Your office is the place where you spend most of your time in. Let’s face it – most people end up spending more hours at the office on a weekly basis than in their own home. This is the primary reason why smart office design is so important.

Are you considering an office renovation with new interior design? Are you looking into the possibility without being 100 per cent certain about the timeframe of carrying out such a project? If so, this article will acquaint you with some of the most important reasons why you should get started with office renovation right now.

It Impacts the Image of Your Business

Your office, working area or retail space has a direct impact on the image that you want to project for your business. This is true for companies that work with many customers, the ones that welcome business partners and those who use the respective space as their operational headquarters.

An Interior design company that have enough experience in commercial renovation Singapore projects understand these facts.

An office that is shabby, cluttered and outdated in appearance is not going to project the values and beliefs you want to have associated with your brand. A simple renovation project can lead to significant improvement, especially if it gets carried out strategically.

Branding is an extensive, all-encompassing field. You cannot neglect a serious issue like the appearance of your workspace. If you do, all of your other branding efforts will fail because of the lack of consistency.

A Higher Level of Efficiency and Productivity

Outdated furniture and equipment will stand in the way of executing daily tasks to the best of your ability. Even the decorations that appear to be frumpy can bring down employee morale.

Employee productivity is heavily dependent on the environment that their do their job in. An office that is bright, functional and trendy will stimulate employees to do their best. They will come to the office with a smile in the morning, knowing that everything required to do a good job is at their disposal.

Something as simple as old and uncomfortable chairs or insufficient storage space can be demotivating. In order to get the best out of every worker, you will have to invest in the right working space. An office renovation project is one of the simplest ways to accomplish the goal.

Improved Safety

As an employer, you are responsible for the safety of the people that work in your company.

Old offices that have not been renovated in years can pose an array of security dangers. Not only will these reduce your productivity, they can also get you in some legal trouble. As an employer, you are obliged by law to provide employees with a safe environment that allows for the risk-free execution of professional tasks.

Does the office allow enough light to enter the premises? Are the paints and finishes completely healthy and danger-free? How about the wiring? The plumbing? The furniture?

An interior design services provider will come to the office space and take a thorough look at all of these elements. Potential safety risks and compliance issues will be identified to give you a better idea about what you’re dealing with. Based on this specific factors, an office renovation plan will be suggested to address all of the problem areas.

Your Business is Growing!

Has your company registered sustainable growth over the years? Congratulations! In order to keep up the good work, you need an office space that corresponds to the current level of development that you are at right now.

Eventually, you will have to hire more people. You may decide to increase the range of products being made and services being offered. Such changes necessitate an office renovation or you will have to move to a larger space.

Before going to a bigger office, see an interior design professional. The current arrangement of desks, equipment, conference rooms and storage areas will be examined. It may be possible to reorganise the space in order to accomplish more without having to move into a larger office.

Very often, interior spaces are not utilised to their fullest potential. A commercial interior designer will know what needs to be changed in order to make more space available and to meet all the needs of the respective company.

Problems with Utility Bills

How much do you have to spend on electricity, water and other utilities per month? Did you know that a poor office design could be contributing to hefty expenses?

Office renovation in Singapore can produce a high return on investment. It will make your office and your activities much more environment-friendly, which will certainly bring down the monthly utility bills.

The use of double-panelled windows, insulation and even greenery in the office can help for climate control without the need for constant air conditioner use. Smart fixtures will give employees convenience while reducing water consumption.

Energy efficient enhancement are readily available and they’re cost-efficient. You will simply need to identify the most outdated areas to produce the biggest savings.

Office Remodelling Can Happen Quickly and Efficiently

Many business owners don’t undertake such projects because they worry about the cost or the amount of time needed for the completion of the renovation.

The selection of the right interior design team is one of the prerequisites for ensuring effectiveness and quick results.

Home Guide was established in 1992 and ever since, we have worked on a wide array of commercial and office projects. We understand different businesses and their needs. We understand commercial spaces and their potential. Through the years, we have managed to establish our stellar reputation through attention to detail, adherence to the highest interior design standards and constant communication.

Are you dreaming about the perfect office, a space that will help you grow and increase your customer base through the years? Contact us today and we will be more than happy to help you bring that vision to reality.

As an interior design company in Singapore with years of experience designing office, we have created various workspaces for different needs. The space you work in depends on your job function, the company culture and how people collaborate . It’s pretty important for each space to be designed for comfort, productivity, creativity and morale. So what are the most common types of workspaces you might find in a modern office? Let us take a look at the top 5.

The Collaboration Space

Collaborative work mostly takes place in either meeting rooms, auditoriums, conference halls or small huddle rooms. It all depends on the size of the team and their place on the office hierarchy. These spaces are a totally essential part of any typical office interior design project, but since their functions are more-or-less the same, their alternating sizes need to be carefully checked in order to tell the difference.

Small Rooms For The Individual

There are some people who find it extremely hard to work in crowded, noisy spaces, which is why every office should have some individual rooms where these people can work in peace. They don’t have to be completely closed off from the rest of the office area – a simple glass wall partition can definitely do the trick – but to create a solitary environment is necessary in such situations.

The Loner Desk

We all know that one person who simply likes to immerse themselves in their work without a heed to their surroundings. Their workspace is their sanctuary, and therefore, the furniture must be ergonomic and comfortable enough to make their experience top-notch. These desks can be individual workstations with their own nook within the whole layout.

Specialized Workstations

Specialized workstations include the customized or typical workstation layout that makes up a major part of the office interior design aesthetic. There are so many different variations of their designs, and so many aspects you can personally alter in order to make them more comfortable for the employees. System furniture is very in-demand these days, which is a good alternative for typical workstations.

Executive Spaces

For someone who’s decidedly higher on the food chain, the office interior design has to be sufficiently accommodating. You cannot pile them in with the rest of the employees and call it a day. These people have their own roles to play – board members and investors to entertain – therefore, the executive spaces have to be designed in a rather upscale way. The ambiance has to be elegant, high-end yet understated with privacy at the same time.

At Home Guide, we’re masters of creating the best working environment. Our experience of more than two decades has inspired use to be one of the trend-setters in Singapore’s office design industry. Come talk to us to get you started!

Sometimes, even the most upscale offices can overlook the comfort of their employees in lieu of cheaper furniture, fast construction and disproportionate anthropometry. As a result, many office workers feel the strain on their bodies in the form of deteriorating eye-sight, carpel tunnel in their wrists and several aches in their backs. This results in minimal efficiency and increasing workloads. Proper ergonomic office interior designs can benefit to not only the health of the employees, but also their work ethics. Here are a few ergonomic essentials that every office needs.

Adjustable Task Chair/Desk

Proper furniture is always the hallmark of a good office interior design. It has to be just the right amount of comfortable and functional in order to maintain that fully efficient outlook. An adjustable chair and flexible desk can radically improve the working environment of your employee, thus increasing work productivity through proper ergonomics. This will also reduce the risk of back strain and carpal tunnel.

Storage Add-Ons

You cannot expect to run a fully functional office without proper storage add-on’s. Every employee needs a firm set of flexible storage units on hand. These can be a part of the desk or can be separately attached to the workstation to keep everything important on hand. This improves the productivity and keeps all the relative work materials within easy reach of the staff.

Work-Friendly Lighting

Ever had those extreme Monday Feels when the light just above your workstation is painfully bright and it feels like your eyes are straining at the task of concentrating on the work. This is why proper illumination is such an important part of any office interior design – especially when you’re considering ergonomics. You can also use task lighting in order to customize the settings specifically according to the user.

Monitor Arms

The monitor screen is the front runner in the major reasons for eye-strain, eyesight deterioration and even back problems. Employees find it hard to adjust to the standard monitor settings. This is why every office needs monitor arms in order to accommodate their staff. It decreases the risk of eyesight deterioration and back strain while making the office interior design infinitely more ergonomic and user-friendly.

At Home Guide, we’re well aware of how a good, ergonomic office interior design can benefit both the employees and the company as a whole. We can definitely consult you to deliver only the best, most user-friendly designs for your commercial spaces.

Office interior design has been steadily seeing a gradual evolution, and traditional business workspaces that featured  permanent layouts are slowly making way to for more agile business models that will require environments that will help them thrive. This is why today we’ll be sharing 5 ways you can make your offices more flexible.

Hot Desking

This is a term that you might not be thinking of when engaging an interior design company in Singapore, but rest assured this is a concept that you’ve definitely participated in it. Hot-desking basically refers to using temporary workstations that can be easily moved around as opposed to permanent, in-built office fixtures. It’s a pretty successful way to make sure that your office layout stays flexible at all times. This way, even if you have new employees joining the fray, you can always move around the existing furniture in order to make more room for them.

Open Layouts

Here’s something you should take note of; don’t ever cave your office layout in. If you erect permanent walls and designate all the spaces rigidly, you’re only setting yourself up for disappointment. On the other hand, open layouts for office interior design in Singapore can allow for much more flexible planning. It allows you to exchange places, participate in collaborative projects and interact properly with the staff at the same time.

Future Extension

Before you invest in any office interior design, you have to ask yourself one extremely important question: where do you see your company in the next two, three or five years? The answer must be forward-thinking because no business can stay afloat without proper future planning. Similarly, your interior has to be designed with future expansion in mind. You cannot design a space according to the size and strength of your current staff. Always design in some leeway for future possibilities.

Transparency

Transparency is another important element to consider when you’re designing your offices to be flexible. You have to keep in mind that nobody likes to be watched twenty-four seven, but it’s important for leadership to be able to easily have a full visual of what is going on in the office. In such cases, using transparency to make your spaces visually accessible can result in a more flexible layout.

Color-coding The Spaces

Inter-department and inter-employee interaction is plays a key role in the success of any company, but teams also need to retain their own identity and individuality. But since you cannot close-off all departments to each other, color-coding each one is the next great option. This is the perfect way to maintain individuality while not compromising on the flexibility.

Home Guide has always been at the forefront of interior design innovation and ideas, and offices are one of our specialties. So if you’re looking for an innovative yet relevant interior design consultant within Singapore, contact us and lets start working together to create the best work space for your business!

The office interior design of today is an entirely new genre than it used to be even ten years back in the past. Designers now have to abide by considerations that used to be considered completely frou-frou back in the day. You simply used to litter a huge hall with uncomfortable three-by-five cubicles and called it a day.

However, these days, there are entirely new concepts that have been cropping up to facilitate the new office lifestyle. No longer do we simply rely on the ‘cubicle’ mentality. In order to squeeze out utmost employee productivity, the owners tend to deliver great incentives in the form of a relatable environment and comfortable working spaces.

This phenomenon cannot be more apparent than in the movie, ‘The Internship.’ Chronicling the duration of internship of two middle aged men at Google, you can easily see how the workspace dynamic and design has evolved from the past. So without further ado, here’s a list of 5 things we learned about contemporary office interior design from The Internship.

Large Communal Spaces

Gone is the era of cramped offices with large physical barriers and boundaries. If you carefully observe the backdrop of this movie, you’ll see how all the internship activities take place in open spaces. There’s the orientation in the media room, the peer mingling in the huge auditorium and the briefing that takes place in the large recreation room. All of these spaces are now a must have in any multi-national corporation.

Interconnected Huddle Rooms

So what happens after you’re assigned a specific team in any office? You don’t simply go back to your desk and start individual work. Instead, you need a place to regroup with your team and brainstorm strategies. However, there’re aren’t exactly a limited number of teams in any office setting. Therefore, any respectable office interior design requires the strategic placement of several interconnected briefing or huddle rooms. In fact, a plethora of huddle rooms have been featured throughout the movie – they’re transparent, sound proof and offer the essential working space.

Technology At Its Best

No contemporary office interior design is ever complete without technology. Whether it’s the huge cluster of LCED screens in official meeting rooms, or the everyday office equipment that employees use – each and everything should be an inherent part of the interior design. Every office has its own relevant technology, so every interior design should be exclusive enough to accommodate it.

Open Spaces & Nature

Incorporating nature in interior designs is a huge trend these days. Better known as Biophilia, there have been innumerable studies that have compiled statistical figures on employee productivity being increased through exposure to natural elements. You can see how large, open spaces have been part of the fictional Google Headquarters in The Internship. You can even see a number of plants and large windows that let in a lot of natural light throughout the backdrop of this movie.

Visually Dynamic

Another thing you notice about the office interior design in The Internship is how visually dynamic the entire ambience is portrayed to be. There is a constant visual noise in every backdrop – sometimes in the form of colourful post-its, sometimes in the form of colourful workstation and furniture. The point is, no longer do office interior designs tend to be dull and dreary; you can definitely use vivid colours to bring in an energetic atmosphere for the users.

At Home Guide, we’ve been designing interiors in Singapore for more than two decades. We understand the need to emphasize individuality and work according to the changing workspace dynamics. We understand evolution, and our designs are always on-point on delivery.

Companies like Google, AutoDesk and Facebook have redefined the typical office interior design. These days, an office is not simply an enclosed, boxy floor littered with a plethora of cubicles. In fact, the contemporary office is a space of mutual respect, intermingling and efficient communication. These offices feature great communicative spaces, elements of Biophilic design to improve efficiency and much more. Here are 5 important aspects of an agile office.

Freestyle Office Spaces

One of the usual elements of agile office interior design is the absence of closed-off rooms. All the spaces are open and interconnected so you can easily walk from one end to another without any obstructions. You can individualize a space by designing platforms or pedestals to raise its level from the rest of the area. However, creating physical boundaries is a definite negative in such a office design.

Recreational Spots

The modern office space is a much more casual than the traditional ones in the past used to be. Employees are treated as part of a team – all of them as an important part of a whole – and as such, recreational areas have become an important part of the interior design. These areas are usually isolated sitting areas with a few games – like pool – and a vending machine or two on hand. Knowing that a few moments of relaxation are quite at hand can improve the productivity of the employees.

Huddle Rooms

Since most of the layout in an agile office interior design is definitely on the open side, it can be hard to find spaces to carry out team meetings. Huddle rooms are an absolute essential when a team wants some time to organize their thoughts and have a private meeting. However, you should definitely make these rooms transparent in order to maintain that open, user-friendly agility about the space.

A Relaxing Atmosphere

The most important part of designing any office setting is a relaxed atmosphere. The impact can be extremely brutal if you forego the physiological ergonomics and delve headfirst into pragmatics and functionality. This point is especially relevant when it comes to agile office interior design. You have to find ways to counterbalance the openness of the agile layout and create a refreshingly ambient, user-friendly and ergonomic atmosphere.

Casual Furniture

An agile office is all about imbuing comfort, and furniture is an extremely important part of that. This furniture design has to be ergonomic, flexible and user-friendly. Bad furniture can definitely play a huge role in decreasing employee productivity. System furniture is also a good option for an agile office, especially if you’re thinking of working with custom workstations.

Home Guide Designs is an interior design company in Singapore that has more than two decades worth of crafting amazing results. Office and commercial interior designs can be extremely tricky to incorporate in any setting, but we have a specific skillset and are able to provide the best consultancy.

In order to fully understand the use of Biophilic elements, you have to first understand what Biophilia actually is. Biophilia is the study and utilization of nature in everyday human life through architecture and interior design. ‘Nature’ here includes plants, natural light and other organic elements that introduce a refreshing vibe in man-made settings. Even a small view that looks outside on a small patch of green can count as a Biophilic element if you can work the design right.

Anyway, Biophilia is a concept that has been slowly gaining credibility with professionals. Many large-scale commercial companies have already started introducing natural elements in their office interior design in Singapore. Google, Facebook and even Autodesk are great case studies of this concept. So if you’re looking for ways to introduce Biophila in your office, then here are 5 ways you can do so.

The Hydroponic Wall

Whether it’s behind a reception desk or in a long indoor corridor, we’ve all seen that ubiquitous ‘green’ wall around many indoor spaces. It’s actually a hydroponic indoor vertical garden, and it’s the most beloved form of Biophilia found in modern Singapore interior design. It has the ability to completely transform the face of any interior design. You can set one up in an office to evoke a refreshing, natural ambience for your employees.

Large Window Portals

Nothing can boost up energy levels and productivity quite like natural light. This is why one of the foremost and most straightforward introductions of Biophilic elements in an office interior design is the use of large window portals that let in an ample amount of sunlight. The natural light that filters inside can do wonders to improve your employee productivity in a natural way.

Indoor Patios

If your office is located in an otherwise enclosed space with little to no natural ventilation, then designing indoor patios is the way to go. If you’re worried about additional costs of indoor plant maintenance, then fear not. This is exactly what the concept of Zen Gardens is there for. You can simply use dried plant arrangements, ornamental grasses, several kinds of rockery and pebble spills to introduce a small element of Biophilia in your office interior designs.

Green Terraces

If your office resides on one of the top floors of a high rise building, then you can easily incorporate a bit of Biophilia in your interior-scape with the help of green terraces. It’s a new concept that evokes a refreshingly natural vibe in otherwise man-made settings. Just imagine having a great view of the city-scape with a foreground of a beautiful, green framing of plant life.

Water Bodies

Did you know that listening to the sound of water can reduce a lot of stress? Introducing water bodies in a typical office interior design may seem a little out of context, but it definitely works. It’s a refreshing change that allows the employees much more room to relax in a subtle, psychological way. A great example of this is using an aquarium as part of your interior design.

At Home Guide, we’ve had more than two decades worth of experience designing all sorts of office interior designs. Our skillset includes keeping up with the latest trends to provide the absolute best for our clients.

An office interior design can be very challenging to carry out. There are a lot of bumps you can face along the road to its design. From inhibited circulation to missing rooms and even overlooked essential machinery, each and every aspect needs to be carefully considered. Above all, it is the comfort and efficiency of the employees that make up the best office interior spaces. So without further ado, let’s take a look at 5 office interior design mistakes you should avoid.

An open ended layout

Interior design in Singapore for offices will need to have very specific working layout as well as being up to code. It is possible that the architect might have left some open-ended spaces to be used for workstation of very specific sizes, but that is not the correct way to carry out an interior design. You have to be very particular about the sizes of the workstation within the context of employee comfort. If you fail to do so, then you’ll end up with an uncomfortable office environment that will decrease work productivity.

Considering the employee brief

You might want to ask yourself who you’re designing the office for when you start the actual process. Is it the executive who hired you? Or is the people who’re going to be actually using the office space that you should consider? Of course it is the latter! The employees tend to spend more than eight hours a day working in their offices. Disregarding their comfort and opinions is the worst design faux pas you might make in an office interior design. You can conduct a light survey or interview to ask what the employees want from their new environment and work the design that way.

Considering the ceiling height

The ceiling is one of those constantly overlooked parts of the overall office interior design that end up being eclipsed by the greater furniture and wall design interventions. However, it is extremely important to consider the ceiling design in order to make sure you have the correct lighting ambience or that the space doesn’t end up looking too constrained. Frank Lloyd Wright even used low-ceiling heights in his famous Falling Water house to attract the owners to the nature outside. Similarly, the ceiling height can determine the mood of the entire office.

Considering future expansion

Considering the future expansion of any running project is an absolute must. It is the first thing you should ask your client when they come to you for an office interior design. if they want to reserve some space for future expansions than this might be quite an important consideration that might have otherwise gotten lost in the intricacies of the actual design.

Excluding the machinery

Every profession has some pretty specific machinery requirements in an office. A trading company will need an exclusive room for their printers and scanners. An architect’s firm will need large plotters and full-scale printers along with model-making equipment for their offices. All of this machinery is an important part of the office interior design, and its space should be carefully considered in the layout.

At Home Guide Designs, we’ve been designing offices interiors for a long time. Our firm is a veteran when it comes to delivering efficient yet aesthetically pleasing interior design.

The reception area is an integral and very important part of any office interior design. It is representative of all that lies inside the actual office space. Therefore, its design needs to be beneficial for the company’s image and relevant according to the context of services or products that they deliver. Further, we’ll be taking a look at how you can make the reception area of your office more impactful.

Feature Back Wall

Aside from the reception desk, the feature back wall is what makes the reception area so attractive. While the desk itself can be simple in style, you can think outside the box for the feature wall design. Many companies even have motion sensor art installations as their reception back walls. Others prefer to keep things simple with minimalistic back wall designs. It all depends on your personal preference and design tastes.

Brand/Corporate Identity

The reception wall is the perfect place to feature your company logo. As you might already know, graphic design and marketing are a huge part of a company’s success. Your company logo may as well be the face of your company in commercial tiers. And as the reception is the literal forefront of your office interior design, you can successfully use the two in interchangeable concepts. You can use the logo in the reception desk or feature wall design in order to do so successfully.

First Impressions Matter

The reception is essentially the first place your clients, potential employees and investors are going to come to. Therefore, it represents the literal first impression of your work atmosphere. As the old adage goes, ‘first impression is the last impression.’ So you need to make the reception as impactful as you possibly can in order to make your office interior design absolutely stand out for anyone who matters.

Green Design Elements

Corporate and office buildings tend to be located in massively urban areas. The corporate giants of the contemporary world always ensure that they implement several green design tactics in their office interior designs. If you have a nicely designed hydroponic wall installed right at the reception area, it will lend a refreshing yet appropriately commercial vibe to the overall reception ambiance. It will also have a positive impact on any visiting executives, sponsors, investors and even clients.

Officious But Comfortable

The reception are needs to be the perfect blend of officious yet comfortable. Its ambience needs to speak directly to the visitors – “You’re walking to a lean, mean yet comfortable corporate machine; classy, austere yet relaxing.” Google and Facebook offices have got this idea down pat in their office interior designs. Their receptions are a nice abstract of what you can expect to find inside.

Home Guide Designs is a giant in Singapore’s interior design business. We’ve had the honour of designing some of the most challenging commercial projects in the country, so our consultancy will always be relevant in the office interior design genre.

Workplace dynamics have been constantly changing with the passage of time, and the contemporary office design scene has become completely different than it used to be in the past. There are new experimental design techniques that have been specifically crafted to fit a newer, healthier and more dynamic office space. These include all aspects of a physiological and comfortable office interior design. Each and every aspect – from ergonomics to psychology – is carefully considered in the design of a good work space. So below, we’ll be looking at 5 office interior design strategies that everyone must know about!

Interactive spaces

Visually interactive spaces are a great way to make your office interior design more flexible. If you close off your employed in closed of departments that have no visual or physical communication, then you’re essentially cutting off their working camaraderie with each other. A nice, interactive flow not only enhances the overall communication of the workspace, but it also allows for some great work management. So interactive spaces are one of the key aspects to consider when you’re designing your office spaces.

Ergonomic furniture

Comfortable furniture design is one of the most important and relevant building blocks of office interior design. An average employee spends around six to seven hours bound to their workstations. This means that if the furniture is uncomfortable, then it is definitely going to have a negative impact on the employee work delivery. Therefore, you should always consider the design of your furniture – its comfort, pragmatic feasibility as well as its interactive design – when you’re planning your office design.

Pay attention to the profession

Many people generalize the office space and its dynamics. However, that should never be the case. Each profession has its own quirks that define the work environment. So each and every aspect has to be carefully and specifically designed to accommodate the field an employee works in. An accountant’s office will always have more storage space. But a graphic designer’s work space would be specifically designed to promote creativity. See the difference? It’s all in the details, but those details may end up defining the end product.

Use technology

Technology is something that has become quite a necessity for all modern endeavours. In the olden days, architects used to hand-draft each and every measured aspect of their blueprints by hand. These days, it can be done in a short period of time on a sleek computer. Motion animation used to be manually drawn and flipped, but these days CGI has made everything so much easier. In this way, technology has become an important aspect of office interior designs. We have to design special nooks and alcoves for the machinery. It’s an important strategy to be considered when you’re trying to keep up with the contemporary trends.

Optimized lighting

You should never underestimate the power of good lighting when it comes to designing office interior designs. Shoddy lighting can have a negative impact on your employee psyche as well as their work delivery. Even the temperature of your lighting can end up being comfortable or irritating depending on the colour. Usually warm lighting has a generally positive impact on the workspace environment while cool lighting ends up seeming a little sterile.

All of these points are important to consider when you’re looking to design a new interior design. Each strategy has a valuable impact that may end up defining the productivity ad participation of your work force. We, at Home Guide Designs are aware of all the newest trends, and will surely help you get the best office interior design you can imagine.