If you have recently formed a company that is already growing quickly, it probably feels like a very exciting time for you. However, running a company in its early stages can pose an array of challenges, many of them financial. Hence, you could struggle to get your office design “just right”.
That’s why you shouldn’t be afraid to look outside the company for inspiration. Here are some ideas that could pay dividends when you put them into action for your own office’s design.
Table of Contents
Prioritize focusing on structure rather than layout
No-one can quite tell what the future holds, and it’s especially unpredictable when it comes to your company’s growth. Craig Bloem, founder and CEO of online logo maker LogoMix, has recalled to Inc. readers how his firm’s office structure has proven more problematic than its layout.
This is because, whereas the only “right” layout is the one working well for your company, there are potentially various types of structures which you might need building for your office.
Does your office need to be insightful to your customers?
If you run a business where customers regularly drop by the premises, then your office’s design should assist in portraying your company’s value to the customer. In other words, it should show how your company effectively operates, almost like a doll’s house devoid of exterior walls.
However, if your company is a tech one that doesn’t necessarily interact with customers face-to-face, you should spend more of your money on your office’s functionality rather than its look.
Choose your materials carefully
The materials you choose can play a crucial part in the overall design, and not simply because of how they look. They can serve surprisingly important practical purposes, too…
For example, if you work on a floor that needs to be quiet, but is above a team constantly conversing with customers over the phone, laying carpet could help to cushion otherwise distracting noise. Even vintage leather chairs can act as sound abatement, GQ makes clear.
Leave room in your plan for a plant… or several
You could be pleasantly surprised by the creative possibilities with plants. Let’s assume, for example, that your office has a largely glass wall through which people can admire the scenery of a bustling street. Tall plants on either side of that glass expanse could effectively frame it.
In doing so, it could help to draw people’s eyes to that glass, even its upper reaches, in the first place – and so create a lasting positive impression.
Add fabric and rugs to punctuate an open space
It’s not hard to see the appeal of an open plan office to a startup, given how flexibly you could rearrange that space’s layout as the business expands and its needs change.
As those needs do change, you could lay striped drapery fabric on the floor to visibly break it up, while a rug can also act as a boundary… or several. A specialist workplace design company like the London-based Maris could help you to notice further possibilities.
About Carson Derrow
