Category: office

Considering the magnitude of some of the decisions taken around the conference table, it is no wonder that as a business, you need to pay attention to the styling and comfort of the boardroom. Just how do you create both a stylish and comfortable space, that is functional and practical?

The size of the boardroom table and seating

First, you need to determine the size of the meeting table that suits your needs. Clearly, it needs to be big enough to seat the number of people who will regularly gather around its perimeter. However, you may be limited by the dimensions of the room and you will also need other boardroom furniture too.

Seating around the table

You will need enough space for people to sit comfortably around the conference table. The rule of thumb is to allow 3 feet or around one metre of clearance between the back of the boardroom chairs when someone is seated on them to the nearest wall or object.

In other words, you need a pathway measuring 3 feet in width around the industrial table, allowing for ease of access and movement around the room. Clearly, placing a large sideboard could eat into this minimum corridor space so you will need to consider carefully where you place additional meeting room furniture such as the small display cabinet, console table and so on.

There is also a suggestion that at each short end of the boardroom tables, a clearance of 4 feet is left. As well as being practical, this also contributes to the setting of the boardroom.

TIP – with these dimensions in mind, mark out the minimum clearance ‘corridor’ around the edge of the room. You can now calculate the maximum dimensions of the table and boardroom chairs you opt for. This will also help in deciding the best shape of boardroom table too. The options include oval, round and rectangular.

What else is needed in the boardroom?

If you use the room regularly for internal and client meetings, there will be items you need on hand thus stylish furniture is a must, whether you choose reclaimed wood furniture or something different.

Reclaimed wood furniture is suitable for both domestic and business use, adding both style and versatile storage option for the boardroom.

Why not consider…?

• A small display cabinet or unit for awards or displaying products, as well as stylish accessories?

• Keeping technology and IT equipment stored for safe use in a sideboard? Opt for a large sideboard as a cupboard or one that has a combination of cupboard and drawer space. A sideboard is also ideal for stationery items too.

• A board room trolley or a slimline console table? Both are perfect as a refreshment station for teas, coffees and food too, great for meetings that last for some time.

Extra Chairs

As well as these extra items, you will also need to consider extra board room seating too. For many businesses, the realisation of the importance of workplace design means that a cohesive style is important. When you invest in boardroom chairs for around the table, consider opting for a few extra chairs too.

Is there anyone who has not known the shortcomings of an office chair? It is an integral part of the home office furniture set up and yet, we spend little time considering what we really need from a home office chair. Guided by price, we choose one that looks the part and yet, spend more than a few minutes sitting in it, and the lower back starts to grumble and we start to feel the first few aches of discomfort.

The truth is you can have a stylish office chair that offers support and comfort.

Height

An adjustable office chair is simply essential. Sitting at your home office desk at the right height stops you hunching your shoulders or placing an uncomfortable strain on your lower back.

The need for an adjustable home office chair is needed because we are all different in terms of our height, as well as finding the right position that is comfortable for us.

Adjustable and on castors for easy maneuverability, it is no wonder the Standford Grey Faux Leather Office Chair is one of our most popular in terms of sales.

Depth

How do you prefer to work – perched on the edge of your seat or sitting back into the depths of a chair? Again, it is about comfort but also supporting your skeleton as you work.

As well as standing and stretching from time to time, a deep seat to an office chair is critical for some people who perfect different tasks at the home office desk.

Material

In terms of style, the material is important but it is also important in terms of longevity. Once you’ve found your perfect office chair, it’s hard to let go.

There are options when it comes to the office chair, from the upholstered swivel office chair to the beauty and robustness of leather. And then there is faux leather, a synthetic equivalent of the real thing that offers even more robustness and longevity.

A leather office chair brings a style statement, as well as being perfect for those of us who buy once and enjoy for a lifetime.

 

It is predicted that by 2020, half of the UK workforce will spend some or all of the working week working from home, according to smallbusiness.co.uk. And that means more of us will be looking to create and decorate a practical and stylish home office with home office furniture. Just how do you achieve this?

Choosing a home office style

Just like the rest of your home, you want your home office to be stylish and practical. The industrial bespoke furniture style is a pleasing one, perfect for every room in the home, including functional spaces such as the home office.

Reclaimed wood furniture offers clean lines and practicality as well as warmth and a feeling of creating a room that is unique to you. The industrial home office is ideal and with a huge array of industrial furniture to choose from, creating the home office is a cinch.

The home office desk and chair

The desk is often the most important piece in the office and needs to fit with your needs. The home office desk doesn’t have to be huge with a foldaway design being perfect for the smaller home office – without compromising on style nor practical use.

You can, of course, always opt for a custom-sized industrial reclaimed wood desk, with a beautiful reclaimed wood top.

Maintain the industrial style with a leather office chair, opting for an adjustable and moveable chair to support you as you work and move around your home office.

Home office storage

We may work in a very different way today than we did years ago – there are far less paper and filing, for example in the modern office – but that doesn’t mean the home office doesn’t need storage. What it does mean is that storage needs are different.

The key to successful storage is accessibility. The easier and quicker we can retrieve an item and put it back again is the key to a tidy, functional home office.

With the home office desk and leather office chair in situ, you can begin the process of the furnishing the rest of the room.

Our top tips for furnishing a home office would include;

• Mixing shelving and cupboard space with an industrial display unit that offers both. A bookcase with doors is a fantastic investment.

• If you want less of an ‘office’ appearance, opt for more cupboards, such as a sideboard, that will hide away work paraphernalia. Soften the edges with a few well-chosen accessories.

• Ditch filing cabinets and other typical office furniture, choosing items that you would see in other areas of the home. The hallway console table, for example, makes a practical addition as a narrow desk.

Get colour-wise

Colour is important in any room but for the industrial home office, it plays a crucial part in adding both warmth and light.

Opting for lighter shades on the walls and ceilings will open up the room, with darker colours adding drama but pulling the walls in.

Keep the walls white or a very light shade of blue, cream or beige but add pings of colour with other items. A rug with pops of colour such as a yellow and grey rug will lift the room instantly or choose a darker colour that fits within the industrial style.

And finally, don’t forget to adorn the walls with your favourite artwork and choices. And don’t forget, a beautiful wall mirror would be ideal for bouncing around the light as well as being a statement piece.

Working from home brings many benefits, no more so than when the festive season gets into full swing. As well as being able to alter your working pattern to accommodate parties and events, you can also have fun decorating your home office. Take a look at our stunning, yet simple ideas for adding a touch of festive cheer and aplomb to the home office.

Cosy Christmas accessories

Christmas decorations don’t always have to be tinsel, baubles and Christmas trees. We love the natural look, a perfect complement to the reclaimed wood home office furniture in this snug home office.

It takes a while to notice the decorations because the room looks so snug with plenty of texture and soft lighting. As well as a few accessories dangling from the pendant lampshade, there are also some pretty accessories, such as the miniature Christmas tree on the table.

Elegant and understated, this is a fantastically warm and welcoming home office.

Update your wall art

Wall art is great for any home office, inexpensive to add and update from time to time. Swapping your usual choice for a few festive additions is great for adding a festive touch. If you don’t want to change your current art, simply opt for a plain black frame and a simple Christmas print and prop up on the mantelpiece, industrial shelving or on the small sideboard, perfect storage for the home office.

Add greenery with small, artificial trees

The one Christmas decoration that we think is perfect whether you are big into Christmas decorations or not is the small, artificial Christmas tree.

Sitting on its small disc of wood, the miniature tree with pretty snow-tipped firs is ideal for any home office. In the grey of winter, they add a dash of colour. And when you haven’t got a lot of space, a cluster of three trees won’t get in your way, even on a small computer desk or on your industrial shelving unit.

Team it with a white accessory such as this small classic porcelain house and you have a picture-perfect festive scene! Spray the bases of the trees gold for an extra kick of glamour!

Have a small, real Christmas tree!

There is nothing to say that you cannot have a real Christmas tree in your home office – quite the opposite in fact.

Like most people, you probably don’t spend the whole working day sitting at your industrial desk. Reclining in your leather office chair to read important papers or to have ‘thinking time’, brighten up the landscape in your home office this Christmas with a real Christmas tree.

There are smaller, miniature ‘living’ trees that would make the ideal addition. Add a few lights and a bauble or two, if you feel inspired, or stick with the ‘au naturel’ appeal with pine cones and pretty ribbons.

And when Christmas has passed, dig a hole in your garden, add a little compost or organic matter, plant your Christmas tree and watch it grow from the office window.

The option of working from home is something which many commuters idolise. After all, there’s no traffic at the end of a long, busy day and it’s a pleasant environment to work within being surrounded by all your creature comforts. But it is really important to create a practical space to complete a day’s work in which will inspire productivity. Here are a few of our ideas to create the perfect home office setup!

The desk and chair combination is undoubtedly the most important feature of a home office, providing a space for you to work from! We think the desk is something you can afford to have a bit of fun with – that’s why we love our Aviator Desk! The unique aeroplane wing shape and structure built entirely from metal epitomises industrial design and just looks fantastic in any contemporary space.

To go with it, a leather office chair is a great option. Adding comfort and style with ease, something like the Aviator Wing Desk Chair will hopefully make your day at work that little bit easier.

Once you’ve found the perfect desk and chair combo, the placement of it in a room is also important. Perhaps you’ve got a lovely large window with a stunning view which you could look out of as you carry out your work. Or perhaps you’ve got a fantastically large home office where your executive desk can sit at the centre and really make a statement. Having a floating desk is certainly a fabulous idea if you conduct meetings at home. Add a leather armchair or two on the other side of your desk and you’ve got a luxurious, stylish and functional space for meetings – we love these brown leather armchairs because they offer classic style but blend so effortlessly with more contemporary designs.

Another item which is immeasurably important in a home office is storage space. There is nothing worse for productivity than a messy home office or a desk piled high with paperwork. A large sideboard is a great option at home, because it is far more stylish than a metal filing cabinet, and is capable of holding all manner of office essentials.

But furniture alone isn’t enough to create a particularly inspiring space, making accessories your best friends. Lighting is something which can make or break your room. But a gorgeous pendant light like the Bibury Light will look fantastic in any space adding a fantastic warm glow and a really opulent feel. If you have the space, the Bibury light hanging directly above your desk would just look superb.

Additionally, a Copperfield rug, like this one, is great for adding warmth, texture and a pop of colour to your space. Available in plenty of sizes, a rug like the Mad Men Coppertone Rug could be used to almost entirely cover your floors to create a statement or could float in the centre providing just enough space to sit your desk and chairs on top of. It’s a really easy accessory which just looks so effortlessly glam!

How have you styled your space to create a stylish home office? We’d love to see photos!

Working from home is something more and more of us are opting to do. And no wonder – the combination of working and home life can be balanced, although sometimes the scales drop in favour of one or the other.

But clearly, creating a space that is ‘the office’ is somewhat essential. But getting it right can be harder said than done.

Start with… THE DESK

Whether you are sat at a desk typing or making phone calls or need a space to do your paperwork every now and then, the desk is an essential piece of kit in the home office.

But a one-size-fits-all approach to a home office desk is not the right approach because what suits you, won’t suit another home worker. And what fits in your allotted workspace may not fit into another.

And so, when it comes to a customised industrial desk choose one that meets YOUR needs and the DIMENSIONS of your office.

But consider… THE LIGHT

We can often be driven by the shape and size of the room to place the desk in a spot where it means we are working in shadow.

Ber very conscious of where natural light is – you want plenty of it but not satin harsh, glaring sunlight for part of the day – and what ambient light you will need to add to make it a workable space.

Be conscious of… STYLE & FUNCTION

If you welcome clients into your home office, you need to be extra conscious of the impressions the home office leaves on them. And that means getting clever with;

·Storage and organisation – the chaos of piles of papers and documents may not be the impression you want to convey but (here’s the great news!), metal filing cabinets, irksome and awkward in shape and size, are no longer the only option. Opt for reclaimed wood furniture that doubles as hand storage in the office, complete all the warmth, style, and the beauty of wood.

·Seating – as well as your own ergonomic desk chair, you will want seating for your clients. Make sure you have plenty if you expect groups of people to call in or for smaller, 1-2-1 sessions choose an informal but comfy modern armchair.

Spend time… ON STYLE

Décor is important. It stimulates as much as it soothes, whilst allowing for function and form in the home office.

The small touches matter just as much as when you work on your own as when you share the space or when you have clients or visitors in your office.

Small touches can be anything from plants to a reclaimed wood coffee table with storage because can we ever have too much storage in the office?

Don’t forget… OPEN SHELVING

Books, sculptures and other items on display can be the perfect foil in the business meeting setting. There is a saying within interior design relating to commercial or business spaces – and certainly when designing the industrial style office – and that is personality, not personal.

So yes, add quirkiness and character but without adding the family portraits and the cute photos of the dog. Why not opt for an industrial shelving for those ‘bits and bobs’ or to showcase your work that adds character? Or opt for a stylish bookcase, for example, that is a talking point in itself…

The home office should be anything but boring – how do you plan on styling yours?

If you take a quick look at business offices online, you’ll notice that they have a lot in common; they’re streamlined and clean, sometimes perhaps verging on clinical. A great first impression is vital when it comes to a long-standing relationship with clients.

But to achieve that, you don’t have to go with bright white office furniture which seems devoid of all personality. Making a statement with colour and quirky furniture, especially if your business presents itself as fresh and modern, may be just as effective when it comes to first impressions.

We’ve recently expanded our aircraft inspired Aviator range, which we think is absolutely perfect if you’re looking for industrial style furniture with wow-factor which is still tremendously practical.

Desk Space

Arguably, having enough space to work at is the most important thing when it comes to furnishing an office. These days, there are plenty of ways of doing it.

Of course, you can opt for a standard single-desk arrangement (these Aviator Half Wing Desks would look incredible lining each side of an office in a smaller company). However, this is potentially an expensive way of doing things if you need to buy a lot of desks.

At Modish Living, we’re big fans of the community culture which a conference table inspires. Something like the Aviator boardroom table is absolutely perfect to sit lots of staff around (particularly great if you operate a hot desk system). If you need to sit a lot of people, you could even push two of these tables together to create a great team working atmosphere.

Seating

The new brass colour available in the Aviator collection is stunning when paired with leather. The warmth in the metal is really brought out by the rich colour of brown leather and makes for a truly spectacular pairing.

A comfortable leather office chair is great for creating a stylish space which is also uber practical. After all, there’s nothing worse than spending 8 hours sat on the world’s most uncomfortable chair!

However, additionally, if you often have clients popping in for a chat, a small seating area is a great idea; a couple of the brown leather armchairs look fantastically impressive and they are wonderfully comfortable. Perhaps you could even pair with the Aviator Coffee Table to create a snug area in your office where you can converse with clients over a cup of tea and a biscuit or two.

The industrial furniture collection also looks fantastic as home office furniture, creating an inspiring workspace you won’t mind being in for many hours at a time. Paired with more traditional furniture pieces, one or two items from the Aviator collection is set to become a fantastic centrepiece.

Creating the Look

When it comes to decorating an office, it’s important you consider the image you want to create when anyone walks through the door. With pieces as statement as the Aviator collection, you may wish to keep it simple with the rest of the space; think wooden flooring, soft grey walls and minimal decorations.

Alternatively, to really amp up the industrial styling, a faux brick on one wall of your office would look fantastic. Perhaps you could even add those industrial lights which spell out the name of your company along the wall or add a collection of unique, second-hand mirrors to create a stunning feature.
What do you think of our stunning new Vintage Jet Brass pieces?

A stylish office and workspace can be the stimulation that we need to reach our work goals. For those of us that spend several hours a week sat at a desk, doing so at what that is both stylish and ergonomic is a critical factor in our choice.

And so we took to Houzz and Instagram, polling our followers on which choice they preferred for their home office furniture – the industrial desk or the traditional style desk.

We gave two choices – the ever-popular Oldman desk as the industrial option or the pedestal, traditional styled Colette writing desk.

We Asked, You Answered

The Oldman desk has always been popular and this popularity shows no sign of waning hence. Although the traditional Colette writing desk gathered a cluster of votes, it was not enough. The industrial style Oldman desk, with its strikingly stunning simplicity, came out on top.

Is one better than the other?

As with most of our polls, it is a question of your likes and dislikes. There is rarely one item better than the other and this is certainly true in the case of the Oldman desk and the Colette writing desk.

However, there are a few things you need to consider;

Smaller home office? The Oldman could be the answer

There is no denying the beauty of the Colette reclaimed wood desk but if you don’t have much space, you may find it looms too large in the space, swamping it despite its beauty.

The Oldman industrial desk is perfect as the small office desk simply because it can be made to a custom size. And because it has the open frame, it doesn’t block the room either.

Want a little individuality? The Oldman desk could be the answer

As well as custom sizes, there are custom finishes too as you can specify the colour of the Oldman desk frame too. So if you want an individually styled desk why not opt for the Oldman?

Want to make a statement? The Colette home desk could be the answer

We understand that sometimes, you want to make a style statement by opting for a piece that has a presence in both its size and finish. The Colette writing desk is a piece of reclaimed wood furniture that is beyond exquisite. And because it is made from reclaimed wood, there is a uniqueness to each piece that makes each one a sheer delight for any home office.

Enjoy a comforting style in the home? The Colette writing desk is just one solution

For many us, it is the warmth and appeal of wood that attracts us to the traditional style. The Colette reclaimed wood desk is just one option of many in our range of desks that would meet your expectations. Perfect with a statement leather chair, the Colette writing desk is a thing of beauty and for comfort too.

Which is best – the industrial Oldman desk or the Colette writing desk?

Both offer an ergonomic platform from which to work in your home office. Both hold their own against a leather office chair and both work well with the latest tech that tends to sit atop the home office desk.

Both have a stunning beauty all of their own so your choice is a real tough one…