Boardroom Furniture Ideas
This blog / article entitled Boardroom Furniture Ideas has been written to offer advice on ways to design a boardroom or meeting room that will fit your requirements, and hopefully offer some tips and ideas that you may not have thought of! Happy Reading.
How long do we spend in meetings? Directors & Executives can spend up to half their working day in meetings, and managerial staff are often in meetings for up to 35% of their working day. That amounts to a fair number of hours!
What do you need from your Boardroom Furniture?
- Comfort
- Make attendees feel at ease
- Promote conversation & Creativity
- Enhance the effectiveness of meetings
Once the size & location of the room has been confirmed, it’s time to decide on the Functions & Style of the Room:
- Usage – Are you aiming for a large boardroom which will be your companies show piece for external clients? or modular meeting rooms that can be moved and changed around for internal staff meetings?
- Will the room have 1 use or will it be used for other things such as staff training or appraisals?
- Does the table need to be a large boardroom table or smaller modular meeting tables?
- On average how many people will need to be seated? what is the maximum number and minimum number of people using the room?
- Will there be any need for storage in the room?
- Are you looking for a traditional or modern style room, or even a mix of both by using contemporary materials and finishes, or even an industrial rustic looks for a real focal point?
- The kind of colour scheme you go for will have some impact on the style and table finish that would look best.
Equipment in your Meeting Room
Equipment in your meeting room is often over looked! Sometimes the spec is as basic as “I need a boardroom table for 10 people” That’s a start! But you should also evaluate other essential equipment and accessories you may need.
Here are some ideas to bear in mind with Boardroom Furniture and Meeting Room Design.
Boardroom Furniture
As mentioned above it is important to understand how and why the room is going to be occupied.
- Will the tables need to be reconfigured?
- Will people be sitting or standing at meetings, if both you may consider a height adjustable table.
- Do you require power & data access or charging outlets at the table? LINK TO POWER
- Do the chairs need to be moved around quite a lot?
- Do they need to stack
- Would you prefer static or swivel chairs so the users can swivel easily to view a monitor or board? Or chairs on castors to create collaboration.
- Do you require storage in the room, for example items such as pens and papers, cupboards and glasses?
- Do you require whiteboards.
- Will you require audio visual or digital equipment?
All meeting rooms and boardrooms are different, so each room needs to be evaluated individually for its technology requirements and fitted out appropriately. Some rooms may just require a basic whiteboard and pen and others may need advanced conferencing & presentation equipment.
Lighting
Lighting can make or break your meeting room! This is where knowing the requirements of the room is a crucial part of planning. Heavy on the soft lighting can mean attendees having a little nap, however too many bright lights are not great for viewing screens or reading!
The lighting situation also depends on the location of the room. The room may have a lot of windows & natural light, in which case you will need to look at using window blinds. If the room doesn’t have windows, light must be a high priority when designing the room.
Sound
One of the least thoughts about factors when planning a meeting room is “Sound Control” If you have not considered sound control during planning you often end up with unwanted noises, such as interference on speakers and microphones, vibrations and echoes or noisy scraping from moving furniture
Acoustic panels and accessories are now available in a wide variety designs, shapes and styles, from floor standing to ceiling hung. Acoustic panels can be used inside or outside the room, depending if sound is needed to be kept inside or outside.
Room Organisation
Meeting rooms & boardrooms are generally busy spaces in high demand. In a busy office the meeting room booking systems needs to be flawless! With an easy effective booking procedure. There needs to be clear procedures and communication to ensure meeting rooms are not double booked. When rooms are occupied you could consider manual or digital display signs.
Do you have a staff member dedicated to tidying the room after every meeting, or is it down to the person booking out the room? Do all staff members know how and where to book the rooms?
Are there clear instructions on how to use the amenities / equipment, or does the equipment need to be set up by the IT team before meetings?
DESIGN DESIGN DESIGN – Boardroom Furniture Ideas.
Right now, that functional side of things has been discussed its time to get creative and decide on some rooms design ideas, but don’t forget to get you equipment needs and room usage in mind.
Enhance your company identity by choosing the right furniture, fixtures, decorations and paint to portray the image you desire!
A few helpful tips on designing your boardroom.
Colour schemes for our boardroom
Colour is like light! It can make or break a room. Using your company colours is the classic way to expose your company brand and identity.
If you are aiming for a formal boardroom, it good to stick to neutral colours and you can always add a splash of colour, with art work or chair fabrics.
Colour choices can reflect the type of atmosphere you are trying to create, for example bright strong colours such as orange or red can create excitement and might be more suited to create lively meetings encouraging competitiveness as well as teamwork. More relaxing calming colours include blue and green which can encourage casual flowing conversations.
Materials used in boardroom furniture ideas
Just like colour materials can reflect on how the space is viewed. Traditional wood can be used in many designs, its is versatile in ways of colour and design and will fit in most rooms. Glass with chrome offers a modern clean crisp look, whereas glass and wood offer’s a modern design with a traditional twist. Chairs also play a large part when deciding on materials, large plush leather chairs for formal boardrooms or stackable static chairs for busy meeting spaces.
Don’t be afraid to be bold!
Boardroom Ideas! Don’t let your meeting space be boring or lack personality! You don’t have to be a big corporate company to think along these lines! You don’t need to spend a fortune to achieve a stylish boardroom. Even a splash of colour or a piece of artwork on one wall can make a huge difference. Added features such as some fun elements can turn a tense boring meeting into productive exciting one.
Now day’s meeting rooms don’t have to have the conventional table and chairs set up. People are now thinking outside the box and coming up with creative playful meeting spaces which often incorporate lounge spaces. Traditional meeting rooms were always in a separate room, now they can often be found within the open plan office, separated by a number of items, such as acoustic screens or storage cupboards.
We hope you have enjoyed reading our blog / article on Boardroom Furniture Ideas and Meeting Room Design.
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