The days of drab, gray offices filled with rows of boring identical cubicles are long gone. These days employees want a workspace that they enjoy being in boosts their creativity and productivity, and makes them proud to work for your company. Not only that, having an attractive office is crucial for making a good first impression on clients who visit your business.
So, how do you achieve this goal? Read on to discover five effective ways to enhance the look of your office building. Your workplace will be transformed in no time!
1. Upgrade the exterior
Before you get to the office interior, it’s important to make sure that the outside of the building looks its best. For instance, this could involve having elegant cast stone entrance features or window surrounds installed or landscaping the garden area if the premises has one. The exterior of your office building is the very first impression people will have of your company, so it’s vital to get it right.
2. Choose color wisely
Moving to the interior of your office, color is a surprisingly important consideration. When you’re looking at painting the walls or laying down carpet, think about the psychological impact of the shades you choose. For example, oranges and yellows can be energetic, blue tends to have a calming effect, and green can promote creativity. It’s best to avoid the traditional style of having everything in dull gray, as this can sap positivity. Even if you can’t alter the color of your walls or floor, try adding bright pops of blues and yellows to bring personality to the space.
3. Add some greenery
There’s now lots of research out there showing that having plants in the office brings a huge number of benefits. These include increased productivity, higher levels of staff happiness, improved creativity, and better focus. Don’t worry about the challenge of keeping them alive – there are plenty of species that require very little maintenance and are practically impossible to kill! Alternatively, even artificial plants can have a positive impact on the look of your office building.
4. Embrace natural light
Filling a space with natural light is a fantastic way to make it feel more welcoming, bright, and open. So if your office building has lots of large windows, try not to keep the shades down (you may have to rearrange some desks to avoid glare on people’s computer screens). Natural light can also help to relieve eye strain and improve mood. If your building doesn’t get much natural light, try using soft, warm lighting rather than harsh, cold bulbs.
5. Keep it clean
Enhancing the look of your office building is not all about renovating and redecorating. One of the simplest yet most effective steps to take is simply making sure it’s clean and free of clutter. Employ a cleaning team to ensure this is done to a professional standard, and encourage staff to keep their own desks neat and tidy. To reduce clutter, try to store unused equipment and furniture somewhere out of sight, switch to digital rather than paper systems wherever you can, and keep spare stationery and other supplies in a well-organized manner.