Top 6 Office Furniture Trends 2017

The days of cramped interiors with isolated work cubicles are long gone, with businesses striving for the future proof office. Companies want to look forward with creative office interior design that perfectly captures their culture and branding, and what better way to do that through your office furniture?

From funky office pods to technology, we count down the latest office furniture trends that are a must for your interiors.

Office Pods

Office pods have been a growing office furniture trend over the last couple of years due to the many benefits they bring, including:

• More Choice – More companies are now allowing their employees to decide how they want to work to increase productivity. Introducing an office pod is great for those who work better in quiet conditions.
• Peace and Quiet – Acoustic pods are specifically designed to block out distracting noise, which is great for concentration.
• Privacy – If you’ve got an important meeting planned, then chances are will be discussing a lot of sensitive information. A private zone is therefore essential to prevent legal or ethical issues.
• Modernity – If you’ve got a team of tech-savvy millennials, then creating modern, vibrant workspace is important for both morale and retention. Office pods are very contemporary, which has contributed to their rise in popularity.

Perhaps the biggest strength of the office pod, however, is its versatility. Pods can be easily moved around and placed anywhere in your office interiors, making them highly customisable. They also come in a variety of shapes, sizes and styles, so working them into your overall office interior design will be a seamless process.

Banquette Booths

Banquette booths are ideal if you’re looking to revamp your breakout area. They bring a cool cafe vibe to your office interior design, which makes for a more social environment during your break. They also create an ideal environment for speaking to clients or interviewing new talent.

Banquette booths aren’t for every space, however. If your office is too small it can be difficult to bring in a balance of booths and office desks. It is therefore important to look at your current office space planning before deciding on whether to include this into your space.

Lounging Around

Happy staff are productive staff, and introducing a funky open lounge area is a great morale-booster. Being confined to a desk all day is not ideal, so an open lounge provides a getaway area where employees can kick back and relax.

The great thing about introducing an open lounge area is that you can get creative with the furniture. For example, you can introduce soft sofas and beanbags for a really relaxing environment. This is a great way of making your staff feel welcome, and will help to re-energise them before work commences.

Rap Tip – For a really funky lounge area, bring in fun activities such as ping pong or snooker.

Technology

Technology is continuing to become more mobile and integrated into our lives, so much so that it’s becoming a big part of our office furniture. Office interiors are becoming more and more wireless over the years, and a perfect example of this is technology desks.

Tech desks hide away those pesky, unattractive cables by having them integrated into the desk. This makes it perfect for dealing with the typical office clutter. With cable management like this, pristine office desks are a guarantee.

Another great development that marries technology and office furniture solutions is the ability to charge wherever in the room. USB ports aren’t just in your typical computer anymore, they can be found in your office desks and chairs.

Shared Storage

Storage is no longer a clunky and bulky piece of furniture that’s an eyesore for the entire office. New storage solutions have evolved – not just on a practical level – but on an aesthetic office interior design level too. Although functionality is still priority with office storage, styles have developed with finishes that are truly eye catching.

Storage is also moving into a more shared environment, where traditional under the desk pedestals are becoming a thing of the past and larger shared storage units are being introduced. Shared storage units are not only used to improve office space planning, but also to divide up desks.

Customisation

One of the latest office interior design trends to develop has been the ability to customise your space whenever you want.  Employees are tired of being tied down to an office desk, and instead are looking for more freedom with how they work.

Sit-to-stand workstations are living proof of that, as you’re able to choose whether you want to be in your seat or if you want to stretch your legs by working standing up. These aren’t just great for letting your employees choose how to work, they’re also ideal for if you ever want to rearrange your office interiors.

Rap Interiors are an award winning office design company with 25 years of experience. If you want to find out more about the latest office furniture solutions, contact us on 0333 600 1234 or email us at refurb@rapinteriors.co.uk