When designing or redesigning an office, it’s important to contemplate design elements that will encourage a positive corporate interior. If people are unhappy with how an office is set up, it could significantly affect employee satisfaction, increasing the risk of turnovers and putting the company’s performance in jeopardy. Below is a list of seven office design ideas that can help create the ultimate workplace setting:

1. Going Wireless and Paperless

Scott Spector, principal of the New York-based architectural firm Spector Group, says an increasingly common request from his clients is eliminating wires and papers. Not only does this add space, as the need for file cabinets and other storage areas ceases to exist, but it also cuts costs, since there won’t be a need to fit paper purchases in the company budget anymore.

2. Installing Glass Walls

Glass office walls add organization, as well as a clean, timeless look, to any corporate setting, whether a healthcare, financial services, marketing or accounting firm. Plus, glass is such a versatile material that it can be used for other parts of an office interior, including railings, desk table tops, and conference marker boards.

3. Using Color Schemes that Promote Productivity

Studies indicate that colors evoke certain emotions. As discussed by Entrepreneur, an online resource that reports business-related news, blue, green, yellow and red are all colors that could result in improved employee productivity. Specifically, blue and green promote a sense of calm, yellow encourages creativity, and red increases blood flow.

4. Getting Rid of Assigned Desks

Doing away with assigned desks is another office design idea that employers are starting to embrace. This is, in part, a response to the growing paperless trend mentioned within the first item on this list. Another reason is due to the fact that employees now have the power to determine where they want to work and can then move when they want a change of scenery. Doing so can help them interact with colleagues who they normally wouldn’t see if they were stuck in a designated cubicle all day, which promotes employee interaction.  

5. Including a “Room to Think”

Because open-concept floor plans have become the norm in many office interiors, businesses are beginning to incorporate “still spaces” in order to help employees stimulate their minds and gather their thoughts in a quiet setting. As digital publishing group Workplace Design Magazine explains, “With increasing focus on employee well-being and mindfulness, forward-thinking companies are creating quiet zones, meditative environments, and even sacred spaces to lower the cacophony, boost creativity, and restore emotional balance.”

6. Choosing Minimalist Furniture

Related to the first and fourth office design ideas on this list, purchasing minimalist furniture that doesn’t include bulky draws or file cabinets is a way to free up more usable space, reducing the amount of clutter in the office.

7. Bringing the Outdoors Inside

Businesses today are much more invested in the health and wellness of their employees than years ago. This may be because people appear to be more health-conscious. Just look at how products like standing desks have increased in popularity. Bringing the outdoors into the office by adding plants and living walls, for instance, brings new life (literally!) into the workspace, while also improving air quality, which is beneficial for one’s health.