When you are looking to create a new office space or refurbish an existing one, there are some common design mistakes you will want to avoid. The errors are often an oversight, so to help you avoid these, the first thing to do is have a plan that can help you avoid making them. Below are some of the common mistakes to avoid when designing your new office space that can help ensure it is a suitable environment for your business and helps to improve productivity.
Embrace Colour In Your Office
A common mistake that many companies make when designing their new offices is a lack of colour, with many of them choosing white walls and ceilings. There has been a lot of research into the psychology of colours in the workplace and choosing appropriate ones can help increase the productivity of your employees. You will want to select the colour scheme of your office carefully and ensure you do not go overboard in your selection, which can be as bad as having white walls.
A Fully Open-Plan Office
Another common mistake some companies make is opting for a fully open-plan office design. These can look fantastic and allow you to keep an eye on everything going on in the office. However, open-plan offices are also usually noisy, and there can be many distractions to prevent your employees from working productively. If you have ample space in your office, you can break it up using partitions, which will keep the open plan feel, help reduce the noise, and are a cost-effective solution.
A Lack Of Storage Space
It seems that many modern homes fail to allow for adequate storage space, and it is the same with offices. You will need to ensure that you have suitable storage facilities for your offices and try and have different areas to store various things. For example, you can ensure you can use wallspace storage systems in your toilets to keep all the cleaning products, soap, toilet paper, and other items needed to maintain the bathrooms. Have separate storage for your office supplies and ensure you only store items in your office kitchen that should be there, i.e., food, plates, glasses, cups, cutlery etc.
Poor Quality Office Furniture
You also tend to find that many companies seem to avoid investing in quality furniture for their office, instead opting for the cheapest option, which is a false economy. You will want to treat purchasing office furniture such as desks and chairs as an investment and going for the cheapest option will mean that you will have to replace them much sooner. When you invest in quality office furniture, it can help keep your employees happy and comfortable doing their jobs. A resulting benefit of this is that it can also help increase their productivity, so it is worth the investment.
These are a few of the mistakes you want to avoid when designing your office, but there are more besides. It is often best to speak to a company that specialises in designing and building offices to help you create a suitable space for your business that will help it thrive.