Throughout history, the boardroom or meeting room has traditionally been a space considered by most to be dark, dismal, and a little boring. No more! If you want to inspire great ideas and successful meeting outcomes, you need to focus on the office design and furniture in your meeting rooms, as well as the general feel of the space.
Dark meeting rooms do not inspire great ideas, and all they really do is put everyone in a low mood and make people want to fall asleep! That isn’t really what you’re looking for, and in that case you need to think about opening up your meeting rooms and choosing furniture materials which are light, comfortable, and which compliment the decor within the space. Making use of nature and art are also good ways to create a brighter, more upbeat feel in your meeting rooms, but it also comes down to how you set the room up,
e.g. where you place your conference table, and where your speakers or those giving presentations are going to stand.
First things first, ask yourself what the predominant use of your meeting rooms are. Do you have regular speakers coming in to give presentations? Are they more about collaboration and discussion? Having a clear aim in mind will help you choose the right layout for your particular business needs. Of course, you can move things around if need be also, and if you need extra furniture you could always look into the option of lease office furniture, if you have an ad hoc event.
Before we get into the nitty gritty of different layout choices, check out this video, which gives some very easy to follow advice on the main types.
As you can see, there are several main layouts of your boardroom conference tables and seating you can choose from, and it all depends on the function or event at hand.
If you regularly have speakers and presentations within your meeting space, perhaps making use of presentation technology, such as whiteboards and projectors, then you need to be sure that you place the podium or ‘stage’ close to the power points.
This will avoid trailing wires and a messy look to your space. A U shaped style is a good choice here, because this can easily be adapted to other types of meetings, e.g. regular discussion-style meetings being led by one person, or a theatre style. The problem with the theatre style is that it is only really going to work for large meeting rooms which require large numbers of people to attend gatherings.
Having a banquet or cabaret style means that you can incorporate a team working, collaborative feel to your meeting room, with boardroom chairs arranged in U shaped figurations around the tables. This means you can have a speaker at the front, without anyone having to turn around, or have their back to the front of the room.
Most businesses make use of the traditional boardroom style layout, e.g. a long table, or perhaps a circular table, with chairs arranged on all sides. This is the usual layout for a meeting which has an agenda, minute-taking, etc, and in this case everyone in the space can talk, without any issues around with being heard.
As you can see, it really depends on the type of meeting or get together you’re having, as to which type of layout is best.
Choosing the most common in your business will help you create a multi-functional space that will stand the test of time, and also save you money in terms of differing furniture types for different needs. If you have a meeting room which is an irregular shape, this needn’t be a huge barrier either. By having your tables at an angle, as in the V shaped layout, you can make use of the available space you have an still ensure that everyone can see and be heard in your meeting/conference.
A meeting room doesn’t have to be a dull and drab space. By thinking carefully about the specific layout you need, and dedicating a little time to the decor and lighting, you can create a space which is designed to inspire greatness!