6 Easy Ideas to Improve Your Office Interior

Space Refinery
March 1, 2024
6 Affordable Design Ideas to Improve Your Office Interior

Redesigning your office space doesn’t have to break the bank. Sometimes all it takes is a bit of freshening up to reinvigorate employee engagement.

Affordable design is completely possible.

It isn’t all about custom this or expensive that. Sure, custom furniture and set pieces look great, but they aren’t always necessary. A few changes here and there can be enough to breathe new life into the coming atmosphere.

Looking for office interior inspiration? Here are 6 affordable ideas for you to consider for your next office design project.

1. Plants

It has been proven that stepping into nature helps us relax and de-stress. While it might be impractical to transform your office space into a palatial garden, a little can go a long way.

According to studies done by Dr. Roger S. Ulrich of Texas A&M University, Helen Russell of Surrey University in England, and Dr. Virginia Lohr of Washington State University, plants significantly lower workplace stress and increase productivity. Participants in Dr. Lohr’s study were specifically found to be 12 percent less stressed and more productive than those working in an environment without plants.

Adding plants like Devil’s Ivy, Broadleaf Lady Palm, Peace Lily, and Spider plants help add a lot of much-needed greento an office space. And as an added bonus, some plants filter toxins like benzene, a substance emitted by a few types of printers.

Beauty, practicality, and affordability?

What more could you ask for in office design!

Green plants in the modern design space for Start It KBC Antwerp

2. Desk Accessories

This is a fantastic way to encourage employee engagement. Allowing workers to showcase their personalities helps them feel less like a drone and more like an actual person. By allowing them to set up figurines or pictures, you’re saying that you want them to be happy.

Having access to stress-relieving items can also be incredibly beneficial. Whether it’s stress balls, magnets, or puzzles, being able to sit back and take a second away from projects is key to employee engagement. Whatever will help people productivity should always be considered.

3. Painting

A new coat of paint does wonders for the office. It’s a simple piece of office design that could even be used as a team-building exercise for management and employees. Create a better bond with co-workers by getting together and freshening it up.

Color has a huge impact on our psychology. Beige, cream, and eggshell white are not the only hues in existence, nor do they produce the best working results.

Consider toned-down blues, greens, reds, and yellows when it comes time to paint. Just be sure to compliment your colors without going too bright or over-the-top. The last thing everyone needs is sensory overload during their time at the office.

Bright and bold color palettes

4. Thrift and Vintage

Don’t just take your office interior inspiration from the shiny and new. Rustic is in! Why not lean into that?

You can find amazing pieces at thrift and consignment stores if you spend the time to look. By being diligent and staying on a budget, the next office bookshelf lunchroom table, or art piece could be found for an amazing price. Even one or two handmade or antique pieces can add some personality to the overall aesthetic of the office.

Affordability doesn’t have to mean cheap.

Old and vintage affordable furniture

5. Variety

Not every piece in the office has to match. Symmetry in your office design can be incredibly beautiful, but, if done poorly, can be boring and uninspired. Lean into a change in atmosphere by mixing up the look of the workplace.

Find something the pieces you like have in common and focus on building around that. This creates a through line across the entire design you can leverage when picking out furniture, accessories, and art. By adopting a mix and match aesthetic, you make going the thrifty route more viable since you’re not hemmed in by specific design options or motifs.

Consider proportions, add context through colors, and plan the overall look. Variety is the most potent spice, after all.

6. Stock Items

Custom designs are where you will start to feel the weight on your budget. Being able to purchase furnishings and design elements that fit exactly to your specifications is great, but the simple fact is that it’s expensive.

See what stock items are available instead.

Whatever fabrics, furniture, and decor items are in-store should be considered above all else when your aim is affordability. A nice couch or office chairs you find might not be the exact color you wanted but if their cost is better, go with them. You can shift the overall office design to correspond with key stock pieces instead of paying a premium for every little custom item.

It’s About Creativity, Not Cash

Find your office interior inspiration in the business and its staff. Make it a place everyone wants to come to each morning. Focus solely on finding creative design solutions for employee engagement in your office design instead of throwing money at what you think might work or, worst of all, doing nothing.

Remember, it’s the little changes that often have the biggest impact.

Need Help with Your Design?

Don’t stress, Space Refinery is here!

Contact us today if you are looking to update your office. We work with companies of all sizes to help them get the most out of the office interior design process.

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