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

Category: Office Designs (page 7 of 12)

Why You Should Consider A Custom Office Design

The workplace is evolving into something that would be unrecognisable to a time traveller from the 1980s where workplaces were all fairly similar and often as grey as the faces of staff forced to work 9-5 in them.

There are plenty of offices like this still around but this often says as a lot about those businesses who opt for old fashioned offices offering little to no joy for employees and prospective customers when they first walk through the door.

A custom-made office goes a step further than simply changing the layout, adding some furniture and a new paint job. A custom office will be designed and fitted around your business and the way your business uses the space.

So in this sense you are not getting a one size fits all office but one that is designed to enhance every area of your business from its image, to productivity and ideas as that space becomes more collaborative.

A custom-made office requires a detailed consultation not just on layout but what works best for your business. Only then can a truly custom-made design be put together with the choice of fixtures and fittings.

If you want to find out more about our office fitting services contact us today.

How To Keep Your Staff Motivated On Hot Summer Days

June 20, 2018 / admin / 0 Comments

Most of us look forward to some hot sunny days in the summer but when you’re in the office it isn’t much fun at all particularly if you are working all day. So here’s some advice on how to improve the office environment to keep your staff motivated and productive.

Ensure Everyone drinks enough water
It might sound obvious but drinking plenty of water can limit the effects of heat. Access to clean cool drinking water is something every office should have. Mood, memory and energy levels can all be affected by dehydration which is something you may want your employees to avoid.

Keep the work place bright and airy
Nobody wants to be stuck in a dark stuffy office on a hot day and the type of furniture you choose can make a big difference to how bright your office is. Ensure enough natural light is allowed into the spaces around your offices and open windows if necessary.

Arrange some outdoor time
Why not arrange some time out of the office for your staff in prolonged heatwave conditions. A bit of team building will keep things interesting and if it is held outdoors, staff won’t feel like they are missing out on the sunshine.

Have Office Reception Areas Really Changed That Much?

June 1, 2018 / admin / 0 Comments

Considering the fact that reception areas provide people with the first impression of your business, it is surprising to find that there hasn’t been much change since the 1980s in some cases.

In the 1980s you might have been greeted with a reception area that was fairly sombre with a desk a row of chairs and a receptionist either typing or sitting reading a magazine. Fast forward to the 1990s and you have the more widespread and visible use of office computers and a more open plan approach to the reception area.

Perhaps even an old sofa would be provided for clients to sit and wait before they are welcomed in to the main building. You will still see plenty of examples of these 80s and 90s office receptions around to this day.

The modern reception is all about creating a warm friendly space where visitors can feel at ease. If we take the examples of Google’s office reception areas you have multi-coloured playful furniture or comfortable curved sofas which look more like a nursery than a grown up place to work.

This is of course the type of image Google likes to project of course and this is the secret of a good reception layout. It must fit with the company image and have your branding clearly visible to leaf a lasting impression on your clients and customers.

Why Office Carpet Choice Matters

May 20, 2018 / admin / 0 Comments

How many offices do you go into with drab looking or worn out carpets? Carpets say as much about a business as walls and furniture so it’s important to pay attention to the quality and colour of your carpets is you want to project the right image of your business to clients and customers.

Of course not every business owner will have control over the colour of their carpet. If an office is rented it can be hard to convince the landlord to change the carpet but if you do have the freedom, then a new carpet is a great way to start transforming the look and feel of your office.

If for example your business is involved in websites or graphic design, you might want to select bright bold patterns whereas if you run an accountants, then a neutral toned more conservative carpet might be a better choice.

Pattern is also important. Plain office carpet can be dull and boring so having some kind of pattern even if it’s subtle can transform an office space. The carpet can even match your company branding.

Today there are no hard and fast rules on carpet choice and lots of inspiration available on websites such as Pinterest

Is It Time You Had An Office Refurb?

May 5, 2018 / admin / 0 Comments

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.