The new trend that is facing offices is ‘resimercial design’. In its simplest sense, it means to bring the feel of home into the workplace by incorporating furniture that is residential-inspired.
Replacing sterile, corporate furniture with that that has been designed with the home in mind will inevitably help to make your office less of a daunting and monotone environment.
‘Resimercial design’ is driven by the need for both comfort and character and while these can be highly subjective, they too can create the necessary spaces for employees to work in different ways when they need to in order to be at their most productive. Having a variation of appropriately fitted-out workspaces and break-out spaces means that employees can move around their work environment in order to suit their present needs e.g. agile and multi-functional spaces so that employees can get together and collaborate in a comfortable space or for meetings or private and quiet workstations for individual working.
The furniture that you decide to incorporate should be relevant and productive to the respective area that you choose to place it in. For example, you wouldn’t have a break-out space in the middle of your computers — it would be somewhere to the side or in a different room. The same goes for colour; pastels are probably the safest all-round bet, but adding in some vibrant colours to your upholstery, office chairs, screens etc. may also work well.
However, with this type of design there can be a fine line between making a workplace too much like home and getting it just right. Everything must be considered; your brand/company identity, your employees, visitors, work styles and work lengths, just to name a few.
Durability is another thing that needs to be considered when using ‘resimercial design’ because it requires furniture that looks and feels homely like residential furniture, but that will resist the wear it will get from a high traffic environment. Finding a company that specialises in this type of furniture is the key.
Century Office are a leading UK office and contract furniture supplier, with over 40 years’ experience in the industry. They provide workplace solutions and offer a tailored approach for architects, interior designers & facility managers for small offices to large corporations as well as educational facilities.
Please visit the Century Office website at www.century-office.co.uk or telephone 08000 929301 for more information. Century Office offers a complete service from survey and design through to supply and installation.
Leave a comment