Modern Office Design - Millennium Storage and Interiors Blog | Millennium Storage and Interiors

Category: Modern Office Design (page 9 of 9)

Is It Time You Had An Office Refurb?

In business you’re either growing or you’re shrinking so it’s important to always be moving forward and that includes the design of your office.

Taking care of the office, however, often ends up low on the priority list during busy periods or when a lot of effort is being put into growing a business. Yet appearances should never be ignored and your office will provide prospective clients and customers with their first impression of your business when they walk through the door.

If your office is looking a bit tired and dated, then refurbishing your office can freshen things up and inspire confidence. It is often the smaller details that contribute to business growth and a well maintained modern office can create the kind of lasting impression that provides a good return on your investment.

Also with the holidays fast approaching staff are likely to have their minds on their next holiday and if their surroundings are dull and drab this will only hamper productivity. So there you have it. Refurbishing that tired old office might actually pay for itself with all the benefits it provides.

If you would like to find out more about our office refurbishment services, give us a call today.

3 Important Boardroom Design Considerations

March 10, 2018 / admin / 0 Comments

The boardroom is the hub of your organisation where all the big decisions and deals are often made so it is important to make it a space fit for these purposes. With this in mind, here are our three most important boardroom design considerations.

Furniture
A tired old boardroom is likely to induce that same feeling of lethargy in meetings and conference calls. Investing in some new boardroom furniture including comfortable chairs and the right bright colours will liven up meetings and may even inspire more creativity.

Acoustics
The inside of your boardroom should at the very least be well insulated from outside noise from phones ringing and general chatter from staff outside. It should also have good acoustics on the inside so that everyone can be heard no matter where they happen to be seated.

IT Infrastructure
There is nothing worse than spending valuable time in the boardroom fiddling with monitors and fumbling around trying to get equipment connected. If you have potential clients sitting in your boardroom witnessing this, it will do little to inspire confidence in your business. A boardroom should be the flagship part of your office space and that should include seamless technology.

Planning A New Office Refurb or Layout? Trends to Watch Out for in 2018

February 27, 2018 / admin / 0 Comments

At this time of year we always see plenty of articles and guides as to what can be expected from office design for the year ahead.

As ever this year there are some familiar trends and a few emerging ones to keep an eye on if you want to keep your finger on the pulse.

If you have ever heard of the terms biophilic office design and ergonomics, and collaborative workspaces, then you will not be surprised to hear that none of them are going out of fashion any time soon.

When we talk about biophilic office design we are talking about bringing nature in. So important things like natural life and greenery and even the view out of the window can bring great benefits because a connection with the natural world is something all us human beings require to be healthy. Ergonomics, meanwhile, focuses on the body and how comfort and maximum efficiency can be achieved.

According to the latest research a focus on these areas is something we can expect to see a lot more of as office working environments continue to evolve in 2018 and beyond.

How To Break Down Office Barriers

February 10, 2018 / admin / 0 Comments

Nowadays retaining good staff is hard when there is so much visible competition and it’s so easy to find and apply for a new job often at the click of a button on a website. So it’s even more important to ensure that good staff aren’t lost just because of a poor working environment and lack of communication.

In many offices, the truth is there remains visible barriers to communication between staff, employers and management. These divides often make for disjointed teams rather than the more collaborative workspaces we find in contemporary offices.

So what are the ways to bring down barriers in your office plans and layouts?

The most obvious fix is to get rid of those private inaccessible rooms that literally put walls between management and staff. If everyone sits together, then collaboration will come more naturally and improve productivity.

Where there are rooms, there should be glass panels so that everyone can see what’s going on and there is a greater feeling of transparency. Meeting spaces where regular catch ups can be had between everyone in the company and they don’t always have to be formal affairs. Staff like to be treated like human beings who matter to a business.

Outside of work, regular social events are equally important as is the involvement of senior staff and bosses.

3 Good Reasons To Choose Glazed Office Partitions

December 10, 2017 / admin / 0 Comments

Glass partitions in offices are nothing new and the reason they have been used in offices for a long time are down to the obvious benefits they have over other types of partitioning. So if you have a large office space office that doesn’t have glass partitioning, let’s look at some of best reasons to opt for it over other alternatives.

Heightened privacy yet open
The modern office has collaboration at its heart. People like to feel that they are not isolated or segregated away from their co-workers and even bosses. Bosses meanwhile will still value the soundproofing glass partitioning can provide while at the same time letting their staff know that they are approachable and open to communication which is important for staff employer relations.

Letting in natural light
Another benefit of glass partitioning is that natural light can pass through brightening up a previously dark office space. There is nothing more off-putting for staff and clients than spending time in what look like a dark dingy office.

Savings on lighting bills
Dark offices mean high electricity bills if the lights need to be kept on all year round. Glass partitioning can help reduce those bills by making the best use of natural light.

Have You Considered Expansion In Your Workplace Design?

October 10, 2017 / admin / 0 Comments

When designing an office space or warehouse it is easy to fall into the trap of catering for existing needs without considering the future. It’s essential then in any consultation process to consider how that future might look for the business and how the existing space will be used in the longer term.

There are several factors that need to be taken into account to prepare effectively for the future of the business from how functional the space is to how efficient and comfortable it is for staff who will ultimately be the lifeblood of the business as it grows and develops. As many business owners will tell you, the good people they hire are the ones that help take the business forward more than anything else so they need to be happy and productive.

When it comes to productivity space is important and there needs to be enough capacity to cope with an increase in productivity and a reduction in costs. In other words all your space should be optimised effectively for future growth.

Energy is another important factor to consider and even something as simple as fitting LED lighting will save a fortune on utility bills as will motion detectors that turn lighting on and off when they are not required.

Important Things To Consider In A Modern Office Design

July 10, 2017 / admin / 0 Comments

So you want to plan an office layout that will keep all your staff happy and productive? This might sound like a straightforward task but getting it right means balancing out a variety of factors including the following…

The size of your space
The size of your office will have the biggest impact on your decisions. If you have a large office space, then the challenge is whether to create a light open plan or build in cubicles. Most contemporary offices adopt the former approach creating collaborative spaces for staff, however open plan spaces can prove to be distracting. Smaller spaces meanwhile can be challenging and staff can become demotivated and unhappy if they feel closed off.

Exposed Offices
If you have an office that is visible to members of the public, clients and guests, then it is important to maintain a professional appearance. Perhaps the more playful office designs adopted by trendy business are not best suited to exposed glass fronted offices if it appears staff are busy playing table tennis rather than working.

Acoustics
Spaces large and small can benefit from careful consideration of acoustics. Excessive noise can be stressful for staff and reduce productivity. A few simple measures to dampen noise levels can work wonders.

Time and Space
How long are people going to linger in different areas of your office. Will you provide hot desks for staff who regularly work from home? In these cases space can be saved and equipment can be kept to a minimum freeing up space for other purposes in smaller offices