Office Designs - Millennium Storage and Interiors Blog | Millennium Storage and Interiors

Category: Office Designs (page 12 of 12)

How To Design A Happy Office

A lot goes into designing an office space. There’s choosing the right fixtures and fittings, working to often tight budgets and of course making sure that all your employees are reasonably happy. The latter is possibly one of the bigger challenges.

Designing the perfect office doesn’t have to hurt. It is easy to design a space for you and your employees that not only looks good but also promotes productivity and happiness.

Designing a happy office is as much about art as it is science. The science comes in with things like measuring the space you have accurately and finding places to install equipment. The rest is largely down to art.

In the 1980s it was all about Feng Shui but now it’s more about the natural arrangement of your office. Many business owners actually fail with their office design because they focus too much on the artistic or practical side and don’t allow for the natural day to day elements that go into creating the ideal office environment.

Open space is vital and allowing natural light in will create a much happier workplace than one that feels more like a prison. Colour choice is also important.

If for example you want to impress clients with contemporary youthful energy then bright coloured furniture against a neutral white background can work well. It may also stimulate staff and give a boost to energy levels which is unlikely to be achieved in a dull grey office with vertical blinds hiding any light.

The thing to remember is that we spend the majority of our time sitting behind computers in the office and this can bring its own stresses. Investing in happy office design has the potential to pay off with happy more productive staff.

Interior Design for your Office

March 5, 2015 / admin / 0 Comments

Designing your office space is an important and often overlooked task. The layout, acoustics and design of your office can have a profound effect on productivity, motivation and workplace atmosphere.

That is why it is so important to get it right and hiring a professional office interiors service can be so advantageous. Any professional, experienced interior design and storage solution company will take all of the following factors into consideration when designing your office space;

1. Design vs Fit – we appreciate that you may want an amazing looking workspace, something inspiring and unique to impress your clients. But don’t forget that the space needs to be practical and work with your everyday business, not impact upon it negatively. That is why it is so important to get the perfect balance. Taking a full brief that takes into account your need for communal spaces, creative spaces and workstations is a vital part of the whole design process.
2. Light it up! – Remember the days of strip-lighting that flickered and buzzed constantly driving you to distraction? Can you imagine the negative impact that sort of artificial lighting can have on your productivity? Pay special attention to how your office space is illuminated, ensuring that you get as much natural light as possible into your office. If this isn’t possible, our office interior specialists will always find the best possible lighting solution for your office space.
3. Inspiration – white walls, uniform desks and cluttered workspaces can suck the productivity out of any office. Consider brightening things up by adding colour. Or maybe just creating communal spaces for people to talk and interact in a less formal setting will inspire creative thinking and positive outcomes.
4. Air-flow – give a lot of consideration to the fresh ait flow in your office space. Air conditioning is great if used properly, but don’t forget those people who are sat directly underneath the ducts, or those stuck in hot corners. Adjust your air conditioning according to the seasons and the layout of your office.
5. Outside in! – You would be amazed at how much difference a few plants can make to any office. Low-maintenance, leafy green plants can help to cleanse the air and raise spirits in an otherwise industrial workspace.

This list is by no means exhaustive. Office design is a specialist service that requires a lot of different input and careful planning. It should not be taken lightly, but neither should it cause unnecessary stress.

Millennium Si provide the perfect Interior Solution service that will fit requirements, tastes, brands and budgets. Call us today on 01942 603 344 for a quote.

How To Plan Office Partitioning

February 21, 2015 / admin / 0 Comments

Business operations are getting increasingly smaller as computers remove most of the administration department which once dealt with data inputting and other menial tasks.

With the number of staff needed by companies, the need for large office spaces is steadily shrinking. This leaves a problem for large commercial property owners who are left trying to hunt around for tenants willing to rent and pay the high fees that go along with it.

The solution to this problem is often partitioning the space to accommodate smaller businesses who will find smaller units more affordable.

That said planning to partition an office may not be easy. You will need to ensure that the partitionsare being put in the right place and that create environments people will want to work in. Not only will this mean considering the amount of natural light and access points but also levels of ambient noise.

To ensure that your office partitions are installed in correctly ensure that each space has a window where possible. If the office doesn’t include carpets then it may be a good idea to fit them and add soft furnishings where possible to help absorb noise. There are various materials to choose from in your partitioning, but it is probably worth choosing those that absorb noise rather than going for cheaper options. It is worth paying the extra in the long term to make sure your business tenants are happy.

What Does Your Office Design Say About Your Company?

February 20, 2015 / admin / 0 Comments

The way an office is presented can say a lot about a business which is why keeping the space clean and tidy is a must if you expect to be welcoming new clients.

Businesses can spend large amounts of money developing a corporate image only to have it brought down by a poorly presented office that creates the wrong impression.

To avoid this it is important to pay attention to how much your current office reflects the corporate identity you are trying to create. Paying attention to this important area can even help you impress and win more clients.

How you present your office will be unique to your company. The needs of a tech or digital company will be different from those of a more formal public sector office. The former will probably be aiming for a more relaxed environment rather than one that is too corporate.

Clients will expect a digital company office to be as contemporary as the websites it creates. A public sector office meanwhile might wish to project a more formal image to show that public money isn’t being spent on expensive colourful furniture! If you are set to be welcoming clients into your office soon, then remember to use those first few minutes to create a good impression of your company because those first impressions last.

Google Creates Offices Inspired By Nature

January 17, 2015 / admin / 0 Comments

Office furniture may not be high on the agenda for whoever is responsible at Google for creating workspaces for happy productive employees but wallpaper and light is according to recent news released by the search giant.

If you walk around a Google office today, you will find the usual coders and play areas but you might also notice light meters hanging from their necks as they go about their daily work. This is because the environmental team at Google thinks that natural light is a very important part of keeping the workforce happy and more importantly for this ambitious firm – productive.

Google is one of the more famous companies experimenting with biophilic design or the subtle changes that can make an office space seem more natural. Having a more natural space to work in while you sit at your office desk is said to better for you psychologically because it helps to reduce stress.

With this in mind Google has added extra skylights, and even solar tubes in its conference rooms to brighten things up. Employees of Google are reported to be more deeply focused on their work and more creative as well as productive.

Are Open-Plan Offices Bad For Your Health?

November 2, 2014 / admin / 0 Comments

Open plan offices may soon go out of fashion if recent surveys of office conditions prove to be accurate in their findings that the vast majority of office workers are dissatisfied with their workspace.

Open-plan has been the layout of choice for most large office with company culture geared towards collaborative work environments. The ability to work as part of a team is seen as an important skill in the workplace and employers have embraced the idea of staff working closely together.

But with 85% of people dissatisfied with their work space according to a survey from Ipsos it may be time to rethink office design so that it provides a better balance between working together and having some private space.

The survey which involved interviewing 10,000 workers across 14 countries showed that office workers lose 86 minutes a day due to colleagues distracting them, which can leave some unmotivated, stressed and with little capacity to work creatively.

Another survey showed that just 6% of office workers thought it was healthy to work in an open plan office environment. Working in an open plan office can result in more time off sick than working from home due to viruses spreading around work surfaces or stress.

A potential solution is to allow staff days where they can work from home to create a better balance however this may not always be possible depending on the industry.

The Secret To Good Office Design

October 27, 2014 / admin / 0 Comments

Google is perhaps the first company that springs to mind when thoughts turn to progressive office design. Installing crazy golf course, pool tables and relaxation pods may not be every business owner’s idea of keeping staff happy.

Psychologically, these kinds of workspaces may actually increase productivity if staff are happier – at least that’s what the likes of Google and other creative employers think. But really creating a well-designed office space requires a lot less than you think.

Building in too many distractions into the workplace may actually hinder rather than help the creative process if staff spend too much time at play or things to play with are too close to hand. Research from scientists backs up the idea that workplaces also need structure and fluidity to function properly.

What works for Google’s army of programmers may not work for the average office.

One of the key things is to provide you employees with enough natural light and personal space. Open plan offices, for so long the accepted layout has been found to increase stress and reduce productivity.

Creating areas where employees can collaborate and even break rooms that offer some form of escape could help transform the workplace into an area people will want to spend time in. Colours too play their part. Various combinations of colours can help influence moods.

Orange and yellow for example are known to stimulate a sense of fun and happiness while blue sets a mood of tranquillity.

Modern Office Environment

June 15, 2014 / admin / 0 Comments

Watching ‘Mad Men’ on television is a stark reminder of exactly how far the modern office environment has come.

Go back half century or so, and the office layout was very much a hierarchy of the social pecking order of each employee. Administrative work (by mostly female workers) was clustered together in a large group in the centre of the office environment. Desks were utilitarian, small and offered no privacy whatsoever.

When moving to the slightly elevated associate positions, there were very small, shared office in cramped quarters. However, the residents were allowed to ever-so-slightly personalize their space with a framed picture of the family. As we reach executive level personnel, we find large and lavish rooms with incredible views of the cityscape, full stocked wet bars, a settee and behemoth cherry wood desks with leather chairs that resembling a throne.

Fast forward to modern times, and we still see a hint of the old office ‘class structure’, although as a society we have embraced a slightly more balanced status for employees. However for practical reasons, there is still a need for corporate executives to have some privacy to wheel and deal.

Today we still want the room to be movers and shakers, and to allow our workers to be able to take a tea break in a room with a few tables and chairs. The problem we face is that real estate is on the rebound, and the cost of spacious offices simply isn’t a reality for most businesses. So the only solution is to make the most of the space you have.

Regardless of whether you have a hot-desk set up in mind for your team or a cubicle structure to provide a bit more privacy to allow team members to concentrate (and cut down on the chin-wagging that can take over in an open office plan), Millenium SI can create the perfect office plan to utilise your space for maximum efficiency. Wherever your office is located, get in touch with our team of experts for a consultation on what we can work out for you.

How Your Office Design Affects Employees’ Productivity

February 1, 2014 / admin / 0 Comments

If you’re refurbishing or re-locating your office, it’s well worth thinking about re-jigging the way you utilise your office space to increase your employees’ productivity. There’s been lots of research into the effects of how workspace design can have an impact on both productivity and staff morale, with cluttered and poorly designed workplaces having the most significant negative effects.

And it’s not just the lay-out of your office space that causes problems – even the décor and furniture can dictate the efficiency of your entire team. What’s more, a well thought out office space can even positively influence clients who visit your premises.

Of course, your office space planning depends upon the industry you’re in and your employees’ workplace needs. Some may need to be able to easily communicate with one another, whilst others may need quiet spaces to concentrate and work to maximum efficiency.

An easy way to achieve these different ‘zones’ is to install office partitioning: properly dividing your workspace gives your employees the personal space they need to work as a team or without distraction if need be. A simple change of layout also has a positive effect on productivity – coming into the same environment day in, day out makes work a dull place to be! A fresh, modern office design can have a real morale-boosting effect, from the flooring and décor to the office furniture you provide. Your desks, chairs and workstations can all be enhanced to help your employees improve their work performance.

Here at Millennium SI we have years of experience in creative office space planning. We can either help you to make the most effective use of your current space, or start from scratch if you’re moving to or just setting up in a brand new location. We’ll take a thorough brief to get an in-depth understanding of your workspace needs, then we’ll project manage your re-design, refurb or new site design from start to finish. Our office design solutions combine innovation with practicality, and we always look to the future to ensure that your new layout will be adaptable to business growth or changing workplace requirements.

Countless surveys and research have shown that, no matter the size of your company, your office space matters and has a significant impact on your employees’ productivity and job satisfaction. To ensure you’re getting the best from your people, please get in touch with our people to discover the inspired and effective office planning solutions we deliver – on time, on budget, every time.