Office Fitout Tips for the Modern Workplace

Five ways to keep your office fitout feeling fresh and modern.

The modern workplace is an ever-changing workplace, where it can often be difficult to keep up with trends – especially without breaking your budget on something that will date in a year’s time. At IC Corporate Interiors, we pride ourselves on creating timeless office fitouts that age well and can be seamlessly updated to suit trends. Over many years of doing office fitouts, we’ve learnt how to create a stylish office without compromising on functionality. Therefore, below we are sharing some of our top office fitout tips for the modern workplace.

Functionality vs Aesthetic

A debate that can be had in all aspects of life, functionality and aesthetic are two factors that go head to head when it comes to design choice. Most of the time, we’re often made to choose between a less pretty, but highly functional space or an aesthetically pleasing space that may be less practical. However, this doesn’t always have to be the case! It just takes time and some careful choosing to perfect the balance. For example, the stunning tan leather chair you’ve had your eye on might be beautiful, but not so comfortable. Instead, it’s smart to opt for the just-as-nice black one that might not be your favourite but is ergonomic friendly. The reason why its so important to balance both aspects is because they are equally essential for productivity, engagement and making your workplace somewhere your employees want to be.

Break out Rooms

One of the defining factors of the modern workplace is undoubtedly the shift towards open plan working and collaborative spaces. While this switch has been highly successful in building team culture, there will always be the need for quiet spaces and meeting rooms to ensure the needs of all staff members are met. Believe it or not, even employees who love to bounce ideas off each other will need space for themselves at some point. We like to ensure that every office fitout has a meeting room, often with sound acoustic walls to block out noise, but with a glass partition to provide natural light. Having individual work pods are also a great idea for those who need to knuckle down and get their work done completely distraction free.

Bring the Outside, In

With many offices being based in urban environments, it’s easy for staff to feel detached from natural elements such as sunlight and plants. Lack of natural elements in the workplace is linked to a decline in wellbeing, productivity and creativity; three things that should never be compromised. Human Spaces even reported that workers in office environments with natural elements such as greenery and sunlight report a 20% increase in well-being, are 4% more productive and 30% more creative. Therefore, it’s a good idea to incorporate these into your office space to create a connection to nature. The best way to do this is to purchase some planter top units and indoor plant walls to incorporate greenery, as well as positioning workstations in spots that get the most amount of natural light.

Go for Glass

At IC Corporate interiors, we love to use glass partitions to create opportunity for light and a sense of space. Installing glass partitions can completely transform an office where there might have previously been walls or opaque finishes. Glass allows for light to flow through from other rooms and windows, reflecting a glow on the glass and giving the office a warm ambiance. Again, a spacious, light filled, and open office is energising, increases productivity and boosts mood. Glass walls are genius in finding the perfect balance between separation and open plan working.

A Touch of Luxury

It’s rare that the words “office” and “luxury” would be mutually exclusive, but they are now more than ever. Having a few luxury finishes in your office can really help take it to the next level, leaving a good first impression on clients and other visitors. Most importantly though, it will impress your staff who will feel valued and appreciative of the beautiful environment they get to work in. Some of our favourite finishing touches at IC Corporate are to add brass trims to joinery, choose luxe, good quality upholstery fabrics and flooring that isn’t the traditional speckled office grey.

IC Corporate Interiors specialise in modern office fitouts and custom office design. To obtain your free measure, quote and design advice, call us on (03) 8802 9630.