It has become a tradition here at LOF Direct to take a look at the new year and what office furniture trends we expect to see and what direction our workplaces are moving towards in the coming months.
Sustainable Fabrics
Increasingly consumers are becoming more conscious about where the products they purchase are coming from and this is no different within the office furniture industry, from wood coming from sustainable forests and increasingly fabrics coming from less man-made sources and more animal friendly (vegan) fabrics, such as organic cotton, jute, bamboo, recycled wood and re-purposed plastics.
There is also definitely a move back to more woollen products - for environmental reasons, natural materials are obviously much better for both human health and the environment as a whole, and there seems to be a growing preference for these when specifying office seating, breakout seating such as booths and upholstered screens. Farmers are investing more and more into sheep that have a high wool yield because the value of British wool is continuously growing - fabrics like Camiras' Yoredale show why it’s a such a great fibre for use in everything from textiles to carpets and clothing. The future looks bright for British wool!
Mindful office environments
It is a subject rife across media platforms at the moment about individuals mental health and what we can do to help and improve our mental and physical well-being, particularly within the workplace.
These needs will be met within the office environment with an increase in breakout and social areas, a more domestic look within the office with comfortable sofas, floor lamps, accessories and more homely looking kitchens. This is just the start though, we are anticipating, an increase in work gyms, an improvement to office wash areas and even yoga and meditation rooms.
The Lexe sofa by UK office seating manufacturer Boss Design is the perfect mix of a commercial yet domestic looking soft seating solution.
The Great Outdoors
We are instinctively drawn towards nature and light and this is no different when it comes to our working environment, nature and natural daylight has been a key element within office design and space planning for a while now and thankfully there is no sign of this changing anytime soon.
Natural light offers an abundance of benefits and it has a proven positive impact on employee well-being, productivity and happiness. Office designers strive to incorporate as much natural light as possible into any design, and while this can be a complex task, depending on the building and space in question, simple things like taking care where workspaces are positioned, utilising smart lighting solutions to complement natural light and also thinking creatively about how any outdoor or rooftop spaces can be made usable can have a major impact.
There are also smaller changes that can be made such as introducing planting into the workplace and furniture manufacturers are making this easier than ever by adding planting spaces to the top of storage units and also allowing dedicated space above workstations for hanging plants.
Some Privacy Please!
Open plan offices are still at the forefront when designing office spaces, they work well for getting lots of people in for using banks of bench desks and for collaboration between teams and employees however sometimes people do just need some peace and quiet and a private conversation. We therefore expect to see a rise in high backed individual chairs, booths, 'phone boxes', office pods and acoustic solutions - all of which have been big during 2018-19 but we expect this to continue to increase. Employees do like to have an element of their own space within the office as well as needing some time away from the noise and/or a confidential conversation.
Colour
Bold is the theme of the year with bright, clashing colours returning to workplaces with vengeance. This is not just limited to colours but also materials and textures that are being used within our offices. Office furniture manufacturers have increasingly been introducing more colour choices to leg frames and table top finishes throughout 2019 and we are expecting this to continue. Camira fabrics trend report details challenging tradition and breaking down the boundaries and we expect to see this trend expand into our office spaces as well as reception and breakout areas, there is even talk of feature wallpapers being back!
We like to work with the best office furniture manufacturers available, so from office seating manufacturers in Northamptonshire to office furniture manufacturers in Lithuania, we have access to them all. This means we can bring the best in office furniture designs direct to you at fantastic prices.
