Whether your business is growing, or your office is just in need of a makeover, renovating your office space is a great way to breathe new life into the workplace. A new office can help improve morale, impress clients, and simply look amazing, but you’ll need to make a plan of action before getting started. Here are some top tips for renovating your office space.
1. Plan carefully
You’ll need to have a plan A and a plan B in place before getting started. It’s crucial that you have proper and smart planning for the early stages of your renovation if you want it to be a success. It’s also important to set yourself specific goals and have a proactive approach to your construction process. Know exactly what it is that you want to come from the renovation. Your project manager has to have a clear idea of what you want the final product to look like too. By setting this out in the early stages, you’ll have a better chance of completing all aspects of the project on time.
It’s imperative that you have a contingency plan in place in case things don’t pan out as intended. Include an extra 10% into your budget for the renovation costs and this should cover most setbacks. If you plan ahead and include this, then the whole process will seem easier for all parties involved and decrease any risk of unexpected issues from occurring.
2. Consider the layout
You should take the office layout into consideration if you want to encourage cooperation amongst your employees. You don’t want people who may work together to be cut off due to a poor layout. Open-plan offices are becoming extremely popular for this precise reason. Having a suitable layout equipped with the right sort of furniture, such as desks that accommodate more than one worker (you can find some examples of these at https://www.officemonster.co.uk/office-desks-1, can help boost productivity and enhance teamwork. Make sure you have enough breakaway spaces too for those all-important meetings. You must also bear in mind the health and safety aspect if you plan to give your office space a complete overhaul – or indeed a new space altogether. It could be that you are simply improving potential health and safety hazards, such as old carpets which are a huge source of bacteria and can compromise the well-being of your staff.  When looking at layout you should also pay attention to the environment of the spaces and look into commercial air conditioning installation if necessary.Â
3. Check the electricity
Depending on how extensive the work is, you may have to consider the electric connections within the building. Sometimes, work you plan to carry out will mean moving your electric meter and fuse box. However, you must make sure you don’t move it yourself. Why? Yep, you guessed it; this is also illegal. Usually, if it’s a move of fewer than 15 centimeters, this can be carried out by your energy supplier free of charge. But for larger-scale moves of over three meters, your local distribution company would have to move your mains supply before the electricity meter can be placed elsewhere. If this is something you require, make sure you book the relevant appointments to avoid long delays.
4. Focus on aesthetics
Planning is key, but you should also consider how the office will look. Did you know that the colour of your walls, for example, can make a huge difference? Here are a few examples:
- Blue can have a calming effect and help in concentration levels.
- Yellow and orange are said to be great colours if you want to get the creative juices flowing.
- Green is a colour you should be wary of, as different shades can have both positive and negative connotations.
- All white offices are thought to be the worst to choose, as they tend to give off a sterile or clinical feeling which can hinder productivity.
Perhaps you could embellish the walls with your company’s mission statement. They can prove to be an effective way to showcase your values while being a reminder for colleagues to carry them out. Also, look to incorporate flowers and plants into your space. This can enable your office to be visually pleasing, which can help the office’s vibe stay uplifted. It’s also important to make it an attractive space for when you show clients where you are based. For example, how can you sell your product if you’re not proud of it? Your office space is an add-on to this. First impressions can be made within seven seconds, according to research, so it’s vital that you provide the best opportunity to come across how you’d like to be portrayed. Your office’s renovation should incorporate your brand to show your clients that you want your business to be noticed. This is extremely important to those in the creative sector.
Refurbishing your office can be a huge task. However, by planning correctly and thinking about the decoration too, it can be a project that is extremely rewarding. Follow the above steps and you will find yourself well on the way to having that perfect office space for you, your colleagues, and potential clients.