How to Arrange Office Furniture: Our Top Tips

Arranging office furniture is easier than it may seem. Simply keep this checklist in mind before you begin:

Keep the entryway clear
Create visual balance
Don’t take up all of your wall space
Be conscious of traffic flow

That sounds easy enough, but what does it all mean? Not only will arranging your office furniture in the right way make the space look better, but creating a more open and airy space can actually help you feel better while you work. It may even help reduce stress. Learn more about how to follow these tips below.

1. Keep the Entryway Clear

Your entryway should have as few pieces of furniture near it as possible. Crowding the entryway can visually shrink the space and interrupt traffic flow. Place visually heavy objects such as your desk and bookshelves away from the door to create the illusion of having more space. This places large items away from your eyes when you first walk into the room, giving you a better view of the entire space.

2. Create Visual Balance

Distribute visual weight throughout the room to make the space feel balanced. In other words, don’t put all of your furniture in one corner of the room and leave the other end of the room with a blank wall and no furniture at all. You can also create visual balance with your décor. If you’ve got your desk and bookcases at one end of the room, try hanging large statement art on the opposite wall to achieve balance.

3. Don't Take Up All of Your Wall Space

This step may be tricky if you’re working with a smaller space, but, if possible, try to avoid pushing all of your furniture up against the walls. To make better use of the space and give the room more fluidity, place your desk in the middle of the room. If you must place your desk against a wall, put your guest chairs out in the open instead. The right amount of open wall space will make the room seem larger than an overly cluttered space.

4. Be Conscious of Traffic Flow

Don’t arrange furniture so that people struggle to get around it. Not only is it irritating, but working in a cramped room can cause you to feel more stress. Not to mention, it can be a fire hazard in an emergency. When creating an office floor plan, our designers always create a minimum of a 3-foot wide walkway. Rather than placing furniture pieces across the whole floor and decreasing walkway space, try doing the opposite. Placing bookcases and filing cabinets close to your desk will keep walkways open, creating a space that’s easy to move in.

Design & Innovation

Tips for Keeping Your Office Furniture Looking Good & Working Smoothly

Office furniture is an investment. It’s important to protect this asset by performing routine maintenance. Let’s look at ways to keep your office furniture looking good and working smoothly.

Tips for Maintaining Office Chairs

Tighten screws and bolts on your office chairs every 6 months. A little maintenance goes a long way, and it’s easy to remember if you tie office upkeep to another event, like changing the clocks for the start and end of daylight saving time.

Many chairs have armrests that can break if you lean on them to lever yourself into or out of your chair. They are designed as a place to rest your arms, not to withstand a lot of pressure or weight.

It’s also important to ensure the arms are adjusted to the right height. If you have armrests that are not movable, don’t get too close to your desk—bumping into a wood desk can create unsightly damage to both the desk and the chair.

Tips for Maintaining Desks

Whether your desk surface is wood veneer, laminate, or metal, you’ll have to clean and dust it to keep it looking good. For all desks, regardless of surface, use a dry cloth for dusting and a damp cloth for cleaning.

Mild soap is typically OK on all finishes. Be sure to check with the manufacturer before using any harsh chemicals. The wrong cleaner can ruin stains and finishes in seconds, which can be difficult or impossible to repair.

In addition to the basics, wood veneer desks can handle mild cleaners, like wood oil soap. Spray dusting and cleaning products can leave streaks or damage the finish.

Laminate finishes vary in how they are manufactured and how they are applied to the desk surfaces. Some can tolerate an ammonia-based spray window or multi-surface cleaner. Still, others cannot, so it’s important to read the care instructions included with your desk, ask the manufacturer, or stick with a cloth dampened with water only.

Steel or painted metal finishes are best-cared for with simple dusting and mild soap.

Do or Don't? Personalizing Your Office or Cubicle

Offices and cubicles everywhere have a pretty general decorative theme: picture frames of the family, friends, and maybe a beloved pet with a few knickknacks thrown in for some lighthearted charm. It is a simple decorating scheme but enough to make you feel a little more at home—a little bit more like it’s your space. Additionally, some individuals decorate their workspaces more fully with a “home away from home” mindset.

Some include a motivational component along with these decorations. Maybe you have a picture of a place you are saving up to visit. Or maybe you have a motivational poster or quote on display that reminds you to stay focused and work hard. It’s a small thing, and everyone is different, but everyone seems to want to work in a space that inspires them, which is why we decorate.

However, research shows that despite how we might feel about our personalized working spaces, our coworkers or bosses may view us differently because of it. This research, performed by University of Michigan Ross School of Business professors Jeffrey Sanchez-Burks and Susan Ashford, suggests that the more personalized an individual’s workspace may be, the less professional we consider that individual.

Perhaps the most interesting finding of the study is that this only seems to apply in the United States, suggesting something cultural is encouraging this impression. It’s difficult to pinpoint an exact cause, but it left us wondering about our workspaces and the workspaces of those around us.

Company culture can greatly impact the level and balance of office personalization. In fact, some offices have policies that limit or allow only a small amount of desk personalization. Do you think this is an appropriate measure?

Office Design Mistakes

Moving into a new office building? Giving your corporate space a makeover? Although rehabilitating your office interior can be tons of fun, be careful that you don’t fall victim to one of these common design mistakes.

Measuring Inaccurately

Before jumping into the office design process, properly measure your space to ensure that you get the right furniture and décor. Measure to make sure that your new furniture will fit in your office and that it will fit through your door.

If you’re working from a small home office, a large, fully assembled executive desk may not be the best option. On the other hand, if you’re working in a large executive space and fill it with short bookcases, a compact desk, and small wall art, you’ll make the room look out of proportion. Be sure to also measure walkways so you know you’ll be able to walk around your workspace freely once all of your new furniture is set up and ready to use.

Ignoring Lighting

The lighting in your office will greatly affect your mood and, thus, your productivity and level of focus. Because natural light is the best light, try to place your desk near a window so you can reap the benefits of the sun during daylight hours. When it comes to artificial light, just be sure your work area is well illuminated so you aren’t straining to read paperwork.

Picking the Wrong Color Scheme

In design, color is everything. Avoid super-bright tones, as they will make your eyes sore by the end of the work day. Blue is the most productive color, but neutrals with just a pop of your favorite color are always a good choice. Make your color choices interesting without being too intense and calming without being too dull.

Taking on More Than You Can Handle

When it comes to your office renovation, don’t bite off more than you can chew. You may want the dream office you saw on HGTV last week, but taking on a huge project without the proper skills and tools can lead to serious disappointment. If you don’t know your limitations from the beginning, you will likely take shortcuts to get the job done; the finished product will leave a lot to be desired.

Setting an Unrealistic Budget

Along with knowing your physical limitations for your office rehab project, be sure your finances are in order before pulling out your credit card. Between the furniture, carpeting, décor, and unexpected renovation needs, revamping a home or corporate office be a burden on your budget. Decide how much money you can allocate to each element of your renovation before you begin purchasing products and supplies to ensure that you don’t go overboard. Remember, no matter how well you plan out your renovation, unexpected costs will almost always pop up. Be sure to set aside a little extra cash for just such needs.

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