The furniture you choose for your office has more roles to fill than you might think.
It provides functional comfort, supporting the lower backs, shoulders and necks of employees and
clients through the day’s tasks and meetings
It dresses your space, working in harmony with your interior design scheme, bringing pops of
brand colour and adding a finishing touch to your workspace vision.
It offers convenience through its storage, collaboration through its configuration and productivity
through its quality.
And it’s a key factor in creating that all-important first impression for clients, partners and new
staff alike.
So what do you need to consider when choosing furniture for your workplace?
Furnishing commercial spaces is one of our core services, so we asked our expert team for their
best tips.
1. Create the right first impression
We humans are fickle creatures. Our brains are wired to form judgments of people, places and spaces in
seconds, something we can blame on instincts we forged in prehistoric times.
So first, we must appease the inner cavepeople inside our clients, partners and staff with stylish,
considered interior design and carefully curated furniture that work together to create the positive
perception your business needs.
Need some expert guidance? Speak to our specialist team
For the right first impression, begin with how you brand your space.
You want to make it unmistakably yours from the moment you enter (find more on this here), so make sure
all the visual markers you need are in place – from logos and other monikers to your brand colour palette.
Then, take some time to consider how your brand is perceived by others.
You want to make sure there are no mixed messages between what you say your business believes in, and
what people actually experience when they visit you.
For example – if you emphasise your team’s collaborative strength, but your office isn’t configured to
facilitate togetherness and teamwork, then you’re missing the mark.
Finally, remember that the most important ambassadors of your first impression are your staff.
Take their views into account on what they need to make their working lives smoother and more
comfortable, and you’ll gain their crucial input to that all-important first impression.
2. Prioritise comfort and quality
As we discussed above, the furniture you choose for your office needs to fulfil multiple roles, from the
practical to the aesthetic.
In practical terms, fundamental items like office desks, chairs and seating areas will withstand a large
amount of wear and tear through their lifetimes.
In visual terms, they need to do that and stay looking good, for as long as possible.
And, for happy, healthy employees and delighted clients, they need to do both while offering excellent
ergonomic support and lush, plush comfort.
Good quality furnishings will quickly earn their keep, so it’s better to think of your furnishings as a business
investment than to opt for a budget fix that, unable to stand up to heavy use, will need replacing much
more frequently.
3. Add a touch of the extraordinary
A popular home interiors trick of designers is to introduce one stand-out piece into a scheme to create a
focal and discussion point.
From stunning statement lighting (see above) to bespoke furniture, this works equally well in a commercial
setting – the beauty being that you can go as large or small as you like, based on your available space and budget.
A brilliant example of an extraordinary item in a workplace setting is the incredible central bar we created
for Charlton Morris.
4. Consider bespoke
From having something truly unique to your business to the need to maximise a tight floorplan or work
within the restraints of your building, there are lots of reasons why you might consider bespoke furniture for
your office space.
In period properties, for example, you might be constrained in the extent of work you can undertake.
Choosing custom-crafted furniture can allow you to break up a space effectively without impacting on the
fabric of the building, allowing your staff to embrace task-based working across a range of cleverly
designed zones.
One example of this can be seen at Shift Commerce (above), where we designed and built a number of
bespoke pieces.
From a louvred, double-sided, AV-fitted meeting space to a choice of privacy booths, each piece was
created to simolv droo into this beautiful period propertv.
5. Keep it fun!
Last, but certainly not least, it shouldn’t be all work and no play!
Fun elements are such an important part of designing an office interior that truly reflects a company’s
culture, bringing happiness to staff through their working days (which in turn boosts productivity and
retention) and creating a lasting positive impression for clients and other visitors.
From well-planned breakout spaces and de-stress zones to personality-filled pops of colour, green walls,
playful artworks and cheeky messaging (if it fits with your brand), don’t forget to add those finishing
touches that bring personality and joy to your office.