Five mistakes to avoid when designing an office space

1. Plan your space with layouts based on functional use

It is very common for many businesses to not factor in the number of employees, and employee movement, not map out high-traffic areas, position the coffee station or breakout rooms correctly or forget about smaller collaborative work, meetings or focus rooms.

These are critical in making sure that steps are taken to improve employee face-to-face interaction for better collaboration, and higher productivity as part of an intentional, well-thought-out office plan.

An experienced office interiors team can help design the office space based on departments, meetings, and movement, using a Computer-Aided Design (CAD) program or other systems saving hours of notes on what furniture fits where while helping plan with the budgeting especially when it comes to acoustics, furniture, and lighting. As a rule of thumb, trendy is not always best for you.

Planning layouts can help factor in energy-saving lighting, appliances and water-saving sanitaryware at the design stage.

3. Don't underestimate the power of a well-designed reception area

Clients will likely be forming an opinion about your company based on your office reception area. And while the reception should feel both welcoming and functional, experienced office interior designers would create unique zones - an obvious desk to approach with a unique, focal feature showcasing the company logo, emotionally engaging branding in the background or walls in brand colours4.

An inviting waiting area with classic, comfortable leather chairs or a sophisticated velvet jungle green seat next to a lamp with possibly some private meeting rooms on one side. Avoid lighting the reception area too brightly.

4. Don't use improper lighting fixtures

Good interior design takes into consideration the desired mood and temperature of a space. Very bright spaces can sometimes cause headaches, fatigue, eye strain and anxiety for employees.

Consider design options with the most amount of natural daylight as the amount and type of light affect your sleep cycle, ability to focus as well as productivity in the office.

Look for poorly lit areas and distribution before purchasing lights as a noticeable difference in light levels means your eyes have to keep readjusting when moving from one level to another, straining your eyes and making it difficult to see and concentrate.

And while fluorescent lighting is great and inexpensive, it tends to get dimmer over time and can be distracting for employees once it starts flickering and making a buzzing sound. A better, more economical alternative long-term, would be energy-saving LED lighting which has a more consistent quality of light.

A good practice to follow is to keep the lighting layered at different heights, from different sources, with different intensities and not rely on overhead lighting alone as the latter makes the office look cold and clinical.

5. Don't prioritize style over ergonomics

There is nothing wrong with adding trendy, stylish furniture to your office space when it is done with the right colour combinations, but more importantly with the comfort of employees in mind. Choose materials that are comfortable yet long-lasting keeping in mind that your office may expand or change in the future.

Most well-known, reputable office furniture brands will also emphasize ergonomics in their products' design. This means that they design their office furniture to specification so that it minimizes stress and increases productivity among employees.