Disappearing Desks - The perfect work / life balance

Amsterdam-based design studio Heldergroen has introduced ‘vanishing desks’ into its office in an effort to encourage employees to maintain a happy work-life balance.

Built by Zecc Architects, the large communal workstations are made from recycled telegraph poles and serve as standard office furniture during the day. However, when the clock strikes 6pm the desks are lifted into the ceiling using a key-operated lifting mechanism and steel ceiling cables, forcing employees to step away from their work.

The cleared office space is then available to be used for other activities, such as networking events, yoga classes or even dance parties! At nights and weekends the space can be also be hired out to others. The rest of the Heldergroen office was designed to be as sustainable as possible, with furniture made from materials scavenged in the neighbourhood.

We think the ethos behind the work-life balance is a hot topic, we believe the culture of working overly long hours has a questioning effect that productivity drops off when employees work too late. We would definitely use our office to hold parties if our desks disappeared.. Poor cleaners!  

Is social media helping us adapt to open plan offices?

It’s no coincidence that these days workplace design mirrors social media. In a fast-paced high-tech world where community seems to be more valued than privacy, the office partitions have come down in the name of collaboration and quick exchange. When we share our daily activities with colleagues through Facebook why would we mind sharing an open plan office with them? We are becoming more accepting of others’ lives and sharing our own with them.

Offices are being designed to offer collaborative work stations with open spaces to create “collision zones” for employees, where conversations get started and ideas get hatched like a social gathering that developed through a status update or a group message. Roll based work areas have become obsolesce as companies envision cross-departmental, even cross-industry alliances. Why have a meeting around a gigantic table when you and a few co-workers can set up shop in a more social environment mirroring our ever developing virtual world.

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!

Curvy Furniture Makes Happy People

When you think of furniture, does your mind naturally progress to theories on psychology? Maybe it should.

Experts in both fields say we’re influenced by our environment to the degree that certain types of furniture might bring out more positive emotions. It turns out curvy furniture beats its straight-lined siblings on many levels in our psyches - curves are just more inviting.

It’s nothing new to interior designer Susan Whittle of Hi Design, who has seen the trend of curved furniture come full swivel this season.

“It’s cozier. It’s friendlier. It’s more conducive to conversation,” says Susan. “All of those adjectives apply to round tables and curved furniture.”

Part of the appeal comes from our need for a good fit. Curved furniture can be more comfortable when it follows the natural contours of the human body. Sometimes the curves are there to enhance the design. The art of feng shui say decorating with curvy furniture creates a sense of movement and lets energy flow through a room. The curves of the retro Copenhagen Leather Chair, for example, are bold yet look natural to the eye, especially when finished in a soft finish such as hand-distressed leather.

Rounded or oval tables are equalizers that invite socializing, in part because there’s no true head of the table. The kruze Table from Boss Design, with its sculptured solid aluminium legs and thick wooden table top it perfect.

Mixing shapes can make a room more interesting. Just as designers frown upon all square furniture in a room, all round is just as big a faux pas. “It just gets boring if everything is all the same,” says Susan. “It’s really eye-catching have square chairs around a round cocktail table.”

Small and irregularly shaped rooms can challenge the best designers. Sometimes the solution is to choose furniture that also has spare and irregular proportions. The Lövbacken SideTable by IKEA can squeeze into a tight corner and make it look as if you doted on the space. Made of a veneered wood grain surface, it’s also stain resistant and easy to clean. Covered feet on the table’s legs keep it from scratching the floor – Perfect & a must have in any home or office!

Happiness in the Workplace

Happiness is directly tied to productivity, therefore it is more important than given credit for. A rational man is less likely to leave a happy workplace for a hostile one even If it pays more. But the job of ensuring a happy work environment cannot entirely belong on the environment itself - it should be a collective effort from each and every member of the organization. Here are our top tips that you can follow to create a blissful work environment.

Look sharp
A bit of grooming never really hurt anyone. The better you dress, the fresher you look and the more confident and comfortable you feel. Taking care of your overall health and appearance, although seemingly painstaking, does make a difference to your overall performance. How people dress, and carry themselves speaks volumes about who they are. A neat and tidy get- up reflects meticulousness. And that makes a great impression. A few compliments from co-workers on your tie, or how much slimmer you look, don't hurt either.

The early bird sings the sweeter tune
Try to wake up at least an hour before setting out for the workplace. Spend some comfortable 'me' time. You can even spend a portion of that time working out, or taking a morning walk. This will help you show up at the workplace in a better mood and a better frame of mind.

Jazz up your desk
Keep the workplace as tidy as possible, as well as well ventilated. Play some soft music, some soothing smooth jazz or bebop (if allowed), the kind of music that won't distract you or make your surroundings inaudible to you. You are a part of the environment, and you share a part of the responsibility of making it a better place. The more you invest in making the workplace a happier one, the more involved you will feel.

Avoid negative people
It's best to casually avoid negative people when possible. Such people can be a source of undue stress, conflict and even at times an unwanted influence. They can lower your job satisfaction and may even lead to your losing productivity which will further reduce job satisfaction.

Throw in a smile
Informal communication in the workplace may not seem to do much to meet organizational objectives, but much of the internal culture of a company is built on informal interaction between employees. Try to be an easy person to approach and be around. Greet everyone with smiles when you walk into the workplace. Hang out with co-workers after-hours from time to time. One fun way to get to know them is might be to engage in group games, like charades, which may seem childish at first, but it is good to get away from being grown-ups all the time. Many people still prefer a properly recited salaam over a curt nod and a handshake. People tend to respect you a little more when you take care to greet them and engage them in small talk about how they are. Being able engage in small talk is a very important social skill one needs to learn to get along and get ahead. Taking care of little things, like holding doors open for a colleague or offering them seats can put you in a rather heightened place in their perspective.

How Reception Design is Becoming More Human

Reception areas are a building’s chance to make a lasting first impression on its visitors, and construe subtle messages about the companies that inhabit them. Not so long ago, this fact instigated glossy and imposing spaces, with heels clomping across a vast expanse of marble floor (with the sound echoing off the marble walls), but now they are a little more welcoming. Online fashion store ASOS’s entrance for example, is done out in reclaimed scaffold board and eclectic vintage furniture, with a bustling cafe to boot, while Rochdale Council’s new did away with the ominous reception desk altogether, opting for movable booths and so-called ‘floor-walkers’ to greet visitors instead of receptionists.

“Receptions have always been important because they’re the front door to your house,” says Suki Shocker, head of design at Hi Design, describing BBA reception at Wigmore St London. “What I’ve seen change is that they have become more human. Look back 10 years, and receptions were quite prestigious; they had the expensive materials and durability, but they were impersonal. They are used in a different way now.”

Hi Designs reception design for BBA is still impressive, but in a softer way. Working with a single-height space but aiming to create the illusion of depth, the firm drew inspiration from aviation with the reception desk being a cross section of a wing. The ceiling and walls form a series of angled and reflective surfaces that give the impression more space. Lights embedded in the bulk head and media wall creating a sense of drama and interest. Polished surfaces absorb light, giving the space its diffused glow.

“You’re always looking towards an illuminated space; there are no dark grey ceilings or downlit areas,” says Suki. “We still have the marble floors and mirror-backed glass, but there’s a human aspect. Visitors don’t want a cold space – it needs to be warm and welcoming."

To see more of BBA’s office space please click here.