Redesigning your office space: Five useful tips

Office design is often overlooked by businesses in the UK, yet it can be an integral part of an organisation's success. We at Hi Design believe the layout and design features of an office can affect how employees communicate, how they perform certain functions and their overall happiness. Investing in office design and some carefully-chosen flooring can be a cost-effective outlay if it means your employees are more productive as a result. Here are our five tips for transforming your office space into a more effective working environment.

1. Make full use of the available light and space

Around 90 percent of workers spend most of their working lives indoors, and many of them will be at their desks, several metres away from the nearest window. Natural light can affect the mood and happiness of workers, so it's important not to block it out with unnecessary furniture, plants and blinds. Instead of placing the majority of your workstations in the centre of the office, use areas by windows instead. Avoid using interior walls and cubicles, as they can block light and create a cramped ambience.

2. Incorporate break-out spaces

It's important that communal areas are created in every office in order to deliver different environments for different functions. A break-out space may be somewhere that employees eat lunch, or somewhere meetings take place. Allocate as many areas of your office to break-out space as possible, and set them apart from the rest of the office by using meeting tables, carpets and soft furnishings.

3. Incorporate storage areas without sacrificing space

Nothing can bring an office environment to a standstill like clutter and mess. Dedicate areas for food prep, eating and refrigeration to stop people eating at their desks. Utilise unused areas of your office for the storage of extraneous stationery and supplies, and ensure that there is a dedicated area for the filing of records. If you have the space, it may be worth installing lockers in order that employees have somewhere secure to store their coats, bags and personal possessions. Remember, what look like empty space between two desks to you may may serve as a precious storage area that keeps clutter away from view.

4. Invest in furnishings and decor

It is only natural that you will want to minimise the cost of re-designing your office space. However, it's important to think to the long term when investing in furniture and decor. Paying for inferior carpets, office furniture and wall coverings now may save you money in the short term, but you could find yourself replacing them far more quickly than you expected. There are also matters of staff morale and health to consider. For instance, buying cheap office chairs may result in uncomfortable and demotivated staff - ultimately affecting productivity. It may also result in an increase in sick days because of back pain.

5. Consult your employees

Who better to tell you what is needed in your new office space than the people who spend the most time in it? What may seem like a great design idea on paper may not work in a real working situation, so it's important to solicit feedback from your workers regularly. Can your employees communicate effectively? Does the office have sufficient light? Is moving around the workplace easy? And does the working environment lend itself to concentration and focus? Because your employees spend so much time working in your office space, they are best placed to suggest practical changes for the good of your business.

One of the most important steps you can take when redesigning your office space is to take your time during the planning stages, consult a good interior design agency. There should be a great deal of thought given to the practicalities of your chosen design, and the people who will be in the thick of the office-based action should be given the opportunity to have their say. With some careful planning and consultation, you should be able to create an office that promotes staff motivation and increased productivity.

How to Create a Stylish Home Office

Gone are the days when ‘work' meant having to commute endlessly to an office far away from home. To the smart entrepreneurs of today, a home office is probably the best way to maintain an ideal work-life balance. Working from the comfort of one's home certainly yields better results, it is infinitely cheaper than renting a commercial space and more conducive to creative work.

Your home office must have all the elements of a productive office, while having the charm of a family home. That being said, it also needs to be professional enough for you to be able to invite clients over to discuss business. A stylish home office therefore becomes a really smart investment for an entrepreneur, when they're starting out.

How do you create a stylish home office?

There are a few things you need to keep in mind while creating a professional, yet stylish home office for yourself.

1) Choose the right colours: A small space can really be livened up with the right shade of paint, or accessories in a contrasting hue and tone. Always go with colours that complement your taste, and the space they are being used in. Avoid flamboyant, loud colours in your home office, go instead for understated, refined, lighter shades.

2) Let's talk furniture: Unlike the rest of your home, your office space needs to have a slightly more professional look to it. So obviously this space isn't going to have bean bags strewn on the floor. Think modular sofas in contemporary shades. Avoid any and all clunky items of furniture such as an elaborate desk with a chair.

3) Maximise ventilation: Ensure that your desks and chairs face the windows in such a way that they get ample sunlight. Natural light is ideal to work with, not to mention the massive savings on your light bills. Cheery, big windows also increase the positive vibrations in the space and make for a conducive working environment.

4) Use space wisely: Avoid large pieces of furniture like elaborate work desks and leather chairs, if your home office is small. Use a wall mounted foldable table with an ergonomic work chair instead. Utilise every inch of space that is available to you. Avoid clunky bookcases in your space, use funky wall mounted bookshelves instead.

5) Create a positive ambience: Not that you will ever wait for the right mood to strike you, but creating a positive work ambience will help soothe frayed nerves. Invest in a pair of portable speakers, that can be hooked up to your laptop and play soothing music. A little water feature will add a little bit of tranquility to your desk. Consult a Feng Shui or Vaastu website about the kind of plants that would add a calming feel to your workspace and invest in those. Simply anything to make your office more productive.

Maximise your home office space with these tips and enjoy the freedom and flexibility that the space provides. A home office can always be a stopgap between a job and your very first office space, and in the long run can be used by any member of your family as a workspace, ergo it is never a dead investment!