5 commercial remodeling tips.

An open conference area...appealing yet easy care and hygienic.

Look closely at your office space. Many companies have working environments that are not conducive to effective work, nor to best serving their clientele.  What are the walls like? Are surfaces cold and hard? Is your floor layout difficult to navigate? Is the space able to accommodate future growth?  Considering these factors before embarking on an update or committing to a leased or purchased space is wise. As an after-thought, the cost to update may still be returned in more productivity, impress your clients, and lead to growth.

1. Add Color.   The simplest way to make an office appealing - considering safety and health as well as cost - is to add color. Gray, pea green and white are bland colors and while easy to maintain, the lack of color doesn't contribute to a feeling of well-being.  While blazing red walls may not be appropriate for a medical office, a palette of light earth-toned hues is right.  Color guides emotions, affects stress levels, and can impart elegance, sophistication and satisfaction.  With low odor and no VOC (volatile organic compound) paints, a wall color change will have a long-term beneficial impact on your air quality. For a complete update, new textiles, accessories, and plants create a new environment without structural work.


2. Reduce hard surfaces.  Use of hard surfaces including vinyl flooring, metal blinds, and the lack of upholstered furniture is unappealing and results in terrible acoustics. Care and safety/health are always primary considerations in selecting surfaces for commercial design. With new materials and surfaces that incorporate anti-microbial, anti bacterial, and moisture resistance, no-slip technology, and even air-purification, the reasons for using older surfaces are no longer valid. For high-impact, plants and water features are two additions that are inexpensive and easy. Depending upon your industry, when adding fabrics to windows, furniture, etc.. consider durability and flammability.

3. Space plan your main work area well.  If your reception area is your first exposure to your client base, then it should be the focus of a well-defined space plan.  For firms who don't see clients, and its employees are key to the company, designing common areas (including break rooms, conference rooms, etc..) for comfort will enable high quality, long-term use of your office space. Whether your key area is an environment for circuit board assembly or a waiting room for patients, the planning for that space will affect the long-term stability of your business. In the former example, without considering room for assembly line modifications (as a result of technological or other changes) or appropriate and private spaces for patient greeting and triage, overall corporate health will suffer.

4. Design your layout for work-flow.   Is your office ideal for the actual work-flow requirements?  Whether you are a law firm, a cosmetic surgery center, or have an assembly line,  you should consider the needs of your staff and clients based on peak work times so you can function optimally all the time. Generate a work-flow diagram so you can identify immediate and long-term space requirements; obtain input from staff involved in the work process. If your employees must use a common area repeatedly in their work cycle, or there is equipment that everyone shares, the placement of that area and equipment is critical to efficiency.  A quick cost-benefit analysis can also guide you as to whether a second area or additional equipment would be worth the expense.

5. Plan for the future.  Space plans for offices are often geared towards immediate need. Thoughts on layout and infrastructure as a result of future growth are often ignored. While you cannot plan for exponential expansion, the addition of a few new employees and new equipment should be considered. Certainly investments in technology show more immediate returns, but a lack of consideration for a new client base, an expanded department, and where to put them and the furnishings and equipment they require would be remiss if near-term growth is projected.