7 Awesome Office Design Trends You Should Know About
When it comes to your office, you want it to feel like your home away from home: after all, you’re spending most of your day there, so it should feel and look amazing. Several office design trends are gaining popularity among professionals who want to redesign their office in 2017 and beyond. These are designs that promote productivity, focus, and comfort, plus they look great. Take a look at seven of the best modern office design trends and think about adopting a few into your own workplace.
Trend #1: Impermanence of Layouts
In the past, offices were rigidly designed. They had specific parameters that the designers had to follow, and walls were often put up for good. Today, however, layouts are much more impermanent. This is due not only to the changing nature of the office environment—how quickly people leave, for example—but also to the desire of many office managers to make their workplace a more dynamic and collaborative place.
Trend #2: Keeping the Wires Hidden
Today’s digital world means that working with a computer in the office isn’t an option: it’s a requirement. But with everyone in the office working on their laptops, desktops, and smartphones or other mobile devices, there’s a whole mess of wires that any designer will have to contend with. Today’s office design trends feature creative solutions that hide these unsightly wires.
Trend #3: Texture Diversity
Using bold, diverse textures in your office (provided it’s permitted, of course) is a great way to not only create a beautiful office space but also to show off your unique taste. Fun decorations can inspire you and your colleagues to think even more creatively!
Trend #4: Color Blocking
If diverse textures are a no-go in your office, color blocking can be a good way to add a creative pop. Bold colors send bold statements to both your employees and your clients. While it isn’t advised to put bold colors everywhere in your office, a few bold stripes of color (like, say, on the staplers or on the inbox) will do wonders to bring life to an otherwise dull office.
Trend #5: An Indoor/Outdoor Space
Bringing elements of the outdoors into your office space will give your workspace a fresh look and provide a natural, cozy feeling to your home away from home. Scott Lesizza, principal at Workwell Partners, encourages this idea in his designs as well. “Some of our favorite pieces and projects from the last year take a page from this trend, and also go hand in hand with one of the bigger trends: bringing the home into the office,” he said.
Trend #6: Communal Tables
Communal tables provide an opportunity for different workers to not only collaborate with one another but also to meet one another in a neutral, open platform. They’re also a great way to introduce more movement and flow into your workspace.
Trend #7: Designated Lounging Areas
Setting up areas dedicated to relaxation contributes to the “home away from home” nature of the modern workspace. Setting up these spaces doesn’t mean you promote slacking off, but that you value balance. By creating designated lounging areas for workers, management, and even clients, the office space becomes more welcoming, more relaxed, and more collaborative.
What are some of your favorite office design trends from this year? Have you tried any of these trends in your office? Comment and let us know!
