Furniture trends change over time. How do you know which office furniture will meet your needs and which will miss the mark? Let's take a closer look at what's hot and not in contemporary office furniture.
Hot: Customization
Not: One-Size-Fits-All
If there's anything that's become abundantly obvious about office furniture over the past decade, it's this: it's anything but one-size-fits-all. If you're looking for the best office furniture for your particular needs, the operating words are clear: “your particular needs.”
Before investing in office furniture, consider the responsibilities of your employees, their workflow, and your overall corporate culture. Finding the right furniture is not just a matter of buying nice-looking desks, chairs, storage units, and cubicles; rather, it's a strategic measure designed to help you reach your business objectives.
The same principle applies to style. Trends will come and go, so making furniture purchasing decisions based entirely on the latest market whims is the opposite of savvy spending. Instead, consider the impression you want your office to make for everyone from clients to customers in order to making lasting purchases which support your comprehensive brand.
Hot: Adaptability
Not: Rigid Design
Successful businesses do not stay static: they change and evolve over time. This means your workforce changes too. Investing in office furniture that merely meets the needs of your current employees is a missed opportunity. Why? Because these employees will undoubtedly change in the months and years ahead.
Aside from the usual turnover, some departments will grow while others will shrink depending on the trajectory of your business. It's important to select office furniture that will grow with your needs as opposed to furniture destined to become outdated or obsolete.
Cubicles are a terrific example of the benefits of adaptable office furniture. While permanent walls restrict how you use a space, cubicles can be reconfigured in real time to meet your changing requirements.
Hot: Comfort and Convenience
Not: Stuffy and Fussy
Who doesn't remember the office furniture of the 1980s? Bosses sat behind stuffy, imposing oversized desks which were designed to convey power but did little to actually enhance their leadership capabilities. Lower-level employees, meanwhile, were often crammed into small, feature-less workspaces which were hardly more than cubbyholes.
Today's office furniture offers so much more. It is not designed just to make an impression or to minimize costs, but to offer a winning combination of form and function that can help keep employees engaged and satisfied.
Ergonomic furniture is particularly important in the modern workplace. Investing in the health and happiness of your employees is a win-win situation: employers reap benefits in everything from productivity to retention while employees feel valued and stay healthy.
Hot: Practical and Affordable
Not: Budget-Busters
Today's furniture comes at a broad range of price points. And in an economic climate in which every dollar counts, overpriced impractical furniture is the opposite of chic.
The best contemporary office furniture comes at a price you can afford — whether it's brand new, remanufactured or secondhand. Each option has its own advantages, and weighing these against your goals can help you refine your choices to find the best option for your business.
And don't forget to factor in functionality when pricing out furniture. Items with multiple functions — such as cubicles with built-in storage, task lighting, and other features — are money-savers in the long run because you won't need to buy additional pieces.
Hot: Sustainable
Not: Wasteful
More and more consumers are choosing to support businesses which prioritize eco-friendly practices. Companies which leverage their office furniture selections into an opportunity to show clients and consumers their enthusiasm for “going green,” will derive numerous benefits.
There are a number of ways to be eco-friendly when it comes to office furniture — from choosing products made with sustainable materials to investing in used or remanufactured pieces.
Ultimately, “hot” or “not,” may not be as clear-cut as it seems. After all, they're largely relative terms. However, these basic concepts can help you hone in on the contemporary office furniture that makes the most sense for your particular business needs. Need a hand making sense of it all? Cubiture's Houston-area professional space planners can evaluate your space and offer cutting edge solutions. Contact Us Today.
