When designing and styling office spaces, classrooms or training spaces for medium-large teams there is a balancing act between creating a stylish, inviting and productive space without adding clutter. Clutter can take the form of visual overload or general untidiness that leads to visual chaos – this can have a serious impact on productivity. To assist you in this battle against office clutter here are some of my tips to help create a stylish workplace without the distraction and stress caused by clutter.
Layout
The ideal place to start is your office layout and workflow, ensuring it is designed for optimal functionality without compromising the aesthetic. Begin by analysing where employees sit, the location of relevant office equipment, and consider ways to improve the overall flow and organisation of your office.
Zones
One method of catering to various work areas and large teams is to define zones. Most modern office spaces require a mix of training, collaborative, quiet, and relaxed zones or spaces. Zones are easily defined by the strategic placement of different types of furniture. Partitioning and storage solutions, are the easiest way to create sections. Alternatively, indoor plants, or planter boxes and rugs can also be used to section off more informal or relaxed areas. Adjustable or movable furniture can be a good option for growing business as you can easily rearrange workstations and storage where changes are needed to cater to growth, changes in workflow, new zones or isolate noisy areas.
Storage
Giving teams the right types of storage for processes, products, equipment and types of work is key. Providing generous and creative storage solutions for employees for both personal and shared use is a terrific way to add style and minimise clutter. Take advantage of dead space (like wide corridors or walkways) in the office or use vertical space such as floating shelves or shelving units with labelled storage boxes to give a more organised and streamlined look. Providing useful filing systems, mobile caddies, customised cupboards, shelving units, bookcases and staff lockers in styles and finishes suited to your company brand adds practicality for a large team without compromising on style. Infinity Commercial Furniture offers an excellent range of modern office storage solutions that would easily add order and style to any office space.
Colours
To eliminate visual clutter ensure cohesion in your choice of colours and furniture pieces. Where possible, select furniture items and colours that represent your brand. For example, different zones can be defined just by the colour of a screen panel on a workstation, these colours can be derived from your brand palette.
Styling for space
When styling large teams or departments there may be zones/sections where lots of desks, seating and storage are needed. To negate the visual clutter that can accompany these busy spaces choose furniture items with clean lines and modern profiles that create the feeling of openness. Consider including a few bespoke furniture pieces around the office as this can add a touch of personality, luxury and style to your office space. Even the smallest details, such as your stationary and accessories, can be aligned to specific colours or styles to ensure your workplace looks professional, organised and seamless.
Finally, keep it simple! Develop a clear vision for your office space and in doing so focus on a few key ideas that will achieve this vision – and stick to it! We can have a lot of good ideas but it’s important to pick the best ideas and not get distracted by trying to achieve too much in once space. A clear vision achieved with repetition is often more effective and aesthetically pleasing than trying to mesh lots of different ideas together creating visual clutter and chaos.
Keep these tips in mind and you should be able to create that stylish office space you have been waiting for without all the clutter!
Yours in style,
Meghan
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