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Category: Custom Office Design (page 2 of 5)

Why Office Carpets are a great choice

Office carpets are on top of the list for many businesses when choosing what kind of flooring the office should have. With brilliant design selections, great acoustic qualities and an abundance of other advantages that check all the right boxes, carpets for offices are always a solid choice for commercial flooring.

Why Office Carpeting Is a Great Choice for Office Spaces

Allowing you more freedom and flexibility in creativity and design than any other flooring material, office carpeting is the perfect pick for any office design project. With new high-velocity dye-technologies, custom carpet manufacturers provide you with the tools to create virtually anything on high-quality material at an appropriate price.

Flooring is such an important part of any design project, encompassing a massive percentage of an office space. Great office carpets enable you to use this space to your advantage by creating a design that defines the brand you are working for, and a carpet for office use is the most practical flooring choice for an everyday work environment due to its ability to absorb and improve sound in an open office layout.

How to Choose the Best Office Carpets

Designing an office space can be a long process, part of which includes picking the perfect carpeting for the office. Choosing the right carpet for your next office-project requires you to assess the workspace and consider the multiple factors that can affect commercial carpet types. Here are a few questions to ask yourself when picking a carpet for office use.

How long does the office carpet need to last?

First things first. Figure out what the office carpet’s life expectancy should be. A basic rule of thumb: the longer the lease, the higher quality of carpet required.

How will the different spaces in the office be used?

Next, determine how much each office area will be used in terms of foot traffic and furniture movement. Private offices and conference rooms may require lower levels of carpet resilience due to moderate use, while corridors and common areas typically receive heavy use. These are important things to consider when choosing the best office carpet for your office.

How well can a commercial office carpet handle stains such as coffee spills?

It’s essential to select different carpeting for different areas, such as cafeterias and corridors, which foster heavy foot traffic and coffee drinkers. When someone inevitably spills their cup of coffee or carries in dirt on their shoes, it’s best to have colour choices that fall in the medium range, which are able to mute out the daily build-up of soil and stains on the office carpets.

What will this carpet look like in an actual office space?

Lighting can impact your office carpets in more ways than one, changing the look and feel of your design completely. Taking office carpet samples on-site allows you to view the carpet under the office lighting, as well as bring your vision to life in the space it will operate. Your client is putting faith in you to design something spectacular, so why not give them a taste of your creative talent by bringing some office carpet samples to show in person.

Partitioning Systems Solutions

November 10, 2021 / admin / 0 Comments

Create the right environment for your business with defined spaces.

Whether you want to create privacy for meeting rooms, build efficient teams with zoned spaces or simply find a new office or storage space, creating the right environment can dramatically transform your business.

Partitioning systems allow you to structure your space to suit your current business needs. If you’ve considered moving premises to find the space you need, partitioning systems could be a much easier and more cost-effective solution than buying or renting a building at a high cost.

Efficient and space-saving

One way of effectively utilising your office space is through the use of partitions. These can be beneficial for a number of reasons as they can be used as a tool to increase employee’s productivity, as well as promoting efficiency at work; your employees will be more productive when working at a comfortable and welcoming environment.

Choice of materials

There is a wide variety of partitions to choose from such as silicon glaze partitioning, steel partitioning and glass partitioning. Each design has its unique benefits compared to the others but all can be blended to improve the appearance of an office. Every partition can be custom-made to fit the user’s personal tastes such as colour, material and size, hence improving comfort and style. For example, glass partitions can be very beneficial in offices that aim to increase exposure to natural lighting whilst being able to maintain the required privacy. They also create an impression of an open space for visitors, therefore providing a positive environment.

Air conditioning

Air conditioning is also highly effective in partitioned offices. This is because the workstations are subdivided into smaller areas where doors can be closed to retain heat or opened when it is too hot. Each workstation can also have its own air conditioning system hence reducing air conditioning wars at a workplace. In addition, partitions that are raised from the floor provide a gap for air movement within different workstations.

Less distractions

Another benefit of using office partitions is less distraction at work. Partitions create a barrier between individual’s hence improving privacy and concentration scope of workers but can be easily removed when there is a need for collaboration. These barriers will also be beneficial to visitors because they enable proper subdivision of departments and make it easier for visitors to locate offices. In addition to providing ease of access, partitions can give a good impression to your visitors – as a clear design will give a modern and professional impression.

The pandemic has altered the traditional office setup

October 26, 2021 / admin / 0 Comments

From businesses to individuals, we have all been affected one way or another by the Coronavirus pandemic. While we know that many businesses have had an extremely difficult time, some businesses have managed to turn their fortunes around. In fact, many businesses are enjoying some very positive changes that have come out of the situation.

Office Culture To Supportive Culture

For decades, we have been engrained to believe that 9 to 5, office-centric work was the best thing for business. As employees have been forced to work from home, and companies have had to embrace this change, we’re experiencing a change in productivity and employee freedom.

This shift in working life has encouraged businesses to take only the best parts of office culture, and free employees from inefficient processes and bad habits. Leaders are switching their focus from office culture to a more supportive culture, with a new focus on how to improve the lives of employees while still getting the best from them.

Virtual-First Companies

Many companies are taking steps towards hybrid working environments, where teams can work both remotely and in the office.

This shift in the way we work has seen a rise in companies becoming ‘virtual first’. This means that workplaces are being distributed across offices and homes, and employees have the freedom to choose how they work.

For companies to successfully work in this innovative way, they must be virtual-ready. Leaders must know how to effectively manage, train and evaluate virtually, and technology must be in place to enable virtual working.

Overlapping Personal And Professional Lives

For years we have been keeping our professional lives and personal lives at a distance, with little overlap between the two. With the rise of Zoom meetings and remote working, it has given us an insight into team member’s private spaces.

Every video call and virtual meeting makes the personal lives of colleagues, managers and clients visible. We are now used to seeing employees’ children and pets on-screen, interrupting meetings and phone calls on a regular basis.

While this might seem like a distraction to the working day, in actual fact, these little glimpses into our personal lives can improve workplace relationships. When working from home, it is almost impossible to keep up an entirely professional persona, giving colleagues an insight into the real, personal life of team members.

These personal interactions are not unprofessional. Instead, they allow teams to connect and get to know each other in a new way. Overlapping personal and professional lives can help teams to work better together and understand one another’s everyday challenges.

How to improve hygiene in the office

January 14, 2021 / admin / 0 Comments

As we start to move back into the office during a period of widespread virus outbreaks, improving hygiene in the office is imperative. With open plan and agile workspaces, employees tend to move around the office a lot and come into contact with more people and work surfaces than ever before. Whilst this is great for collaborating and communicating, it’s not so great for hygiene!

This article will discuss all of the ways you can make your office as safe as possible.

Surface wipes & anti-bacterial gels

Generally, it is good to have a ‘leave it how you would like to find it’ attitude towards flexible and agile working offices. However, even it is appears to be tidy this does not necessarily mean it is clean!

Keyboards, monitors, desk chairs (namely the arms and handles) and all work surfaces should be wiped down with anti-bacterial wipes on a regular basis. Workers should also make use of the anti-bacterial gel before beginning their working day.

Keep the air-con off!

Coronavirus and air conditioning can be a potentially deadly combination as air ducts and vents can be a safe space for the virus to cultivate, even when the rest of the building is cleaned comprehensively.

It is key to provide adequate air flow in a working environment and the safest way of doing this whilst covid-19 is still present is by opening doors and windows. As a result of this airflow you will reduce the impact of spreading the virus.

Recycling and general bins

The NHS phrase of “Catch it, Bin it, Kill it” to stop the spread of germs requires…bins! Frequent placing of office general waste bins and recycling bins throughout any workplace is important.

Therefore, it is essential that you have a number of bins around the offer to help minimise the germs that could be circulating in your office.

Virtual Christmas party: ideas and games for hosting an online office party

December 20, 2020 / admin / 0 Comments

The last thing we wanted to be doing during the Christmas season was sitting on Zoom, Skype, Houseparty or Google Hangouts instead of being able to meet up with friends and family in the flesh.

Despite a four nations agreement that allows families to meet in “bubbles” between 23 and 27 December, normal rules will stay in place for the rest of the holidays.

This means that festive parties and work celebrations are completely off the table this year, so it’s looking like a return to virtual hangouts is inevitable.

After spending nearly a whole year on Zoom, instead of meeting people face-to-face, many of us are feeling sick of the extra screen time.

Here’s a list of simple ideas that could be really fun and festive:

Cocktail making

In the same vein, virtual cocktail making is a fun activity – and who can say no to a cocktail?

Choose a tasty, but easy, cocktail recipe that participants will be able to mix, step-by-step on-screen, such as strawberry daiquiris, mojitos or espresso martinis.

Make it a competition to see who can produce the best-looking cocktail – and who makes the worst.

Christmas quiz

Zoom quizzes may be overdone, but you’ll only get one chance to organise a festive quiz so you may as well go all out.

Christmas jumper attire is encouraged, and make sure all the rounds are suitably seasonal – we’re talking classic Christmas movies and songs and festive trivia.

Virtual bingo

Bingo nights are a total crowd-pleaser, and it’s really easy to set one up virtually via Zoom or Skype.

The best part is there is no limit to the number of people who can join in, whether you have three friends or 30.

All you need to do is send bingo cards to all participants for them to print – there are plenty of free online resources.

Then, find a number generator and share your screen with everyone so they can see the numbers as they are selected.

The coronavirus pandemic has changed the way a lot of people work

November 30, 2020 / admin / 0 Comments

Earlier this year, many companies closed their offices and shifted their staff to remote work due to health and safety concerns. And while remote work has been a mixed bag, it’s also proven itself as a viable model for companies in almost every segment of the market.

That opens the door to a world of flexibility for companies going forward. But it also puts office buildings in real danger.

Office building demand could wane to a dangerous degree

When employees were first told to pack up their desks and work remotely back in February and March, many assumed it would last a few weeks. But now, nine months later, many companies are realizing remote work is a sustainable model, with the potential for major cost savings. If workers can maintain productivity from afar, businesses can spend less on office space.

A good 68% of large-company CEOs say they now plan to downsize their office space, according to a survey by KPMG. And that’s not just in response to the pandemic.

LONG-TERM OFFICE LEASES COULD BE HISTORY

November 2, 2020 / admin / 0 Comments

Those who are considering returning to the office are doing so cautiously due to the uncertainty of lease commitments and health protocols.

The last several months have left workers reeling as many were forced to work from home to stay safe from the ongoing pandemic. Real estate technology firm Yardi recently conducted a survey recently that revealed office users are still skeptical about what the workplace will look like in the future.

“Occupancy is around 86% nationwide,” said Rao. “It was generally flat up until a month and a half ago. In the last month, it dropped 0.3%, which is a large monthly drop. What we are finding is that for many leases that are expiring, generally what’s happening is the tenants are holding onto the space, and they are not wanting to make any rash decisions one way or another.”

The overall theme of the market is uncertainty. The demands of offices have evolved since the beginning of the year. Now, tenants want touchless technology, outdoor areas and air filtrations systems to ensure that their health is protected.

Additionally, the relationship between landlords and tenants is bound to transform as short-term, flexible leases grow in demand.

Pandemic-proofing offices

October 22, 2020 / admin / 0 Comments

Pandemic-proofing offices could involve short-term fixes, new working patterns and long-term design upgrades that put hygiene at the heart of workplace planning.

Mitigate the risk

The biggest priority and challenge for post coronavirus offices is controlling the infection.

How can we control contamination in open plan high density offices?

How can we control infection in hot desking environments?

Or communal and social spaces?

The challenges are many. We have to respond to COVID-19 crisis and mitigate the infection risk by introducing new safety features and measures and improving sanitisation and disinfection processes in our offices. It’s a big change that will create new work styles and build new working culture which we need to be prepared for.

2M rule

We have created some illustrations showing ways of changing office desk configurations to create greater space between your team members.

Here are some points to consider when you are thinking about re-configuring your office:

Can you turn back-to-back desks currently in the centre of the room around, so the operators face the walls?
Reducing density: Can you separate banks of desks so there are gaps between each set of two or four?
Can you spread workspaces around, so people are at least 2 meters apart?
Consider moving pedestals so that they are in the centre of the desks between two users, so they are physically unable to come together side by sideIf you have mobile pedestals, consider moving them out so they sit between the desks, increasing the space between the users
Consider moving filing cabinets/cupboards between desks to increase the space between the users
For face-to-face users, consider introducing additional barriers on top of desk top screens to increase protection from coughs or sneezes. Add screens beside and behind office workers, the higher and wider the better
Hot desking: Eliminate or introduce a strict clean in and clean out measures

Meetings and social spaces

It’s likely that before we start welcoming visitors to our workplaces, we can expect to spend much time meeting virtually with our customers and suppliers rather than sitting face-to-face around the meeting table.

With that in mind, we would recommend to thin out the meeting rooms to safely accommodate smaller groups with greater distancing. It’s important to remove alternative chairs and ensure there is always a 2m space in every direction between the chair positions. There is also the potential to use these rooms to create working space for members of the team thus allowing us to provide greater distancing in office areas. If meeting tables are modular and can be separated, do so to increase the distancing further. It’s recommended to even meet standing up in the open areas of your office. By using flexible tools, movable furniture solutions and screens you can easily create a safe and productive meeting area.

Floor plan ideas

Decrease density by staggering lunches and breaks in cafes or other staff areas
Incorporate higher space division to naturally encourage distancing by introducing barriers such as screens, storage, large plants and partitioning
Introduce cubicle style office to protect personal desk space with higher screens
Adapt an owned desk space approach and reduce shared desking
Reduce guest seating in reception areas and introduce individual seating in lounge spaces
Easy access to disinfecting stations

Workplaces will not return to normal

October 10, 2020 / admin / 0 Comments

A report has suggested that:

The 9-5 is dead but the office is NOT: Workplaces will not ‘return to normal’ after the coronavirus pandemic but most companies will not let employees work from home permanently.

The publication warns workplaces ‘will not return to normal’ after the pandemic is brought under control – with employees having adapted to the ‘new normal’ of working from home during the Covid-19 lockdown.

The study has advised that there has been increased stress levels among employees due to working from home since the lockdown was enforced in May 2020. It suggests workers splitting time between the office and working from home may be the way forward for many companies, even after the pandemic is over.

London-based outsourcing giant Capita have not renewed leases on 25 of their offices, while Lloyds Banking Group was reviewing its office space requirements after deciding most of its 65,000 employees have performed well working from home.

But the report says others, including social media giant Facebook, had turned against working from home models, while American mutlinational IBM had also pulled back from its staff working from home.

However the report concludes that the likely way forward for businesses will be a mixed model, with employees working from home some of the time, and in the office others.

Interiors trends to copy from your favourite influencers

August 10, 2020 / admin / 0 Comments

We find ourselves scrolling through Pinterest or Instagram, but how can we confirm what the definitive interiors trends of 2020 are?

Rattan – Natural Materials

Made popular in the 1970s, rattan and wicker is having its revival and it’s not doing it quietly. If you spent two minutes browsing home decor retailers like Homesense and Dunelm, you’re guaranteed to see an array of gorgeous chairs, benches, lampshades, baskets, the list is endless. The rise in popularity of this natural colour and textural style recently caused H&M Home to sell-out of their iconic cane-webbing chairs, the demand is so high they can’t be restocked quick enough.

Want to feel like you are holiday? Why not decorate a bedroom in this incredible Riad theme?

The best thing about this trend is that it fuzes perfectly with rattan, wicker and weave. You’ll find the best rattan lampshades you’ve ever seen in the souks of Marrakech, if only they could squeeze into hand-luggage. By combining riad ritual, wicker or weave and throwing in a few touches of gold you’ll inevitably feel like you’re chilling in a chic version of a Moroccan palace. This trend transitions smoothly from inside the home to outside into the garden. During Summer you could throw a flatweave rug and some embroidered cushions onto your decking leaving you with an idyllic African picnic scene.