“How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives”. These words from Annie Dilliard, an American author, best demonstrate how designing the perfect office space should be approached. Though multi-million dollar companies can afford to hire a team of designers to get every little detail right, the same can not be said for startups and smaller businesses. Or, even if you have the budget but would rather prefer to get it done on your own, this blog will help you understand the latest trends in office interior design. These trends have emerged as the leading ways an employer can help their employees boost productivity, mental health and overall well-being.
1. Open Floor Plan
Improving the flow of communication and cross-departmental collaboration, the growing popularity of an open floor plan isn’t without reason. The absence of obstacles between people doesn’t just improve communication but also enables the flow of ideas and creativity. These features are especially necessary for employees who need regular face time with others in the company.
Not to mention, how an open floor plan makes the space feel airy and calming. Furthermore, the benefits aren’t just limited to the employees. An open floor plan slashes construction costs, requires fewer lighting fixtures, makes future customisation easy, makes the space feel bigger and lowers electricity bills. However, an open floor plan may not facilitate private meetings or may even disrupt someone’s need for privacy. So, in addition to an open floor plan, the office space needs to accommodate appropriate private space as well.
Also Read: 6 Interior design trends about to Explode in 2023
2. Pods/Booths/Rooms for Privacy
As we alluded to the need for private spaces in the previous point, this trend of pods or booth-like structures inside the space resolves the privacy concerns in style. These structures can be used for more than just private work. For instance, some people need quiet to be productive and these pods are the perfect answer. Such structures can also act as make-shift meeting rooms for small conferences and whatnot.
Whether you opt for a booth or a room to facilitate privacy, one thing which is common between them all is clear glass walls. Even though the main goal of these structures is to provide privacy, they should not separate the structure from the office space. So, installing clear glass partitions can help you achieve privacy without detaching the structure from the rest of the office space.
3. Ergonomic Furniture Design
Though office furniture has existed for a while now, furniture that truly supports your body and posture is a rather novel concept. These pieces of furniture have been carefully designed to prevent diseases, which may occur due to sedentary work life. What makes ergonomic furniture special is that it can be customised for individual employees, the manufacturer adjusts various aspects of the furniture to meet individual needs. For instance, in most office chairs, the lumbar support can not be adjusted, which is a major contributor to back pain. Integrating such furniture in your office can help improve the overall health of your employees.
4. Fun Graphics & Vivid Colours
Creating a sense of whimsy and ease in the office space can go a long way to relieve stress and tension. Graphics can also make the space seem fun and uplifting, elevating the overall mood of the employees. These graphics can be used in a variety of forms, whether it’s text or huge murals or even wallpapers, it completely depends upon your taste or the sort of atmosphere you are trying to establish.
Furthermore, colours play a key role in both graphics and the décor. And when it comes to the type of colours, it’s better to stick to neutral, bright, moody and natural colours. Achieving a blend of these vivid colours in the décor accompanied by graphics in appropriate areas of the space will result in a modern millennial-friendly, uplifting office interior.
You might want to read: Incorporating Artwork into Your Home Décor: The Dos and Don’ts
5. Natural Touch
One of the latest widely accepted and appreciated interior design trends is the integration of the outdoors into the indoors in a variety of ways. And the same has been successfully embraced by office interiors worldwide. The idea behind this approach is to imbue the sense of calm found in nature into the workspace through furniture, colour palette, textures and materials. This is said to relieve stress and elevate mood.
Wooden furniture, potted plants and natural colours have been the go-to choices for adding a natural touch to any space. However, there is much more you can do to achieve nature’s serenity – Integrate wide open windows that pour in loads of natural light, eliminate plastic materials in the décor and add indoor waterworks.
6. Outdoor Amenities
Adding a natural touch to the workspace’s interiors is great, but you can take this a step further by adding outdoor amenities into the mix. A balcony with workstations, dining areas or other amenities will give your employees the opportunity to refresh their mood. It can also act as a short break from being surrounded by concrete walls for prolonged hours.
When given the opportunity to work under an open sky, scientific studies have shown to improve productivity by ten folds.
7. Lounge Area
After spending nearly two years working from home, employees have proven to have an increased level of productivity when working in a more casual and comfortable working atmosphere. Integration of lounging areas in the office space can create a similar atmosphere, where team members can get together and collaborate. These spaces take you out of a strict office setting to a casual surrounding, enabling you to work and express yourself much more freely.
Also Read: The Psychology of Interior Design: Understanding How Design Affects Mood
8. Lighting
The final trend worth mentioning is the extensive lighting solution used in modern workspaces. Generally, most office spaces are bigger than a standard room and thus they require extensive lighting as well. According to the US General Services Administration, to accommodate proper working conditions each square meter of space requires 500 lumens. To achieve such standards, the space needs a blend of various lighting fixtures. However, the most important lighting solution is natural light.
While designing your workspace, you need to incorporate natural light as much as possible. This wouldn’t just reduce energy costs, but will also have a refreshing effect on your employee’s mood, productivity and health.
To sum up – These were our top picks for the latest trends in office interior design, hopefully, they helped you design your own office. In case you need further help to design your office interiors further, book a design consultation with our design experts today!