Modern Office Interior Design Concepts | Office Ideas to Inspire You
Overview
Wowing clients, supporting productive work, and strengthening employee loyalty, modern office concepts are a powerful tool for maximising efficiency, but they can be tricky to get right. Today, we’ll be exploring some of the clever modern office design concepts and interior design trends currently shaping the workplace today.
Modern Office Design Concepts
Not only do offices need to be hubs of activity that support a range of different tasks, goals, and work styles, modern office design also says a lot about your brand. To nail your office interior design, you need to capture your brand identity, attract customers, and make a good impression on everyone who visits your office.
An organised and well-considered design, for example, can convey an air of professionalism while maximising staff productivity and satisfaction at work. A cluttered, disorganised, or poorly considered space, on the other hand, can leave your teams feeling uninspired, underappreciated, and unproductive, while reflecting poorly on your brand.
But, before working on interior design concepts, make sure you’ve read our office space planning guide to make sure you have the foundations you will need for a successful design project
When considering your office interior design, first consider who your brand is, what products or services you offer, and how you want customers to perceive your company.
While a minimalist design can look highly professional, it can also make the office feel cold and impersonal. On the other hand, a more ‘home’ style office can help people feel calm and relaxed at work, but may not look quite as professional as other styles. Whatever concept you end up going for in your office, be sure it’s in-line with the ‘voice’ and identity you’ve already established for your brand.
Here’s some ideas for how you can convey your brand’s identity in your modern office decor:
Company colours: Company colours should be incorporated into your logo, website, marketing materials, and your office design.
Furniture style: From traditional wooden chairs to new and edgy modern desks, your choice of furniture should reflect your brand’s identity. A company on the cutting edge of computing, for example, might fit their offices with angular metal chairs for a futuristic vibe, while a small real estate office may be better suited to something a little more natural and inviting to leave clients feeling more at home.
Wall decorations: Artwork and photos are an important aspect of interior design. Not only should wall art be consistent with your branding, it can even hint at your product and service offering. For example, a mechanic may display photos of classic cars, or a dentist might choose artwork with a dental theme.
Company taglines: If you have a motto or key message you wish to convey to your customers, you can turn this into a work of art to elevate your interior design.
Functional objects: If you’re short on space, turning functional items such as branded pens into striking decorations is a great way of elevating the style of your office.
A Good Design Should Capture Your Brand Identity
Contemporary Office Design Concepts: Top Interior Design Trends
The modern office comes in many different shapes, sizes, and styles. Which one will be right for you will depend on many factors, including your industry, budget, the space available to you, the work you do, and much more. Modern interior design is a diverse and ever-shifting landscape, so keeping up with the latest and greatest trends can be a challenge.
Here are some of the most popular office interior design ideas and trends to inspire you.
Minimalist Designs
Characterised by simplicity and functionality, the minimalist office is an embodiment of the phrase ‘less is more’. It prioritises clean lines, open spaces, natural lighting, a restricted colour palette, and simple elegance.
An open plan design is common to the minimalist style, though this can lead to problems with sound and distraction. You may instead elect for glass walls or partitions to maintain the sense of light, openness, and simplicity while managing noise and preventing distraction at work.
Minimalist Office Design
Industrial Office Design
An interior design based on industrial spaces such as warehouses, workshops, and factories, the industrial office typically features large, open spaces, bare structural features such as beams, pipes, and ducts, and a variety of raw materials, including wood, concrete, and brick.
Interior designers often recommend a neutral colour palette of greys, highlighted by a warm pop of earthy tones.
Industrial Office Design
Scandinavian Interior Design
Taking a page out of the minimalist styling handbook, the Scandinavian style office focuses on simplicity, functionality, and the simple beauty of everyday objects.
Muted tones, minimal clutter, modern and ergonomic furniture, greenery, and wooden accents are all common features of the style. It often also emphasises natural lighting in the office rather than relying too heavily on artificial lights.
Scandinavian Style
Modern Rustic Offices
The modern rustic office design prioritises comfort while combining natural elements with more modern decor. Elegant and simple, the style uses a lot of wood and incorporates a combination of neutral tones and warm colours.
Modern Rustic Design
Bohemian Office Interiors
The only rule for a bohemian style is there ARE no rules. This modern office design concept is defined by a lack of structure, taking a carefree approach that layers a variety of different patterns, textures, and colours.
At the heart of the bohemian style is your personality, making it a great option for smaller companies who want to build a more natural and personal relationship with their client base. Be warned, however, the bohemian aesthetic can make an office look cluttered and messy, so it may not be quite as professional as other styles on this list.
The Bohemian Style
Home Office Design
Make your office feel more like home to keep customers and employees relaxed and at ease. A home style office is a much more laid-back and casual space that often features warmer light, less formal seating, an emphasis on comfort, and other ‘homey’ elements to make the room feel warm and inviting.
Creating a home away from home can be as simple as inviting your workers to bring things from their house into the workplace, such as photos, a favourite chair, drawings from their children, and more.
Making the Office Feel Like Home
High Tech Design
Accentuating the construction process of a building, High-Tech design has a preference for lightweight materials, sheer surfaces, and greater adaptability in the office. A High Tech design often leaves structural beams exposed, emphasises pipework and other services, and boasts flexible interiors that leave the option to partition and customise at will.
High Tech Design
Natural/Eco Office
Dominating the modern office space, natural and eco-friendly elements are becoming increasingly popular at work. This can take many different forms, though some ideas include indoor plants, eco-friendly and sustainable materials such as bamboo, energy-efficient lighting, and even turning recycled objects into new design elements.
The office should also be designed to not obstruct heating, cooling, and natural light so you use less energy throughout the day.
Using Traditional Architecture in Modern Office Designs
The beauty of modern design is in its flexibility. The sky really is the limit when it comes to office design ideas, so don’t be afraid to experiment and see what you (and your employees) like. One popular option for decorating a new space is to turn traditional architecture and antique features such as rustic light fittings, a chandelier, or a classic fireplace into the centrepiece of your design.
Designs that make the old new again can add a touch of charm and sophisticated elegance to workplaces, while adding a bit of visual interest to the room. These elements can also capture the history of your building, giving a sense of permanence (which is great for building trust with your customers). They can also serve as an interesting talking piece to get conversation flowing with clients who are visiting the office.
It can be a fine line between antique charm and old junk, so be sure to stick to just one or two core elements rather than cluttering up your office.
Office Furniture Design Concepts
Furniture really can make or break the look of your modern office design, either tying the whole style together, or making it seem disjointed and disorganised. Be sure to choose pieces that are consistent with the style you’ve chosen for your office. A bare metal shelving unit, for example, can look fabulous in an industrial-chic style office, but would look out of place in a modern rustic office.
When choosing your furniture, be sure not to overlook the comfort of your staff. Take care to select ergonomic pieces that offer adequate support for the body to minimise pain and discomfort while sitting. Mobile products such as a rolling chair can also facilitate movement between key areas in the office, making the space more adaptable.
Choose Furniture That’s Consistent With Your Style
Modern Office Interior Design Concepts: Maximising Space
Much more than just aesthetics, the design of your office needs to cater to a range of different goals, activities, and work styles, which can make it difficult to settle on any single design. Thankfully, there are many ways you can maximise space without impacting the style or functionality of your office.
Limit the number of fixed elements in your office, instead utilising mobile objects for greater flexibility and customisation.
Strategically placing mirrors near a window can help enhance natural light, brightening up the room and emphasising the sense of space and openness. This can also leave people feeling more comfortable as they work
Products such as mobile partitions can be used as highly customisable dividers to create a temporary conference room, private offices, or a collaborative working space which can neatly be packed down after use.
Reduce clutter in the office by supplying adequate storage solutions so employees can pack away anything they don’t need, clearing the space for work.
Too many hard surfaces can cause reverberation and even amplify sound in the office, leaving workers distracted and annoyed at work. Help prevent this by providing a lot of soft surfaces, such as carpet, acoustic wall panels, fabric partitions, and soft-backed chairs fitted with rubber feet to help manage the way noise behaves in a room.
Rather than dividing up a space using solid walls, consider transparent or translucent solutions like glass to maintain a sense of openness and allow natural light to pass through the area.
For a smaller office, select a simpler aesthetic like a minimalist, industrial, or Scandinavian design which prioritises open space and minimal clutter, leaving more room for work and productivity.
Maximising Space
Ideas for Implementing a Modern Office Design Concept
Coming up with a plan for your office is only half the battle, implementing it is where the real challenge lies. Here’s are some quick tips on ensuring that your new design is a success:
Consider your needs (and the needs of your teams)
Think about the needs of your business and employees, and the expectations of your customers. Your office will need to cater to all of these requirements.
Map out a floor plan
Determine how people should move through your office, and find a way of facilitating this through your design. Plants, couches, partitions, and other obstacles make fabulous space definers that can help direct visitors through your space. Check out our best office layout design guide to get inspiration.
Consider your brand identity
Branding should flow through every aspect of your business, from business cards right through to office design. Be sure to have a clear idea of who your company is and how you want to be perceived before designing your office space.
Select an interior style
Your style choice can say a lot about your brand, so consider your options and choose a style that best communicates how you want customers to perceive your company.
Do you want to be seen as innovators in your field? Then perhaps a minimalist or High-Tech style would be best. Are you an eco-friendly brand? Then your office should incorporate a lot more natural elements. Is your brand a little more quirky? Then perhaps a bohemian style office would better suit your needs.
Focus on function
Just because it’s stylish doesn’t mean it can’t also be functional. Try to avoid cluttering up your space, and instead style with purpose by choosing stylish objects that also serve a function, such as an interesting desk, space-defining decorations, and visually striking signs that lead visitors through the office.
Keep it flexible
A flexible office space can be adapted to a range of purposes. Take advantage of portable elements like rolling chairs, partitions, and desks which allow you to switch things up and customise your layout whenever you need.
Be comfortable
Discomfort, particularly while sitting, can be disruptive to your employees and may even impact productivity and job satisfaction. More than just a design feature for office spaces, furniture should be comfortable, adjustable, and ergonomic to offer maximum support and minimal annoyance to your team.
Give employees ‘ownership’ over the space
Your employees will be spending a lot of time in the office, so help them feel more at home by giving them a little more ownership over the space. Consider encouraging them to bring personal items from home, such as photos, a favourite mug, or even a favourite piece of art to help them better connect with their workspace.
Support autonomous work
Give your people more opportunities to choose how and where they work, depending on their personal preferences and the projects they’re currently completing. Offering different ‘zones’ for different work styles, and providing flexible seating and partitioning solutions can help people choose how best to tackle each task
Keep optimising your modern office interior
Never stop looking for new opportunities to improve performance in the office. The world is always changing and you’ll need to change with it in order to deliver the best workplace environment for everyone. Stay in touch with your employees and don’t be afraid to ask for ideas on how your could improve the office.
Optimise Your Office for Productivity, Comfort, and Style
