It’s 2016, and with this New Year comes new trends in office layout, design, and installation.
Last year we found ourselves working on office furniture installations throughout Toronto that leaned away from traditional designs. This is likely owing to studies showing that comfort, style, and usability can actually lead to greater productivity and efficiency than small workspaces and cheap materials.
In the upcoming year, we expect this trend to continue, with the latest style swaying more towards flexibility, comfort, and aesthetics.
Many give credit for the ‘fun workplace’ to the young tech firms of Silicon Valley, but the resulting improvements in morale and efficiency have proven that these workplaces are more than just fun and games, leading companies of all walks to follow their lead.
‘Lifestyle amenities’ can include lounge areas, outdoor spaces, roof gardens, and even recreational activities such as foosball or ping pong, for employees to use on their down time. The relaxed atmosphere of these new spaces can encourage a more informal style of collaboration among coworkers, and having a bit of recreation on the premises can help workers return to work from their breaks with a little extra zeal.
In these installations, we often see break room furniture that would look and feel right at home in one’s home den or recreation area, or even an upscale lounge. We also see more workspaces that promote a more social and informal vibe.
Following the lessons of the ‘lifestyle amenities’, office design is starting to swing away from ‘cold and corporate’, landing more in the realm of ‘calm and cozy’. Through the use of earthy colours, the recurring theme of patterns and designs modelled after foliage, and the installation of furniture and walls with hardwood accents, these trendy, earthy, natural workspace designs add a splash of ‘cabin getaway’ to the workplace.
These installations vary from your standard remodelling job, as they often include wood panelling, hardwood flooring, and even fireplaces.
Splashes of colour are an excellent way to add a little bit of fun into any workspace. Bright, boldly coloured accents will breathe life into even the most drab of workspaces, and have been found to promote happiness, creativity, and productivity among employees.
Colour can also be used on a larger scale, using palates and patterns to build an overall sense of style and vibrancy to the design of your office as a whole. A great example of this is our demountable blue glass and liquid glass walls – it provides breathtaking splashes of colour in some of our favourite coloured accents.
To learn more about how to use colours, take a look at our Colours in the Workplace post.
Loose wires are never a pleasing sight, no matter what the theme or layout of your workspace is. Thankfully, office furniture designers have been working hard to come up with new and innovative ways to make sure all those wires are hidden from view.
What’s more, our professional office furniture installers can help you make sure that the space outside of your workstations are also wire-free, leaving you with workspaces that look slick, clean, simple, and professional.
The ‘open concept’ office is nothing new, but its application is something that designers are constantly improving upon. The ‘multipurpose workspaces’ approach gets away from cubicles with a number of workplaces to suit your workers’ preferences and needs, replacing the conventional cubicle with any combination of conference-style tables, benches, breakout areas, and designated quiet areas.
Giving your employees a variety of options can help them find the perfect space to suit their task. Furthermore, Choice installers can ensure that each of these unique workspaces flow seamlessly together in both design and function.
Not everyone in your company shares the same preferences. Whether the difference is something as simple as handedness or taste, or as complicated as having an entirely different set of equipment to do their job, the ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution is very often aggravating for some employees, if not woefully inadequate.
A number of office furniture options feature modular components, allowing each workspace to be customized to suit each employee’s unique preferences and needs, and customized to suit your company’s evolving requirements.
Office design and installation is about more than just giving your employees a place to work. It’s about optimizing efficiency, setting the tone for their entire careers with you, and making some resounding first impressions.
Want to have a cutting edge office? Looking to create a new space or update an old one? Contact us to make sure the installation of your space is done right.