paper work at the moment. Make sure each cabinet can be locked. It is also a good idea to purchase filing cabinets on wheels, since they are much more efficient when cleaning, or for the case in which you might decide you want to change the office’s current layout.

Window Coverings

Windows are essential in design, since they basically set the mood for the entire room. Windows in offices are all the more important, since your staff needs to be exposed to natural light as much as possible. Consequently, take a look at your current window coverings and figure out if they truly are the best solution for your offices. If your HQ is in an elegant, old-style villa, chances are your windows are fitted with shutters in massive wood, which you can’t quite replace in the bat of an eye. However, you can light up the room by getting rid of classical, massive, dust-ridden curtains. Replace them with lighter, airier fabric panels or curtains made in lighter materials. Vertical curtains and aluminum blinds are rather passé in terms of design—so if yours have been around for ten years plus, perhaps the time has come for you to bid them farewell.