2021 Office Design Trends
2021 office design trends will continue to elevate the office into more than just a place to work, by creating a destination for collaboration that bridges working from home with flex office work. This dynamic will continue to teach us a lot more about adaptability in office design and has lead to an increasingly more comfortable interior with bold fashionable elements.
Office design will remain heavily influenced by resimercial design. Home workspaces have been on the rise since April 2019 and along with this trend comes a more relaxed personal workstyle. With many businesses embracing the flexible office trend, home offices will continue to play a pivotal role in the office design aesthetic.
Expanding upon comfort and connectivity, we anticipate these core 5 office design trends in 2021:
Comfort
Executives and designers have been moving away from sterile, gray interiors with cold light for some time now. Open plan design continues to empower employees to engage, feel calm, and remain confident amidst constant change. Especially if they spend a lot of time in the office. Comfort will be all about increasing productivity and team culture in your both home and work office environments.
Resimercial design, combined with the perks of hospitality design, has been creeping into the office through more engaging reception and meeting spaces. This trend is now shifting into the actual workspaces of both private offices and workstations. Thanks to remote work, residential furnishings are trending to entice flex workers back to the office. Even with some jobs remaining home-based, creating an office of connectivity for flex work will become a strong part of the 2021 design plan. Spaces that feel cozy are essential to helping your team feel safe and comfortable back in the office.
- Integrate soft natural materials like leather and wood surfaces
- Invest in natural light
- Add bold color accents
- Implement glass walls instead of cubicles
- Incorporate inconspicuous privacy solutions for social distancing
Inspiration
It’s hard to say exactly when it started, but offices regularly turn to hospitality design and fashion to showcase their status and modern focus. This has to do with the impact of branding and the uptick of user experience design within retail and commercial environments. It becomes a real culture builder and silent advertisement for the company to expand your brand across your office design. Clients and potential employees can gather a lot of information about your workplace culture and brand acumen from a well-planned office design:
- Integrate brand messaging applied as wall graphics and glass-walled spaces
- Add high-end designer lighting paired with bold brand colors in reception areas
- Adhere to a particular design style, Mid-Century modern is still trending
- Create a signature style featuring designer sofas, task chairs, local artists featured on walls
Focus on both the immediate surroundings and improving employee performance. Allocate zones for different tasks. Encourage engagement throughout the office. Create interesting huddle groupings with furniture in bold patterns and configurations. Use high-quality textiles, attention-grabbing art objects, and unique space planning to create traffic patterns within the office design. Design with intention to create a welcoming workspace with the perks and amenities of hospitality design.
Culture Building
In 2021, managers will be sparing no expense to create a thriving environment where teams can relax, engage creatively, and communicate openly. With social distancing still in place, unique design strategies will be needed, so elist the help of space planners and designers to solve this issue stylistically will help you provide some unique options for your team.
- Rather than a closed board room situation, consider smaller huddle spaces
- Incorporate soft sofas, unique furniture pieces, and open views designed for brainstorming
- Encourage open dialog about current events, the free exchange of ideas & relaxing
- Nooks with subdued lighting can add to a more conversational vibe for impromptu meetings
Repurpose your boardroom into a flexible workspace that can adapt between meetings, training, and work. This is a great redesign opportunity for an open coffee bar with healthy snacks for visitors to touchdown and flex workers to engage at will. The caveat: the heady aroma of coffee brewing is well known to stimulate relaxed, productive conversation, conclude deals, and increase sales!
Sustainable Design
This trend constantly evolves for office design. The current preference is natural colors and materials in the interior. Creating a feeling of coziness is heavily trending right now. Walls of live plants, sustainable energy management, natural lighting, and sustainable building practices have been around a long time and will continue to contribute to company management.
There is a growing trend among talent acquisitions seeking out businesses that increasingly align with their moral values across environmental, social, and governance initiatives. LEED design lead the way to include efforts to reduce corporate carbon footprints, improve employee wellbeing, ensure diversity and inclusion, and give back to the community. Consider providing 401K investment opportunities that contribute to sustainable initiatives as part of this trend.
Covid-19 has kickstarted a new wave of green thinking among employees:
- 56% of 17,149 consumers feel that reducing single-use plastics
- Advocate lowering carbon footprints with company-wide incentives
- Companies behaving more sustainability have become a viable part of the new normal
As businesses continue to view real estate as a strategic device and an investment, choosing green, sustainable offices is a clear way to demonstrate a commitment to the cause (for both employees, clients, and competitors).
This trend also extends to technologies and tools that contribute to the economical use of resources: for example, water, electricity.
Individuality
Developing an office design strategy that speaks to your mission as a company has never been more important than now for morale, connectivity, and general employee wellbeing. This trend deeply connects employees with the company and makes them feel more involved in the mission and goals. When people confidently talk about their strengths and business development within their professional and social circles, it increases productivity. Some ways to achieve this include:
- Strive more a deeper connection with flexible workers out in the field and working from home
- Representing your brand across multiple platforms becomes essential for communications
- Partner with your teams to develop your individuality across these platforms
- Engage your team in the process, rather than just the implementation of your mission
The most difficult part of the new normal has been the disconnect between people. This has impacted many industries and businesses. Our team of designers and project managers have been striving to address these issues with clients from day one. Reconnecting your team will be a game-changer in 2021. Our unique set of services can accommodate any stage of your business journey. Navigating change is our expertise, schedule a consultation to discover how we can help your team reconnect.
MEET TERESA ALVAREZ: Teresa is an office furniture specialist who can help your workspace become more in touch with your user experience. With 12 years of experience in the office interiors and office supply business, she can help you find creative solutions to reconnect your remote team. Contact her via email at teresa@officefurniturenow.com or give her a call at 888-910-3769 x139.
