11 Simple Ways to Enhance the Look of Your Workplace
Over the years, even the most well designed offices show signs of wear and clutter. Here are some quick tips to enhance the look of your workplace which may also help reinvigorate your employees.
1) Consolidate shared office equipment
Your office may have a copier, scanner, printer, and fax machine, all in different corners of the office. Try to carve out a centralized workspace for all of these machines. It will be helpful if you have a work table in this area for collating, stapling, sorting, etc. Even though you may dream of a paperless office, it may still be a necessity to manage paper. Managing paper in one common area helps streamline the work while cleaning up the office. You may also consider adding a paper recycling bin or a paper shredder in this area.
2) Let the sun shine in
If you’re lucky enough to have natural light in your office, make sure nothing is blocking it from shining in. If stacks of books, papers or pieces of furniture are blocking the sunshine, find a way to move them. If the windows haven’t been washed in a while, you’ll be amazed how much more sun can shine in after a thorough cleaning. If you have an unused office that has a window, you might consider removing a wall to let the sun shine through the rest of the office. If that’s not possible, think about how you might turn the office into a common area to allow all employees to enjoy a few moments of sunshine during the day.
3) Get the stuff off of the floor
Walk through the offices and cubicles and take note how much stuff is sitting on the floor. Are there boxes sitting on the floor? Do your employees have stacks of stuff under their desks? Are your hallways lined with stuff? What is all that stuff? Chances are, if there is stuff on the floor, it’s a sign of lack of proper storage. Invest in proper file cabinets and storage cabinets and put that stuff away.
4) Brand your space
If you’ve invested in creating a logo for your website, business cards and letterhead, look for ways you can integrate that logo into your office design. Wall stickers, lighted interior signs, and wall paintings are a few ways to do this. Consider a new coat of paint utilizing your brand colors to both freshen up the office while reinforcing your brand to your employees and visitors.
5) Touch ups
Touch up any nicks and scratches on the cabinets, the edges of desks, and the corners of the baseboard, molding and trim. Patch any holes in the walls and repaint as needed. Is the carpeting getting loose or frayed? Consider replacing it with new carpet or a hard surface that will last longer.
6) Replace damaged ceiling tiles
Your ceiling tiles may be stained from the old days when smoking was allowed indoors. Or, perhaps some water found its way inside and left a stain. Whatever the reason, stained or damaged ceiling tiles are both easy and inexpensive to replace.
7) Freshen the air
Heating and cooling ducts accumulate dust over the years and all of the air you’re breathing passes through all of that dust. Hiring a professional duct cleaning firm is fairly inexpensive and will really clear the air.
8) Update the artwork
After a few years of looking at the same pictures on the wall, they start to blend into the wall. Many local art studios have rental programs where you can rent art by the month or year. And, often they will agree to replace the art every few months, depending on your length of contract. Renting art is generally more cost efficient than buying new art for the entire office.
9) Add some greenery
Adding a few plants around the office actually helps clean the air by replacing carbon dioxide with oxygen.
10) Warm up the lighting
If you have harsh fluorescent overhead lighting, consider replacing the cool white bulbs with newer style daylight bulbs. They are less harsh and they tend to give a warmer feel to the space.
11) Brighten up the entryway
You may choose to paint the door, add some plants or bushes or simply a bright floor mat. A nice welcome sign is also a nice touch.
