By building a warm and welcoming office space, you can create an uplift in your overall office atmosphere and make your office feel more professional. If done right, redecorating can even boost your storage space. But in small businesses, budgets can be tight. These office decorating ideas can help bring style and sophistication to any space on a budget!
It can be difficult to get approval for full-scale office fit-outs or office décor ideas which are, for the large part, for aesthetic purposes! Luckily, you don’t need to spend a fortune to update your office.
By adding just a few select pieces, you can create a bright and positive office space cheaply, with minimal disruption to your day-to-day business operations.
Simple office decorating ideas
These 10 simple office decorating ideas will help you create a more positive and welcoming office space, fast! First, you’ll need to assess the state of your current workplace. Think about what needs changing, replacing, or updating.
When considering your budget, prioritise the below before going with any other quirky office decorating ideas. Check things like:
- Are your walls dirty, chipped or dusty? If the shade of paint on the office walls looks like it hasn’t been updated since the 70s, it might be time for a refresh! You’d be surprised how much of a difference a fresh coat of paint can make. With proper planning, in most small to medium-sized offices, you or your team can paint over the course of a day or a weekend.
- Consider whether or not you need more space, or if areas in your office can be condensed. Multiple meeting rooms could be turned into larger, open, break-out spaces with just one corporate boardroom. Separate offices could be turned into open-office plans or one large private group office instead of multiple single private offices.
- If you have dedicated storage rooms in your office, perhaps this storage is hidden underneath furniture space instead. Declutter and move old files, books, magazines, draws and boxes to be stored in an external storage unit instead of in the office.
1. Replace old furniture
Before you start considering new office decorating ideas for work, think about replacing your old furniture. Has your old furniture been around since 1982? If so, you might want to think about updating your office décor to something more modern, or that which better reflects the personality of your office.
Again, when coming up with office decorating ideas, investing in new furniture should be a high priority. But when you do, consider maximising your spaces with multi-functional pieces.
2. Add texture
If your carpet is paper-thin, dusty, or full of stains, it’s time for a change. Not only does old carpet house bugs and bacteria, it collects spills easily and can contribute to bad smells in the office if it’s not steam-cleaned regularly. Consider replacing carpets with floorboards and rugs which are much easier to clean. Rugs are easy to replace and can add some much-needed colour to your spaces.
They can also be used to define various “zones” without physical barriers, like walls or partitions. A “zone” can be created by grouping chairs, couches or beanbags together with a table over a rug.
For added colour or texture, add office wall decor or invest in some colourful cushions to add to chairs and couches. These are affordable and easy to replace if you need to change your office décor again in future.
3. Add some colour
Interior design for office spaces doesn’t need to be complicated. Often, all that is needed to spruce up your office space is a regular office clean-up, a paint job, and some colour. And what easier way to add colour than with wall art? Wall art is one of the easiest office decorating ideas of them all and doesn’t have to be expensive. Instead of buying high-priced oil paintings, create your own art.
We’ve got over 20 million images to choose from. Alternatively, you could source a photo with a Creative Commons licence, or find your own photo to print on canvas, whether that’s an art print you’ve purchased or a photo you created yourself. You could even enlarge and print inspirational quotes or your company values on wall art.
For a larger wall, create a large wall display made up of several images. For a smaller space, add a variety of several smaller canvas pictures. One or two large pieces, however, can really stand out and make a strong impact.
4. Try acrylic wall art
Alternatively, acrylic prints are great for areas with moisture, such as bathrooms or kitchens, and they have a great, shiny, gallery-finish. An acrylic print can make a high-impact statement in a foyer area, as one large print, or as a split print image, and they are thin enough to not take up too much space.
One large colourful piece of wall art can make a huge difference to your office décor. Check out how to style your wall art to perfectly match your spaces here.
5. Ensure your spaces are multi-functional
When thinking about office decorating ideas, consider function as well as form. For instance, when purchasing couches, stools, tables, or other furniture, consider those with added storage chambers.
Or, consider whether chairs and tables can be folded away or easily stacked. Ideally, you want office spaces which can serve a variety of functions, whether that is an indoor lunch space or a semi-private meeting area, so furniture should be light and able to be moved around accordingly.
6. Go natural
Studies show that natural light boosts creativity in the workplace. When considering office decorating ideas for your new space, ensure there are a myriad of areas with natural light as well as lots of greenery.
However, if it’s too difficult to look after a large number of real plants, you could add fake plants, or include a mixture of both.
Alternatively, if that’s too high-maintenance, add greenery when it comes to your wall art. Tropical prints and palm prints are in vogue at the moment, or you could add a large natural landscape image on a metal print for a vividly colourful, yet chic addition to a boring wall.
7. Try mismatched materials
Luckily, interior design for office spaces is seeing a mixed material, industrial look come into style. More than ever, we’re embracing recycled and re-used materials in our office décor.
These pieces don’t have to be expensive; look for mismatched furniture you can re-use and repurpose, or browse garage sales, Gumtree, eBay or the markets.
This can add a sense of quirky personality to your office décor, as well as being incredibly affordable. For instance, metal wall art can also add a chic, polished touch which fits in with a modern, mixed materials look, and enhances your rooms quickly. Our metal wall art is highly durable and can last decades; even outside.
8. Involve your team
Ask your team to contribute to the office décor by choosing or voting on affordable wall art pieces and prints they love. Ask them to bring in personal items to make their spaces their own, like photos of pets or loved ones, plants or other trinkets.
9. Improve cleanliness
If your office space doesn’t always smell the greatest, invest in distributing air freshener regularly throughout the office, employ a regular cleaning service, or just implement a stricter cleanliness policy. Ensure you always have airflow coming through the office wherever possible.
Make cleaning fun; incorporate a 20-minute cleaning session once a week. Turn on some music and get your staffers cleaning! This can also be a great way to stretch your legs after a long day of sitting.
10. Get into the team spirit
Finally; the most important part of your business is your valued team members. By showing your employees that you honour and value them, you’ll be contributing to a positive and collaborative working environment.
Remind your employees of the good times by adding office wall decor. Add team photos on wall art or wall displays. You can even create photo collages of important team events, or honour the employee of the month or year with a small canvas print each month or year to be hung on a dedicated wall.
Hopefully, these office decorating ideas for work have given you the inspiration you need to create a positive, uplifting office environment where you’ll foster happy and creative team members.
To see our full range of wall art options, click here. You can view our sizes or browse through our range of prints and photos here.
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