13 Mins Read
April 30th, 2024
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Home » Interior Design Tips » 24 Inspiring Office Design & Decor Ideas to Transform Your Workspace
Gone are the days of lifeless, eggshell-colored walls and cubical mazes packed tight under the hum of flickering fluorescent lights.
Instead, open, sunlit spaces with splashes of color fostering creativity and boosting morale are the norm in modern offices.
If you’re curious about the benefits of a modern office look, or you’re just looking to spice up your boring workspace, we’ve got you covered.
In this article, we’ll explore the elements of modern office design and showcase the latest trends to inspire your next interior design upgrade.
Jump ahead to:
A lot of parameters are involved in choosing the best office interior design.
✅ The process of organizing a workspace by designing it to help improve the productivity and movement of the employees is the gist of what office interior design is.
✅ Workspaces should strike a balance between functionality and aesthetics.
✅Modern office design ideas are most designers’ favorite, as it helps make it structured enough to provide ample space for movement.
✅Many companies are considering the incorporation of office interior design elements into their offices to improve productivity as well as to create a healthy work environment.
✅However, there is a need for awareness about the importance of office interior design and the holistic approach to implementing it to encourage a healthy, safe, and efficient environment. To have an in-depth understanding of this, read on!
Read also – Top 15 Latest Interior Design Trends in 2024
| Modern Office | Traditional Office |
| Varied workspaces (coworking spaces, “hot desks”) | Assigned work areas (cubicles or a private office) |
| Use of color psychology | Partition walls everywhere |
| Natural and eco-friendly elements | Gloomy colors |
| Ergonomic furniture | Plain office furniture |
| Integrated technology | Outdated office decorations (picture a painting with a boat on it) |
| Recreational and lounge spaces (nap rooms are also an emerging trend) | No recreational or lounge spaces |
| Lots of natural light | Minimal windows and natural light |
| A homey feel | A clinical or institutional feel |
Modern offices like Google have a great plan in place to accommodate both remote and in-office working teams. The best way to bring everyone together, just like in the old days, is by structuring the meeting rooms like a campfire, with a coffee table in the middle, where everyone in the office sits on one side facing big curved screens that show remote working employees, to talk to each other and takes turns listening to each other. Google has, infact made it possible.
Bring in glass doors, and windows, with skylights wherever possible. You can also introduce plants and greenery to maintain a pristine air quality. It’s a natural disinfectant and gives a refreshing feeling to the people inside. It also improves the mood and boosts productivity.
Sitting in large co-working areas with cubicles, where employees work alongside their coworkers is great. But, critical tasks that involve high attention to detail mandate working in silence and solitude. In that case, working from the same common cubicle can be a hassle. You can’t always borrow meeting rooms for focused work – you never know when the room will be occupied again. Give a stable, secluded place for focused work – private pods with soundproof doors, if possible with a white noise machine that the employee can play or turn off when they want to sharpen their focus.
People don’t want to spend precious time commuting, when they can otherwise use it for relaxing, having quality family time, and socializing with friends. That’s one of the reasons employees are reluctant to return to work to the office from remote work. What if you could give the best of both to them? That’s what the future of work looks like. Architects and designers are brainstorming vertical living and working buildings, where the office is on one floor. All employees are adequately accommodated with their families in the floors above or below.
We’re only a few years away from bringing laptops to the office to work. The future of work looks rather sleek, and modern with glass-like monitors, and touch-sensitive screens through and through. There’d be almost no buttons to press, and every surface, device will be touch-screen, with which you only have to spend minimum effort.
In a few years from now, employees will simply have to come, sit down at their desks, and tap on them to activate. The work desk itself will be tech-powered, and touch-sensitive, enabling easier brainstorming, and conceptualizing as a group. Everything will progress with unforeseen speed and clarity.
Meeting rooms and projectors go hand in hand. Well, not in the near future. The projector screen will be replaced with a wall-length screen with built-in speaker systems, microphones, touch-sensitive whiteboards, and an immersive visual experience that helps teams anywhere in the world to interact with each other in real time, with zero hassle whatsoever.
No more uncomfortable office chairs to risk working from, and hurting your back. The future of work holds a snug surprise. AI-powered work chairs with the most advanced ergonomic support, built-in foot, and back massagers that function with a touch of a button, and sensors that detect your body temperature, heart rate, blood pressure, and movement and remind you every two hours to move.
These fancy chairs save you time, and energy, and prevent you from tripping or banging against the table and making a noise when an important meeting is going on in the room. You only have to sit on these chairs, and the pressure sensors will detect your presence, and park itself at the right height and distance from the table, so you’re comfortable and in the right position to work.
Designers and other creative individuals are going to create immersive prototypes and concepts that engulf the viewer, more than ever, using virtual reality. Offices need to make way for virtual reality goggles and the required.
This applies to both home office designs and company workspaces alike. You need a considerable amount of open space to move around and conduct your business.
If a company space is too congested, it can make employees feel claustrophobic. That is exactly the kind of sentiment you need to avoid if you want them to put their best foot forward. Sufficient shelving and cabinetry invariably take care of your storage and make the office space feel more neat and welcoming.
Furthermore, you can instill office design plans that follow a set form such as pooling individual desks to an assigned corner, lining up cubicles, preferably near a window, etc. This will leave a significant amount of open space where employees, clients, and even you can walk around freely, without bumping into office furniture.
| Artem Kropovinsky, founder and principal designer at Arsight says, “For modern office design, “less is more”. We strive for understatement by selecting only those pieces that have simple straight lines and minimalist impact on the environment.” |
A break room, as the name suggests, allows free space within the confines of the office structure for your employees to take a little break from the hectic workday. Ergonomics dictates that it plays a pivotal role in increasing productivity.
Since this space is allotted for employees to take a break from the bustle of their workday, it needs to advocate for leisure. Introduce a coffee machine, or if possible, an espresso machine for energy stimulation.
Add a small coffee table with limited seating so that only a handful of employees can sit around for a few minutes to relax. If your employees are indeed dedicated, hard-working people, then add a small couch.
Furthermore, you can add a microwave, a muffin cart, and a vending machine if possible. Employees that are well taken care of are more likely to remain loyal to the company.
Office fragrance, particularly in the bathroom, is an important factor in the workspace.
Since several employees with various health conditions frequent the bathroom and common areas, it can get smelly fast. Therefore, spring for an efficient air purification system with subtle fragrances.
The electronic air fresheners available in the market can do wonders. You can also request the janitorial staff to spray perfumed disinfectants in the toilets and common areas of the workspace.
The world of shapes and materials in the office interior design field is massive. There is so much room for creativity as you can always experiment and use shapes and materials that may not be typically seen in an office space. Adding circular structures or having checks/stripes as part of the main office wall decor could help set the tone of the company.
Adding small elements that would typically be seen in a design studio can go a long way in creating a beautiful environment to work in. Wooden planks can be added to separate desks while they also create a visual appeal and are gaining popularity within the office interior design space.
Textures are an interior designer’s best friend. If used wisely, it can change the entire look of the workspace. Textured walls when coupled with art can be a great way to create a unique and modern office interior design that helps employees unwind and relax during their breaks.
Art on textured walls will never cease to be aesthetic which works in favor of the office interior design look you were going for!
| Artem Kropovinsky, founder and principal designer at Arsight says, “It is important to note that though the texture plays a silent role, it is among the crucial elements. We enjoy pitting textured accents against polished finishes for a more tactile feel.” |
A recent trend in the office interior design space is the ‘modern look’ approach. Minimalist furniture like an office chair, a sleek table, and a Monstera plant will give you the desired results.
Adding furniture like bookshelves strategically can refresh the look of the space and incorporating a statement piece, such as a gallery wall, helps bring the entire room together. The design essence of a living room can also be incorporated into an office space as it builds a comfort zone that helps focus better.
| Artem Kropovinsky, founder and principal designer at Arsight says, “Think of a personalized bookshelf that acts as both a dividing wall and a pleasant visual difference to the office space. To begin with, it serves as a natural dividing line in addition to providing adequate storage and display area. The design can range from very contemporary to rustic, depending on the look of the room.” |
Read also – Japanese Interior Design
For an office environment, this is kind of a given. You will have a company logo which will be proudly displayed on the office wall, presumably near the entrance. If you don’t have one already, then make sure to install it as soon as you possibly can.
There is a subliminal reason behind this. You see when your employees envision the company logo, it subtly reminds them of all the goals and expectations of the company. It inspires them to meet the expectations of their superiors and perform better.
You can choose to paste the company logo on individual desks and office chairs, design mousepads, add it to the whiteboard or projector, on company mugs in the breakroom, and even on the walls of cubicles.
Hot-desking is the ultimate example of mobility inside an office. With hot-desking, most employees don’t have a permanent workspace. Instead, workers have the option of using different workstations depending on their needs.
For example, if teams need to collaborate, they’ll use a meeting space. If a worker needs to concentrate, there are private thinking spaces.
✅ Mobility is highly requested by modern workers — and leads to better collaboration — hot-desking isn’t going anywhere.
✅ Most decks are cluttered with a worker’s files or personal items, making it difficult for cleaners to sanitize the area effectively. With hot-desking, once workers are finished with a space, they clear out, making it easier to clean the area thoroughly.
Studies have shown that workplace ergonomics can increase employee engagement and boost productivity.
More importantly, ergonomics helps reduce time lost to musculoskeletal injuries like carpal tunnel syndrome, sore backs, and repetitive strain injuries. To keep your posture in check, get yourself a solid footrest. The footrest will help you maintain good posture and give you better focus when working for long hours.
This is a big reason modern office designers promote ergonomic and active furniture like:
Fixing a mirror near the elevators, lounges, between two departments, etc will naturally make people want to stop for a bit and get a better look at themselves. When you’re stressed out or working too hard, viewing yourself in the mirror can be refreshing and give you just the energy you need.
Create multi-person seating areas near the lounges, between two distinct zones or departments, to help different team members collaborate naturally and get work done faster than having to book meeting rooms, or squeeze into the limited space in each other’s cabins. Go for sectionals, or bean bags, depending on the overall design scheme. Your employees will love it.
Everyone in the workplace is working towards a common goal, and that can mean achieving a particular target within a stipulated period. To help your employees push themselves to meet your goal in the particular time, you can fix a fancy, countdown timer on a wall visible to everyone. It can motivate people to keep going.
You can also have a feature wall that everyone can see, and hang a notice board (physical or digital TV) where you pin commendable achievements of your employees. It can be a wall of fame, so to speak.
Simply seeing greenery at the workplace has proven to unlock deeper focus levels and renew our spirits. Forest bathing or walking amidst greenery in the middle of the day is a powerful emotional health exercise to do when you’re in a high-stress or strategic role but can be practiced by anybody. If your office has its own terrace, clear out the space and build a stunning, refreshing rooftop garden. If you don’t allocate a portion of your office for plants, place a few on the side of your employees’ workstations.
| Bree Steele, Interior Decorator, and Trade Accounts Manager, at RJ Living says, “In recent times, we’ve seen a rising popularity of the ‘slow living’ movement, which is all about mindfulness, sustainability, and authenticity. One of the ways to celebrate these philosophies in the space is to introduce a living green wall (or vertical garden), which involves the installation of panels on one of the office walls to grow herbs, small vegetables, or even flowers. This concept not only brings a vibrant splash of greenery into the kitchen, adding to the aesthetics but also serves a functional purpose.” |
Just because it is an office space does not mean it has to be themed with basic and dull off-whites and greys. A little color pop never hurts anyone and therefore, while planning your office interior design, experiment with bright and vibrant colors that blend right in without causing a distraction. Multiple office interior designs fail to deliver the result due to the color choices made.
Choose colors that suit the aura of the work area, you will be surprised at the effect it can have as it adds a layer of energy to the surroundings. A popular professional office decor idea, an atelier with natural light is the best work area to produce high-end work. Many decorators in New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles choose to incorporate vibrant colors for their design projects.
| Artem Kropovinsky, founder and principal designer at Arsight says, “This year’s color is vibrant and lively, going beyond traditional design patterns to break ground for a new era of creative boldness. When cottoning on to commercial interiors, these colors will not only suit but carry a brand’s spirit and lodge themselves deep in the heart.” |
Read Also – 2024 Color of the Year Predictions
Now that you’re armed with the theory of modern office decor, it’s time to put it into action.
Any savvy interior designer knows that seeing is selling.
So, having an uncomplicated, all-in-one interior design platform that generates detailed designs in the blink of an eye can be pretty handy.
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Opt for colorful and inspirational wall art or install a brainstorming wall for team collaboration.
Use company colors in accent pieces, feature logo decals on glass partitions, or display mission statements as wall art.
Choose sheer window treatments, position workstations near windows, and use reflective surfaces to enhance daylighting.
Use mirrors to visually expand the space, choose light-colored walls and furnishings, and minimize clutter for an open feel.
Use removable decals, festive lighting, and themed accessories to celebrate holidays or change seasons without overwhelming the space.
Using Foyr Neo is as easy as 1, 2, 3. First, upload a floor plan or create one from scratch. Then drag and drop from over 60K 3D models to fill your rooms. Lastly, just set the shot and let the AI create stunning 4K renders for you in less than 10 minutes.
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