Top 10 Tips To Maximise Your Office Space
You’ve got a small office – how do you make the most of it? See our #Top10Tuesday tips for kitting out your office space.
As property prices are going up and people spend more time at the office, businesses are being forced into ever-smaller premises and staff are staying in them for ever-longer hours. So what should you do if you find yourself in a Lilliputian workspace?
1. Make sure there’s plenty of light
Poor lighting makes offices look small and dingy. You want to bathe your work space in light, whether that’s by making sure your curtains are always open or filling the place with lamps. If your office is naturally dark all year round, you should also consider getting a #SAD light to help you stop feeling glum.
2. Use colour to trick the eye
Maximising #officespace isn’t just about dealing with practicalities, it’s also about psychology. Apartment Therapy suggests using mirrors to make the room look more open, a coloured or patterned ‘accent wall’ to draw the eye and adding some large objects or furniture, which actually make the space look bigger.
3. Turn your walls into a sketch pad
Instead of having lots of notepads lying around, or a flip chart taking up space in the corner, why not transform your entire office into a place to write your ideas? We sell Smart Wall Paint that turns your wall into a whiteboard. Just use a dry-wipe marker to write down your ideas and then wipe them off when you’re done.
4. Always have some folding furniture
Think about the space a regular desk and chair takes up. By using folding chairs and tables, you’ve got a chance to quickly reclaim that square footage for other things. Perfect for open plan offices where people hot desk and impromptu meetings with lots of attendees.
5. Use shelves and vertical storage
Do you know why we have skyscrapers? Because landowners realised it was cheaper to build upwards, than to buy more property. The same thing works for #storage. Look around your office and see how much empty space there is on the walls and towards the ceiling. Take advantage of it with high shelves and stackable storage.
6. Tidy away all your cables
Cable tidies are the kind of thing you don’t realise you need until you try to do without them. Not only do they make the room look bigger and smarter – because it’s not covered in wires – but you’ll also cut the risk of tripping over them and pulling your expensive gear to the floor.
7. Multifunction devices
In the bad old days we had to have different machines to copy, scan, print and fax. Thankfully we can now get multifunction printers that handle all those jobs in one and with a tiny footprint. (Of course if you’re the ultimate minimalist, you can go all-digital and not use paper at all.)
8. Fill those nooks and crannies
What do corner desks and monitor arms have in common? They’re designed to make use of the space they live in. Look for companies and designers making products meant for tiny homes; re-purpose things for your own needs. Use pedestals for movable under-desk storage.
9. #Declutter your workspace
Parksinon’s Law says that ‘work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion‘; the same could be said about clutter. If you’re serious about making space, you need to clear out the rubbish. Test all your pens to see if they still work. Go through your files and get rid of anything inessential. If it ain’t needed, it ain’t stayin’.
10. Never give up
The final tip isn’t about a product or an object, but a mindset: stick to the plan. Once you’ve made the most of your space, you’re going to have to fight to keep it tidy. If you don’t, you’ll eventually be overwhelmed with unwanted papers, coffee mugs and assorted bits and bobs.
Do you have any tips for maximising your office space? Let us know in the comments.
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