Tag Archives: home office furniture

Evolution of the Office Space and the Work Life balance

The workplace has been changing over the decades from office rooms, to partitions and cubicles, moving on to open space offices, and now going towards hot-desking areas used by executives with their own lap-tops. Even the home office users are on the verge of converging their home office with home living with new high-tech devices and trends such as integrated home cinema and home automation. Computer usage such as Internet and email is now diluted between mobile phones, blackberry, miniature laptops and giant desktops and is now making ground through our TV screens as some of the main Internet websites can now be browsed on your super thin / flat / sharp latest hd tv screen.

At the same time tv is also bleeding into the Internet ever directing us to a web-page after a program or prompting us to watch the next episode on the tv channel website. Everything is merging, tv , computer, mobile devices, telephones. Everything is converging, work life and home life. Everything is one: entertainment & communication. The telephone is now on the Internet with Skype and voice over IP, the music is now accessible on TV and on the Internet in the form of downloads. Games can be played equally on computers and play stations wired to your TV.

So I ask myself in this ever-changing environment what will be the home office furniture of the future. It sure will need to be as versatile as our lifestyles. An office chair will have to be convertible in a lounge chair or a game chair, a desk will need to be modular (adjustable and extendable) as well as mobile (desk with wheels) and ergonomic. You can’t have an ergonomic desk without and ergonomic chair and that would be an Ergohuman

Any idea what tomorrow’s home office will look like?

Ergonomic Office Chair
 
Ergohuman

Office Colours

In branding and marketing colours are carefully chosen according to the psychological effects they may have on people. There is no doubt that the colours surrounding our daily life have a direct influence on our mood and behaviour. Some years ago when I was at University I was renting a room in a superb Victorian flat along Battersea Park. The room was very spacious but the owner had painted the walls in a dark deep red, which was unusual but did not put me off from moving in. However this year I became depressed and I am ashamed to say, lethargic, I think the colour had a negative influence on me. On the contrary my flatmate who had the yellow room was always happy and energised, the girl renting the blue room was relaxed and cool headed and the guy renting the dark green room was never there!

Equally, influence by colour can be used in the workplace. Companies with old and tired furnishing tend to look quite dull, compared to some of the new modern office designs, boasting bright ergonomic office chairs , modern desks and colourful office partitions . The positive use of colour is well-known in young internet companies as well as design and PR agencies – this goes beyond benefiting the company’s image, it truly promotes a creative environment. Google’s offices are well known for their coloured gym balls and funky office furniture, and even one of the first on site crèche. The psychology of colour is perhaps best measured in call centres where a buzzing/fast-paced environment is best stimulated with energizing colours rather than calming ones – expert advice from an experienced office fit-out consultant will do the trick to revamp a site.

As for me, as soon as I have finished the plastering, I am off to the paint shop to buy some bright yellow paint for my home office!
Watch this space!

Ergonomic Chair

Get Your Ergonomic Office Chair

Office Space Planning – Office Lay-out Ideas

It can be challenging to plan an office lay-out. Sometime a great number of desks have to be fitted in and all this requires planning and foresight. It’s not just about fitting the furniture, one should consider what type of work the office workers will have to perform so as to shape the office space to suit the purpose. Work that may require concentration such as IT programming or creative jobs are well performed with a desk position along a white wall. A white wall is a blank canvas that helps liberating your mind for imaginative thinking.

For dynamic team-work, pro-active and reactive tasks, cluster desks lay-outs are fantastic. Everyone facing one another creates a synergy and unity of the team that encourages communication between the workers. I once worked of a Chinese owned company and I remember how the office space planning was excellent, most workers had a clear view of the open space work-place and managers had their own private office behind glass partitions to keep an eye on staff. The customer service team of 4 were all facing one another in a cluster of workstation desks and working very hard indeed, most of the time with a jovial attitude. There is no doubt that the lay-out of an office can influence employees and company performance or spice up your home office so if you’re in charge of designing the new office lay-out, think carefully!

I am now working from home part time and now its time that I need to look at the layout of my own home office furniture so that I can also have a clear view..

Office Space Planning
 
Office Space Planning