Creating an office and office design isn’t all about the desks, the chairs, where to place the water cooler, and where you can go to make a coffee, it’s about the overall design, how it feels, and what sense or feeling it emits to those within it.
Think about it rationally, if you were working in a dull office, one which had no light, boring decor, and everything was just drab and uninspiring, would you feel like you wanted to be there? Would you want to give your all? Probably not. There are definite links to productivity, morale, and quality of work, when it comes to the way an office is designed and put together. It’s about the office furniture, it’s about the walls, it’s about the lighting, it’s about windows and how much natural light and view you can see, but it’s also about the flooring too.
Source: www.eastcoastfl.com/2015/07/choosing-the-best-commercial-flooring-type-for-your-business/
A floor isn’t just something to stand on, it’s not just a foundation on which to walk, it is part of the design of an office, and if you don’t get it right, it can ruin the whole look and feel.
Office flooring has to be functional, but it also has to look good, becuase anyone who goes into your office needs to have a killer first impression imprinted on their mind. Flooring needs to be hard-wearing, it needs to be easy in terms of cleaning and maintaining, it needs to be cost effective, and it also need to be super-durable, to stand up to the tests of time.
So, what types of flooring are possibilities for your new office design? Will you go for engineered wood flooring, carpets or have a pure mix of flooring options in your office? Let's get exploring!
There are many choices you can go with, and you could even mix it up and have different materials matched together, to create a truly bespoke look. After all, you might need different types of flooring in different parts of your office space. You can go with tiles, either vinyl or carpeted, you can go with laminate, how about a full carpet look, or you could opt for a stone floor. The choice really is yours, but you need to think carefully about your needs before you splash the cash on your final decision.
Why is Flooring Important?
We just mentioned what flooring needs to be, e.g. durable and hard-wearing, but why is it important? Isn’t a floor just a floor? No it isn’t!
A floor needs to serve the purpose of the area. So, it’s no good having a slippery marble stone floor at the entrance to an office which opens out directly onto the street. If its raining, people are going to walk straight in and end up falling over. In that case, you’d need to think about non-slip matting in addition to your marble floor. Another example is carpeting. Many offices go for this, but if you want to create a modern and contemporary look, a really energetic and co-working feel to your office, then carpeting isn’t going to cut it as well as a vinyl or tiled look might.
Flooring gives the right impression, and impressions are vital. Another thing to consider is office chairs. It might sound like a minor point to mention, but chairs with wheels don’t fly as well on carpeting as they do on tiles! If you have a collaborative working environment and people are always moving around, on foot or on chairs, then you need to let them move around as freely as they want!
Of course, at the end of the day, flooring is vital becuase it is the foundation of your office. You can’t place desks and printers on thin air!
How Does Flooring Fit Into Office Design
We know that a high quality, attractive and comfortable office will boost staff morale and therefore increase productivity, but how does a floor fit into that?
You can have the most attractive office decor but it can easily be ruined if the flooring doesn’t fit in with the overall design. As we mentioned, flooring needs to be right for the needs of those who are working within it, but in terms of aesthetics, a floor can really make or break an office design.
Flooring Design Tips
If you’re struggling to come up with inspiration for your flooring needs, check out these tips below.
Use Various Colours to Inspire Mood
Certain colours bring about certain moods. For instance, blue is known to be calming, red is known to be passionate, green is known to inspire creativity and so forth. If you have a collaborative area, you should go for a bright colour, one which will bring about conversation and team working. If you have an area which is designed for quiet working, why not go for a calming blue floor? The light will reflect up off the floor and as the natural light spills in, the colour of your flooring will have the desired effect.
Familiarise Yourself With The Different Types of Flooring
You can’t make a well informed decision unless you know all the options you have in front of you. For that reason, do your research into different flooring types before you opt for your final choice. Who knows, there might be a better option out there, which you haven’t thought about! Once you’ve done that, you can look into which types of flooring would match with the different parts of your workspace overall.
Never Overlook Mats
We mentioned earlier about the perils of slippery stone floors and rain, and in that case, matting is the way to go. Properly installed mats, e.g. secured down so they don’t slip away from the desired area, will not only save your floor from damage too early in its lifespan, but it will also add an extra feel of health and safety to your office, which is without a doubt one of the most important considerations to make of all.
Consider Mixing it up
Most flooring types will co-exist happily beside each other, provided they are installed correctly and in an aesthetically pleasing manner. So, if you want a carpeted area, perhaps for a breakout section of your office, but you want tiles for the rest of it, you don’t have to stick with just one option! Seamless transition from one flooring type to another is entirely possible, and will serve the various purposes of your office.
Flooring Ideas For The Various Parts of Your Workspace
Let’s check out some of the most suitable flooring types for the most common parts of your workspace, including:
- Reception Area
- Open Plan Area
- Canteen Area
- Breakout Area
- Boardrooms
The Reception Area
The reception area is going to receive a lot of traffic, so you need a flooring type which is easy to clean and long lasting as well as choosing the right reception seating to compliment the whole design. Again, consider mats at the doors, to keep things safe and clean, but how about tiles for the rest of the space? You can find tiles which have sparkling specks in them, which glimmer in the light – that would certainly give a professional and sleek impression to those who enter your reception area for the first time, before they even arrive at your reception counter.
The Open Plan Area
An open plan office is going to be quite a noisy space, and whilst there are ways to minimise that, e.g. sound proofing for other spaces, partitions, and even headphones, you can do a lot by choosing the right type of flooring. Office carpet tiles are great for this type of space because not only can you choose a whole host of different colours and patterns, but these tiles also have great acoustic and soundproofing properties, absorbing the noise and creating a less chaotic atmosphere overall.
The Canteen Area
As with the reception area, the canteen is going to have a lot of traffic, and you also have the hygiene side of things to take into account. There are going to spills to mop up, and your canteen staff need to be able to clean properly. A carpet is not a good choice here, but wooden floors are a good choice, as well as vinyl. The colour would totally depend upon the decor of your canteen, but you can find these types of flooring in a wide range of different colour choices.
The Breakout Space and Boardrooms
We will link these two together because they both have the same feel and requirements for flooring. You might be wondering why we say that, but it’s about acoustics and the comfort factor. These rooms have two totally different functions, but a breakout space is likely to be somewhere which sees a lot of traffic, and therefore needs a durable flooring option, possibly one which absorbs noise. A boardroom is another high traffic area, and again, noise needs to be minimal, so conversations and ideas can be shared.
Vinyl flooring is a good option here, because they have a strong layer which go over the top, and that gives you a more durable and long-lasting flooring option. Again, there are many decor choices here, so you can give your space either a professional look, or a funky one, depending on your needs! Your boardroom layout can work around your flooring, and you can add in some high quality meeting room chairs to finish off the look.
How do you feel about the office flooring you have on site currently? Are you happy with it, or do you feel you’re ready for a change? Do you have any ideas we haven’t mentioned? Feel free to share your thoughts below if you are on the lookout for a new office decor, flooring or otherwise, check out office furniture near me online, and find a huge range of choices.