Office design can directly influence quality of work

The environment in which we work clearly influences the quality of our work, according to local office designers.

"That's the crux of exactly why we do what we do," said interior designer Joyce Buxton of Buxton-Werner Interiors, 3314 S. Bedford. "There's a famous architect from years ago who said we shape our environments and our environments shape us and that's exactly right."

In the view of designer Barbara Austin of Austin-Deckard Interiors Inc. in Nixa, workplace design can "tremendously affect the efficiency of the staff." She added, "It is our responsibility to ... create an environment that is conducive to the types of work the client does. If the workplace is poorly designed it can decrease efficiency, costing the client time and money in the long run."

Austin cited an example of a business neglecting to think of using vertical space for storage, which could result in having more file cabinets eating up floor space and also making the stored information less readily accessible to employees.

Melissa Scott, ASID, co-owner of The Design Agency, 333 S. Jefferson, with her husband, Dan, said, "The mere feeling of wanting to be where you are makes you want to focus in on what your job is. If you are more comfortable in the space you inhabit, you want to work"

Taking the interior of a business beyond merely habitable to comfortable and making employees more productive may re-quire updating the workplace, according to designers, and they add that workplace "fashions" change with the times.

Mobile products

Scott and Austin both noted a tendency toward the use of mobile products in the business environment. Scott said, "Mobile products, like tables and files on wheels, were big last year and are bigger this year, which coincides with modularity and the ability to adapt your environment. You can ask yourself, Do I want to move this file another place?'"

Andrea Deckard of Austin-Deckard Interiors said, "Open offices or the use of panel systems seems to be a strong trend because of the versatility it offers clients."

Scott cited a trend toward using portable screens rather than panels. She added, "As far as seating goes, we're fickle. It used to be the more knobs to adjust, the better a chair was. Now it's a universal design, with a chair functional for the greatest number of users without whistles and bells. Chairs seem to move with you these days and are kind of self-adjusting."

Ergonomics is also a factor in design. "People want to supply their employees with the proper equipment for adjustability," Buxton said. "For example, heights of tables, chair widths between the arms, height of the seat. A chair comfortable to a 5-foot-2 woman probably won't fit a 6-foot-6 man, unless the chair has a lot of flexibility. Companies are placing an emphasis on flexibility."

Lighting

Lighting also is important in office design, and Deckard and Scott both indicated that halogen and compact fluorescent lighting are big because energy efficiency is in and the bulbs have a greater life.

"The concept of everyone has light, but no one has windows' is a trend in office planning, with low-profile office furniture and translucent fabrics to let light through without having a window," Scott said. The proper tools and lighting help increase productivity, she said, but mixing them with beautiful aesthetics makes the work environment even better. For example, textures are popular in wall coverings. "You can see nature everywhere leaf motifs, animal skin designs, stone texture but not overly decorative. Just enough to add warmth as an accent."

Scott said popular colors include "reds, deep blues, cobalt blues, oranges, textured neutrals, yellow-greens and metallics." She added, "I just got back from Europe, and you wouldn't believe the oranges I saw. European colors hit the States about five years later. Five years ago, the yellow-greens were hot there. Color trends go from women's fashions to residential to the commercial industry."

Austin said designers are seeing "more blues used with neutrals like tans, taupes, and beiges."

Buxton added, "I don't know if you can make blanket statements like blues are in and reds are out. Companies are more sophisticated now and want a signature look. I can't say we did six projects this year and they all have orange in them; we try to tailor what we do for each specific client so it's appropriate for them and their industry."

Other popular design features, according to Scott, include specialty finishes and fabrics, such as embossed prints in leathers and vinyl. She said that a floor isn't just a floor any longer because floor art is in, as with patterns set in tile. There's also a turn toward minimalism, for a "quietly stated room or space."

Hitting upon technology, Deckard said, "We see the flat screen for computer monitors being used more often, which affects the space requirements, freeing up some space."

Scott also pointed out that power-up connections are being hidden, with workspace professionals designing part of the work surface to conceal connections.

Home office trends are being greatly influenced by technology needs, said Linda Shaeffer, de-signer at Habersham Interiors, 3021 E. Sunshine. Not only do people want some form of home office, be it a separate room or a designated space in the kitchen area, but they want computers in those offices, she said. Schaeffer pointed out that furniture manufacturers have "picked up on this and are coming out with armoires and cabinetry" to house computers. The styles range from traditional to contemporary, including painted and stained pieces.

"When we went to market, almost every furniture manufacturer had something that would feature the home office," Shaeffer said.

With so much to keep in mind, hiring a professional for a workplace design project could be a headache saver. "Do consult a professional," Scott said. "Don't think you don't have the re-sources to afford one because they usually save you money. They know what's out there. And who wants two jobs, anyway?"