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Want an office reception area that catches everyone’s eye and shows just how impressive your brand really is? Here are some design insights from our  contemporary office furniture team . Warm and welcoming design:  These days, reception areas are more about welcoming clients, vendors and guests rather than intimidating them, so keep your focus on a design that’s inviting. Warm reds and browns give a cozy look, while light greens and blues feel fresh and serene. This doesn’t mean sacrificing your bold first impression for a home-like look (unless that suits your brand), so don’t be afraid to also make a style statement. Space:  When designing your reception area, freedom of movement is very important. You don’t want your visitors to feel squashed up together, or your receptionist to struggle to take deliveries, or the room to be filled up with large and bulky pieces of furniture. When you plan out your design, measure up the different key items in the layout and make sure that t

As the saying goes, an untidy desk is a sign of an untidy mind! While plenty of us may disagree, we have to admit that there are a lot of benefits from having a well-organized and clutter-free workstation. Here’s how to get on top of all that mess: Take stock:  It’s easy for our  workstations and desks  to get lost under both physical and digital clutter. The first step to organize your space is to take stock of what’s actually there. Sort your clutter into what’s essential and what’s not, recycle old documents you don’t need, throw out the trash and sort out your inbox. If you’re still swamped under piles of documents, now’s the time to add a filing cabinet to your workstation. Going forward, it may be a good idea to implement a paperless policy to stop the clutter from piling up – and its kind to the environment too! Tackle those cables:  Sometimes it seems like there isn’t a single space free of cables at a desk! Remove all cables that aren’t necessary and invest in some ca

Whether you’re a medical professional, a wellness specialist or running your own practice, you need a relaxing, inviting and practical space to welcome your clients. Here are some  modern office design ideas  to help you create the ideal waiting room. Color scheme:  Color has a huge impact on our psychology, affecting everything from our moods to our appetite! This makes your color scheme very important, as it will dictate everything from wall color and fabrics to artwork and furniture. For waiting rooms, calm and welcoming colors are recommended as they encourage patience and relaxation. These include light blues, greys, browns and greens, as well as fresh whites and creams. It’s best to avoid very bold or bright color schemes. Comfortable seating:  Your clients may have to sit in your waiting room for a while, so it’s important that you have adequate and comfortable seating. One good idea is to mix and match your seating for a more home-like look, with a combination of chair

It’s a well-known fact that the layout of your office space has a significant effect on productivity by optimizing workflow and ensuring employees enjoy their environment. Here are some tips to help you make this happen if you’re planning a remodel, from our  contemporary office furniture team . Who is your team made up of?  Take a look at the people and teams who make up your organization and consider their needs. Are there departments who would prefer a more collaborative environment? Departments who often work closely together? Or teams who require a level of privacy? This will help you place your departments and teams in a way that benefits them most. Shop around for different furniture options:  Don’t settle for reusing furniture that doesn’t fit your space or brand, or simply going with an option you always use. Instead, visit different suppliers and talk about the needs of your team members and brand. Contemporary office furniture is far more diverse, customizable and in

Your employees are a fantastic resource for ideas when you’re considering an office remodel – after all, they use your space and support your brand every day! Here are some questions to ask your staff before your project begins, from our  contemporary office design team . Does your workstation work for you?  A workstation can make a job easier or much harder to do depending on its design. Asking this question will help make choosing workstations that improve productivity and benefit your employees. Do you have enough storage?  Clutter is distracting, and a disorganized office is an unproductive one. By adding practical storage where it’s needed, you can make your office more productive and more efficient. Who do you need to communicate with most?  This is about breaking silos and putting people into more efficient, more collaborative spaces. Bringing the right people closer together through practical office design makes collaboration and communication easier, whether it’s bet

Want your office design to be a success? Consider these critical design elements, from the specialists in  modern office design ideas! Space:  This refers to how much floorspace you have to work with, dividing the space correctly to fit different functions and selecting the right size furniture. Form:  This is about considering the practical needs of the people within the space. Chairs and furniture can’t just look great – they have to enhance the way people work, move around and use the office. Flow:  The design of an office space depends a lot on the workflows it needs to accommodate. This means considering what departments need to be closer together or further apart, where communal areas and private areas should be, and what design makes managing a team easier. Color:  Color affects mood, productivity, stress levels and even appetite! Contrasts can inspire energy and creativity, while neutrals create a calm and relaxed atmosphere. It should be used carefully in order to a

You walk through your office reception area every day and probably take very little notice of it – but what impression do first-time visitors, clients and prospective employees see when they walk in? Here are some insights from the specialists in  modern reception desks  and modern office design ideas. The Professional Office Reception Area  If you’re in the financial services, legal or medical industry, you want to give your visitors the impression that you’re successful, organized, authoritative and efficient. Your reception area can achieve this with the following look: Uncluttered, clean and open space Subtle but clear brand presence Comfortable but robust/heavy furniture of a classic style Statement artwork Coffee and tea service Stylish but muted color scheme The Creative Office Reception Area  If you’re selling creative services like marketing, advertising or interior design, you want your reception area to make an impact with your creative touch. Here

One of the best tools a company has to attract and retain top talent is the amenities they can offer their employees, but what amenities are the most rewarding ones to invest in? Here are some ideas from our  commercial office furniture team. Personal project time:  Strictly speaking, this is more of a perk than an amenity, but it’s a great idea anyway. Pioneered by 3M, the aim is to allow employees a certain amount of time and flexibility to work on their passion projects. Although this sounds counter-productive, the reality is that it improves overall engagement and productivity as well as energy levels. Even Google has a “20% Time” rule to allow for this, which produced Gmail! Concierge services:  If you want your employees to stay busy, engaged and focused at work, the best thing to do is to take some of those distracting, everyday tasks off their hands. Concierge services can take care of your employee’s personal errands, like grocery shopping, ensuring that they have one

Sustainability is a trend that just is not going to go away, bringing benefits to businesses in terms of cost-savings, good public relations and great style that builds their brand. So, what are the basic building blocks for creating a sustainable office? Here are the latest  modern office design ideas : Low-Carbon Transport: Did you know that in the USA, transportation accounts for 30% of all emissions? Sitting in rush hour harms the environment, increases stress levels and impacts on productivity. Businesses can support healthier, earth-friendly commuter options like biking or walking to work by having secure bike storage and on-site shower/change rooms. Physical activity also boosts productivity, engagement, and job satisfaction, as well as actively fighting depression and anxiety.   Natural Lighting: Sunlight is what sets our natural rhythms, telling us when to be awake and active and when to be asleep. It has such a powerful effect on us that studies have shown th

Office dress codes have been slowly disappearing over the years, and the days of wearing suits and ties are over. These days, many businesses are opting for a more casual look and business-casual policies are common even in the financial services industry. This trend is about more than just clothes, however – companies are reducing their levels of hierarchy and bringing junior and senior staff closer together. Business communication is less formal and more straight to the point. Even  office interiors  are becoming more connected and more casual, with mahogany corner offices being transformed into collaborative shared spaces. So, why is this happening? Here are some insights from our corporate office furniture team. Technology:  Tech has made the workplace more connected and more interactive than ever before. Where communications used to have to go through secretarial pools and formal business processes, it’s now easier and faster for a supervisor or manager to simply email o

In an age of wireless, digital technology, the designs of our workplaces are still held back by miles and miles of wiring and cables. In the conference room where virtual meetings, group calls and presentations are common, this issue is even more apparent. Limiting Your Options – From Conference Tables to Flooring  The conference table is the focal point of the room, a gathering space that represents your brand to your clients, partners and employees. For many companies, the look of this important piece of furniture is immediately affected by the need for connectivity boxes for connecting laptops and devices and handling every type of video output on the market, from HDMI to mini DisplayPort. This makes minimalist design challenging if not outright impossible. Then, it’s about accommodating the wires that run from the table to the screen (or screens) under the carpeting or beneath the baseboards and through the walls. This fixes your layout in a permanent manner, making it

Did you know that over 74% of organizations in the USA have a “bring your own device” policy in the workplace? As our personal lives – and devices – overlap so frequently with our professional lives, it becomes more and more important to focus on mobile device privacy issues. Here are just a few to consider from our  contemporary office furniture team . Pop-up notifications:  These are often a useful feature and many apps offer push notifications as part of their service. However, these can be hugely problematic when in the workplace. Ensuring that your smartphone or device is turned to “do not disturb” mode whenever it is being used in a presentation or even charging in a visible spot is essential. Overheard phone conversations:  These have been a workplace issue ever since telephones became popular in professional spaces, but cellphones have dramatically impacted this issue. Thanks to mobile devices, we are expected to be available anytime, anywhere – at home or at work – fo

Every forward-thinking company knows that employee engagement is key to the success of their business. After all, engaged employees are more satisfied with their jobs, less likely to leave the company and are more productive and effective in the workplace. While workplace relationships play a critical role in employee engagement, technology is also important to creating the right workplace culture and environment. Technology has a significant impact on how and even where we work, whatever the industry we work in. Here are some new technologies on the horizon that could impact on how we engage in the workplace. Artificial intelligence:  AI is slowly becoming more prevalent in high-tech work environments and shows incredible promise for the not-so-distant future. With the right application of AI, buildings could self-regulate temperature, lighting and air quality. Work environments have even been designed using AI, like the headquarters of software giants AutoDesk in Toronto, t

Is your office looking a little dull, a bit boring or lacking in character? Here are some tips from our team of corporate office furniture specialist in New Jersey on how to bring some new life and energy into your office in easy, affordable ways. Upgrade the lighting:  As office remodeling and furniture specialists, one of the first things we notice in an office is poor lighting. Lighting plays a huge role in the mood of a workspace and poor lighting leaves people feeling stressed, strained and unwell. It’s a source of migraines as well as creating a harsh or dingy environment, and it impacts your energy bill too! Replacing old bulbs with energy-saving LED bulbs with dimmers isn’t expensive and allows people light their space to suit their needs. A bigger project is to try bringing in more natural light by using solutions such as  architectural office partitions  made of glass. Add some nature:  Plants literally add life to your office – and are cheap and easy to maintain. Th

Going Green is a trend that’s set to continue push the boundaries for office design for decades into the future, and for many companies the primary driver for achieving environmentally-friendly goals is to reduce energy consumption. With office buildings accounting for 19% of all commercial energy consumption, with the typical office building using 1.4 billion British thermal units (Btu) per year according to the US Energy Information Administration, it’s not hard to see why businesses are driven to lower their utilities costs. However, a recent  Harvard University study  has shown that there are actually even far greater benefits to the green office building trend. This study looked at a set of green-certified (LEED) buildings in 6 different countries (USA, India, China, Germany, Turkey and Brazil) over a period of 16 years with impressive results – they identified over $6 billion in combined health and climate benefits! The findings showed that globally, these projects saved

Designing an office is about much more than making sure there’s enough seating and desk space for each employee, it’s about creating a space that embodies your brand, smooths out work processes and enhances productivity and creative thinking. Here are some of the leading sources of inspiration for workplaces that offer it all. The Natural World:  For too long, society has treated work as separate to nature – but where do we all go to relax, re-energize and find inspiration? Nature. Natural light, plant life and fresh air have a significant impact on our wellbeing, health and happiness, and using it in the workplace has the same powerful effect. When there’s a strong presence of nature, people experience less mental fatigue, stress and illness. All these positive effects impact directly on your company’s bottom line through increased productivity, better employee mental and physical health, and increased loyalty and job satisfaction. Socialization:  Human beings are social creat

A new study by the  Flex+Strategy Group  (FSG) has demonstrated the impressive effectiveness of flexible working for companies and employees. Flexible work hours, work locations and how people work actively leads to increased innovation, improved communication, quality creative thinking, improved engagement and increased productivity. How Many Companies in the USA are Embracing a Flexible Work Culture?  Studies like the one mentioned above have started making the move from “interesting” to “implementation”, with more than one-third of full-time employees in the USA fulfilling the majority of their work obligations from a remote location. Almost 98% of the surveyed employees reported that they had at least some form of flexible working arrangement. What are Employees Reporting About Flexible Working?  45% of flexible workers feel that a flexible work culture increases their ability to communicate with colleagues in a way that is effective and boosts innovation and creativit

Stress may be a normal part of working life, but too much can lead to employees burning out, disengaging and becoming less productive – as well as affecting wellness and job satisfaction. According to the American Institute of Stress, constant stress can also contribute to high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity and diabetes. So, what are the most important sources of stress that businesses need to deal with to help staff lead healthier, more productive lives? The Most Common Sources of Stress in the Workplace According to research by CareerCast.com, the top 4 sources of workplace stress were: Unpredictability –  A lack of workplace routine, lack of schedule or routine tasks and deliverables each month. Inconsistency in daily routines where the workflow is constantly changing makes for a stressful workday where you can never seem to get ahead or settle in. Workplace environment –  This refers to workplace relationships between an employee and co-workers, clients, custom

If you’re not convinced, just think about this statistic from Mindspace research, that 21% of 18-24 years olds have rejected a potential employer because of the poor design and/or lack of amenities of the workplace. Or that 34% would be willing to commute for an impressive 60 minutes if it meant working in a ‘perfect’ environment. And it’s not just affecting your company’s ability to draw in new talent, since 31% of workers were found to be bored with their current work environment, with 28% describing it as outdated or dull. Bored, outdated, dull… these are not words you want associated with your brand! These Numbers Seem Acceptable, But They’re Growing  Millennials are now entering the workforce in large numbers and will constitute over 50% of the working population in just a few years’ time. This means that these numbers are only going to grow – so, if companies want to start attracting today’s top performers as well as tomorrow’s bright new talent, they need to take a long

On March 14 th  of this year, the plans for the new headquarters for the Royal College of Physicians in the United Kingdom were unveiled – a building that aims to be one of the healthiest office buildings in the world. The 160,000 square foot building, which was designed by AHR Architects and will be officially known as The Spine, will be BREEAM Excellent rated and one of the first in the world to achieve the international WELL Building Standard of modern building design. Wellness is a Focus-Feature of The Spine  The Spine, which takes its name from the striking staircase on its northern elevation that takes design inspiration from human vertebrae, will have some impressive features setting it apart from other workplaces. Wellness has become a focus for many big businesses and, according to Professor Jane Dacre, President of the RCP, the building will embody the RCPs commitment to wellbeing by meeting WELL targets. Some interesting features of the building include the timber

Sit stand desks , also known as  adjustable height desks  or flexible office desks, allow employees to choose a desk height that works with their personal preferences, helping to create a more comfortable and healthier workplace. Here are a few things to consider when shopping for your ideal sit stand desk. Height range:  Different models of adjustable height desks offer different ranges that they can extend to. The Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturers Association (BIFMA) recommends a range of 22.6 inches to 48.7 inches. If you have a wide range of height needs in your office, it’s best to choose an option with the widest range – especially if you are hot desking and multiple employees need to be able to use the same desk. Ease of adjustment:  Always look at the mechanism for adjusting the desk and choose one that is easy to use and quiet. A loud mechanism or one that requires more work to use can be disruptive in the workplace and employees may hesitate to make

Organizational agility is key to remaining competitive in a changing world, allowing businesses to adapt and succeed in a challenging environment. This is what world business leaders believe are the most common factors standing in the way of businesses seeking to achieve their optimal agility. A study by Ricoh Europe revealed that 39% of 2,140 business leaders believed regulation was the biggest issue impacting on business agility, followed by lack of investment in innovative new technologies at 37%, and rigid, traditional workplace cultures at 35%. Interestingly, very few – only 33% – of the business leaders interviewed in the study had implemented changes designed to create and support a more agile working environment in their own companies. Instead, they favor the adoption of digital workflows to improve data analytics, management processes, and financial processes instead – seeking to spot new trends and opportunities through smarter data usage. Trademarks of an Agile Or

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer limited to the realm of science fiction – it’s in our workplaces and is making a measurable impact on how we do business. Here are some insights from our  corporate office furniture team . Chatbots and Voice Assistants  One of the most high-impact applications of AI is in the rise of chatbots and voice assistants. According to a tech report from Spiceworks, a survey of 500 IT professionals in both North America and Europe revealed that over 40% of large businesses are expecting to implement one or more AI chatbots on company-owned devices in the next year. 25% of mid-sized companies and 27% of small business are planning similar moves. So, what platforms are making the biggest impact? Microsoft Cortana is currently holding the position of most-used intelligent assistant in the workplace at 49% (thanks to its integration with Windows 10) This is followed by Apple’s Siri at 47%. Another 23% of organizations also use Google Assistant

Often, the commute to and from the workplace is the most dreaded and unpleasant aspect of anyone’s workday – and with traffic, early mornings and the expense of fuel, it’s difficult to see the upside of the traditional commute. Many companies feel the same way and are starting to implement remote working as a solution. What are the Benefits of Remote Working?  While the absence of a daily commute is the one benefit everyone knows about, there are several other benefits to this policy. These include: Increased productivity:  Whether you’re at home in your pajama’s blasting your favorite music, at a coffee shop sipping your local brew or in a high-tech hot-desking spot, you’ve done one thing that’s been shown to directly boost productivity: creating the perfect work environment. In fact, a survey by TinyPulse revealed that 91% of remote workers said they were more productive than in the office. Fewer distractions, better time management:  The traditional mindset of a 9-5 off

Contemporary office interiors and design  is not just about creating a pleasant work environment, it’s about adding functionality that’s specific to your company’s vision, operations and day-to-day needs. For the financial services industry, where attracting and keeping top industry talent is a must and tech is a driving force in the sector, office design can play a significant role in achieving broader company goals. Collaboration, Concentration and Contemplation  Rather than focusing on the needs of a single type of employee, office designs for the financial services industry need to create multiple spaces that meet many different needs. This means creating spaces where collaboration can take place (working on a new project, holding meetings or brainstorming sessions, etc.), quiet areas where employees can focus without interruption and contemplate on their work tasks, and areas that are designed around a single task, like a programming department. Office Design that Meets