Running a start-up is no piece of cake. While finding and fostering fresh talent is an important strategy to march forward, your office space is another hot selling point. Your office speaks for your brand, and you cannot let it be another catalogue from a magazine by cluttering it up with contemporary furniture. At the same time, keeping your workforce motivated and comfortable should be a priority, while not wasting away on investments. Here are a few furniture trends that promote a wholesome attitude, while keeping the workplace quirky and full of fun!
1) Keep it homely!
It is common knowledge that comforts foster creativity. Furniture designs are therefore more inclined towards experience rather than aesthetics. With the lines between work and leisure blurring increasingly, this trend is also surfacing in the sphere of furniture. High chairs and long tables in meeting rooms are being replaced by cozy bean bags. Throw in fabrics such as velvet for extra comfort.
2) Go old school, quite literally
There are some interior design trends that will always hold water. Vintage is always winning hearts because of the weight of the nostalgia it brings with it, apart from theirsense of timelessness. With the revolutionary styles kicking in, classroom furniture is trending among office space furniture options. With little to no changes made to its appearance, since the 40s or so, vintage classroom furniture has become a style of its own. Desks, stools and chairs are a nice, edgy addition to a start-up.
3) Breaking the walls
Non enclosed meeting spaces are very much the calling. Conventional partitioning of cabins with walls is now taking the back seat. Instead, acoustic panels, bamboo walls, metal display cabinets are here to give your start-up space an edge. This also reflects transparency and a step towards promoting open culture. Wooden slats, carpet variances and colours, and basically soft furnishings and surfaces, ironically enough, also ensure as they allow for greater concentration or catch up with colleagues.
4) Dynamic Designs
Flexible layouts have been trending for the past few years and are definitely here to stay. A start-up is an ever evolving space, and furniture design is to be in tandem with the company’s changes. Multipurpose chairs/couches, mobile room dividers and light weight pieces are more practical investments. Small lounge seats are also easily adaptable.
5) Make Way for Colours
Colour palettes are not for walls alone. The Pantone’s eight trend palettes for 2018 have brought in some interesting choices. The “resourceful” palette, which is a blend of blue and orange hues, helps keeping the ambiance of your workplace bright and fresh- mostly preferred by the bold go-getters. You may find yourself attracted to the “intricacy” palette which holds a futuristic look with its perfect, polished approach. Choosing bright colors for storage pieces, chairs, fabrics, floor coverings, etc can take you places!
Furniture and decor is the most basic forms of non-verbal expression. Be clever and represent your start-up in the most authentic of ways!