Are you keen to freshen up and revitalise your office space but don’t quite have the budget for it? Is your current office decor looking dated and tired? This may be preventing your staff from getting motivated and stifling their creative juices. As your business grows, you will be keen to maintain a modern and friendly image. The office decor projects the first image of your company’s brand to both your employees and customers. These first impressions must be on-brand.
Luckily there are plenty of budget-friendly ways to renovate your office and restore employee focus. In this article, we discuss how you can successfully renovate your workspace on a tight budget.
1. Declutter And Move Things Around
When renovating your office space, it is best to start with a good clear-out. Make a pile of all the things that are still needed and will be relocated to your renovated space. Anything that you no longer need should ideally be recycled, if this isn’t possible then put it in the rubbish pile.
Take this opportunity to rearrange your floor plan and make sure you are effectively using all of your space. If you haven’t changed the flow of your workspace for a while it may not be best suited to your current office dynamics.
If your budget can stretch to it, Flexispot have a fantastic range of affordable office furniture and accessories. Check out Flexispot’s handy storage and organisation accessories for inspirational ideas.
2. Give It A Lick Of Paint
A very budget-friendly way to transform your office space is by giving it a fresh coat of paint. To keep things very low cost, you could “do it yourself” and get all of your co-workers to help out - you could even turn it into a fun, team-building activity! Choose an uplifting and motivating colour scheme, that helps everybody to remain focused. It is best to keep to light and airy shades and add darker coloured accents to add a splash of intensity.
3. Let It Shine
Make sure you get the lighting right in your office. Lighting that is not up to scratch can lead to the unpleasant symptoms of eye strain and headaches. If you can, try to position workstations near windows for a natural source of light. This will help to reduce glare on computer screens and also boost your employees’ mood.
4. Recycle Where Possible
Recycling office furniture and accessories is a great way to cut costs and be kind to the planet. You may be able to source second-hand office furniture from other nearby offices that are being renovated. Office refurbishments often lead companies to trash furniture that still has plenty of life left in it. Why not give these pieces a new purpose and save them from heading to landfill? If they are looking a bit tatty, you can always give your new pieces of furniture a bit of a facelift and upcycle them. Reupholstering a preloved chair or replacing the worktop laminate on an old desk will prove much cheaper than buying new office furniture.
Consider auctioning off your old pieces of office furniture to raise a bit more money for your refurb. Even if you think your furniture is too shabby to sell, there are plenty of people looking to purchase pieces for upcycling projects. As the saying goes: “one person’s trash is another person’s treasure!”.
5. Consider Renting
Another way to keep down the costs of replacing office furniture is by renting it! The advantage of renting office furniture is that you can send it back and change it for different items as the dynamics of your office change over time. While the cost-saving benefits are clear in the short term, you may want to calculate the costs and compare whether renting will save you money over time compared to purchasing your office furniture.
6. Plant Power
Introducing a few plants can completely transform the look of your office. Studies have shown that greenery can improve staff motivation, productivity and mood. Add larger plants to break-out areas to help workers to relax during their break times. You could even give each employee their own colourful small plant to place on their desk. As an added bonus, many houseplants have air-purifying properties, helping to keep the office air clean and releasing extra oxygen.
Think about the types of plants you are going to buy before you rush out and get them. Do a bit of research first to make sure you purchase plants that are easy to maintain and that will thrive with minimal waterings and low-level light. Some suitable office plants include spider plants, peace lily, cacti and succulents.
7. Don’t Forget The Floor
A cheap and simple way to make your office space more homely is to add some rugs to the floor. A nice colourful rug in the break-out room can brighten up the area and distinguish it from other parts of the office. Rugs can be bought second hand to keep costs down. Just remember that rugs for high traffic areas will need to be of a suitable quality.
Final Remarks
If you are looking to keep costs down as you refurbish your office, set a strict budget and stick to it. The tips above should help you get off to a good start. Doing some of the work yourself alongside your colleagues will help to keep the cost to a minimum.
