Just like moving houses, moving offices is equally, if not even more stressful and confusing. While setting up your new space, you need to consider a variety of different things both technical and aesthetic. And if you’re just a simple yet ambitious hardworking person, you’ll need a good checklist of all the things you need to introduce if you want to have an office that’s functional, comfortable, and beautiful. Here’s what every new office needs:
Come up with a good layout
First things first, it’s time to come up with a layout of your office and figure out where each element of the space will go. This step highly depends on the number of employees and the nature of your business. Pay special attention to spaces and equipment that get the most traffic and try to place teams that frequently work together as close as possible while still providing privacy.
Frequently used layouts today are:
- Open plan with desk and chair areas. This layout is perfect if you don’t have too much space and want to maximize the usability of every inch. It also encourages collaboration while stealing a bit from privacy.
- A closed plan is a traditional office style with cubicles equipped with a desk and chair. This type of layout focuses on privacy and personal storage and is perfect for jobs requiring focus and not too much collaboration.
- The modular plan is probably the most used one today. It combines the two plans above and allows both privacy and collaboration when needed. It does take a lot of space, though.
You need to think about the space and the layout more so if you are planning to move your pre-existing furniture from an older office to a newer one. If you are planning commercial moves in Singapore, you need to make sure that you are hiring the best movers in the industry. Moving an office is quite different from moving a home. The skill sets and experience required are completely different in both.
Opt for the right interior color
When you have your plan in mind and know where each part of the interior will go, you can start by painting the space. Colors are a very important part of your office design because they do so much more than just provide users with nice aesthetics. Colors can affect mood, boost motivation and productivity and evoke feelings of comfort and trust in clients. For instance, many businesses in Australia choose natural colors that remind them of their surroundings to put people at ease. So when consulting with your painters in Mosman, consider colors like warm red, orange, and brown of the Red Center or blue of the ocean. And don’t hesitate to mention your brand colors and figure out together how you can incorporate them as well.
Start furnishing
Most offices need three types of furniture for work and a few other pieces for break rooms and meeting rooms. Start with desks, which need to be of high quality and big enough for every worker to have their own space. A simple rectangular shape is always good, but L-shaped models allow a bit more space and storage. If you want to give off an impression of a modern, human-centric and health-conscious business, mobile training tables and adjustable desks are a must.
Chairs should be equipped with different types of support for the back, neck, arms, and behind. Even if you’re working with a tight budget, it’s very important not to save money on chairs because they severely impact comfort, productivity, health, and job satisfaction. Storage is also crucial for any office. Filing cabinets, drawers, general stationary storage, etc. all need to be present in any office to avoid costly mistakes of losing paperwork.
Set up communications
Even before you start putting in some final touches to your office, it’s crucial to open up all channels of communication with teams, clients, staff, and partners. In business, time is money, and you certainly don’t want to waste either, so waiting idly until everything is finished completely is not a great idea. As soon as you introduce furniture and equipment into your office, you can start working on your office communication system. With the cloud, instant messaging apps, and teleconferencing tools, you can establish seamless contact with all the important people.
Clients and staff greatly appreciate offices that are not only functional but also beautiful. Consider adding a few plants to your indoor space as well as some art that evokes positive and on-brand emotions. Pay special attention to the reception area and meeting rooms because this is where your clients will form first and second impressions.
And there you have it—a functional, comfortable, and aesthetically pleasing office from scratch. Hopefully, you’ll spend many years in it and use it to reach great success.