If you have a small office, you might be lamenting the fact that your office layout ideas are pretty limited.
We’re not going to lie - a small office does mean that you don’t have access to the full array of different layouts you can choose, but it doesn’t have to be a major barrier to creating a comfortable and productive space either.
The likelihood is that if you’re nodding along, you have one space, i.e. an open plan room but it’s not so large. You might also have windows in odd places or maybe a pillar in the middle of the room. No problem, you simply need to work with what you have and make the most of it.
To whet your appetite, check out this video which runs through a few small office layout ideas you might like to consider for your own space.
As you can see, there are are plenty of ways you can spice up your office, even if it’s quite small. A few other ideas include:
- Make use of corners - Corner desks are a great idea because these take up very minimal space and are ideal for small businesses. Obviously, you have four corners in a room, depending upon where the door is, and that means four desks from the get-go. The rest can be placed strategically to avoid too much disruption around the room.
- Open up the space with colour - A dark and small office is a pretty depressing place to be so you need to allow as much light in as possible and look towards bright decors. Natural light has an almost miraculous effect on a small office and this can create a more uplifting atmosphere.
- Try out bench desks - If you want to add in a sense of collaboration, how about opting for bench desks? These can run along the main wall, therefore giving you more space in the rest of the office and it takes a certain amount of the agile working idea into account. You’ll encourage employees to work together and communicate, whilst also saving space.
- Make use of your window space - walls which run under the windows can be used for storage. If the window is high enough and isn’t going to cause unnecessary glare, you could also have desks which face the wall and run along the window space, or facing away from the wall, again depending upon glare.
It’s about being creative and trying to do as much as you can with what you have. A small office doesn’t always have to be a downside - this means that your employees are closer together and as long as you do what you can to maintain morale, it will create an ‘all for one and one for all’ family feel to your office. This will do wonders for morale as everyone is pulling in the same direction and working towards a common aim.
However, the main issue you need to watch out for with small offices is safety. You cannot cram multiple office desks into a space and expect it to be safe. People can trip up, bang into desk corners and this is not going to create a happy space, and it’s also going to put people at risk of falls and injury. With that in mind, make sure that you utilise the space you have but make sure that there is more than enough room to walk around freely.
A combination office layout is a great idea if you have a relatively small office and perhaps other smaller rooms just off it. That means management can use those rooms, therefore taking some desks out of the main office, or you can dedicate those to quiet work or collaboration.
Again, it’s about thinking outside the box and doing what you can to brighten up the space and create a happy and productive feel.