1. Blend Work Space with Living Space
The first trend that will be popular in 2021 is designing office space to create a cohesive blend of workplace and living space. This “Home Environment” trend is essential now more than ever. As non-essential workers worked from home during the coronavirus pandemic, many enjoyed the familiarity and comfort of their home office. Even before the coronavirus pandemic, remote work was a rising trend and attracted great talent to flexible companies. This office design idea helps employees feel calm and confident in the office.
When your employees are happy and confident in their office, they will be more productive. Incorporate the hybrid living and working design into your office by increasing natural light and adding accents of color. Put effort into furniture selection to make sure you have cohesive space. Think natural wood elements, plush couches with accent pillows, and docking stations so your employees can move about the office as they would their house.
2. Add Acoustic Furniture
Do you have personal space and sound control in a shared office environment? If this sounds too good to be true, you haven’t discovered the 2021 design trend of acoustic furniture. As more and more office employees come into the office, boost confidence and productivity by offering acoustic office furniture in your open-floor plan space.
Acoustic furniture, such as office phone booths, pod chairs, private booths, and sound-absorbing furniture, helps to mitigate chatter and help employees zone into their work. Pod chairs and private booths mainly help with social distancing because they are built for the individual, and this intimate space is great for focusing and avoiding distractions.
Finally, acoustic furniture is also high-tech and modern in design, so bring this futuristic element into your office in 2021.
3. Incorporate Team-Building Elements
Next up in the top 5 inspiring office renovation ideas is the ” team building design trend.” Known by many businesses as an HR tactic, team building inspired office design in 2021. Think of brainstorming areas such as open rooms with whiteboards for note-taking and exchanging ideas. Also, areas for employees to blow off steam, such as game rooms with table football or darts.
Our customer, Entech, a software company based in Malvern, Pa., wanted their space to reflect their company culture and attract future clients. We built them an open-concept space with high-tech elements. But we also incorporated a pingpong table, a team-building element that inspires collaboration and shows how the company is playful and flexible. Read more about our Entech project.
4. Create an Agile workplace
An agile workplace is very similar to an open-concept workplace, and it is a rising design trend in 2021 for office renovation for many reasons. Agile workplaces rely on “zones” for people to accomplish different types of work (brainstorming, regenerating, concentrating, etc.). Employees can quickly move from one place to another in the office, especially if all employees have laptops. This is great for collaboration because employees don’t have to rely on a shared conference room to take meetings when they can go to a zone with high-top tables and meet.
Decide what types of zones you want to incorporate into your office and add your design spin on them. For example, your “quiet zone” will have a different look and feel than your “brainstorming zone.” Define your zones so your team can easily flow from space to space and get the most out of each.
5. Use Biophilic Design
For a while now, Formcraft’s designers have been biophilic design experts. While sustainable design is more commonly discussed, biophilic design is a continuously rising design trend. Biophilic design blends design, nature, and well-being. Biophilic spaces inspire health and wellness. Healthier employees are happier and have been known to stay at companies longer. Using the biophilic design, show your employees that you value their health and well-being.
The biophilic design makes the office space warm and inviting. Use elements of greenery, natural analogs, and dedicated break areas to regenerate. Place high importance on improved air quality and lighting.
First, greenery shows that you care about the environment and sustainability. Second, plants improve air quality by purifying the air. Greenery has also been known to reduce stress. In our corporate office, we incorporated elements of biophilic design. Please take a look at our improvements.
If you’re unsure what design trends you’d like to see in your office in 2021; our design experts are here to help. Get in touch with today to talk about your next project.