The word ‘’exciting’’ rarely springs to mind when we think of the word ‘’office’’. Often your workplace, or office is not seen to be the most exciting or vibrant place. However, recent trends have seen many employers seeking to make their office space a more exciting, relaxed and vibrant environment, mainly because studies have shown that if an employee’s work place is relaxed, colourful and well designed, they will often work harder, and their productivity and wellbeing will improve.
Scandinavian design has psychological wellbeing within the workplace at the core of its inspiration. Here are some simple ways you can inject some Scandinavian design into your office to make it a more meaningful and holistic space:
Using Natural Materials to offer Psychological Wellbeing
The type of materials used in your office can be a basic way to improve office wellbeing and positivity levels amongst your employees. Simply, the colour or texture of these materials can make a huge difference to your office space. For example, if you have chosen wood for your office floors, then a warmer or lighter finish can make a huge difference to the ambience of the space. LED lights with a warmer toned bulb can often be a good way to go too. Lighting is an important part of any office, so it’s important it is given enough attention, as often, if the lighting is too severe, it can result in employees feel uneasy, resulting in less productivity levels. Another simple thing to do is to let as much natural light into your office as possible, as this can help employees to feel relaxed and positive when they are at work.
Incorporating Plants into your Office
Wellbeing and mindfulness is at the core of Scandinavian design. Often when nature is incorporated into the workplace this can help employees to feel less stressed and relaxed when they are working, as plants can bring a natural element to your space. A holistic approach to Scandinavian design in the office can be as simple as adding a few plants into your space. Plants often increase oxygen levels in the office, and bring a sense of calm and purity to the area. Plants such as Orchids, as seen in the image across, are an easy option when it comes to taking care of plants in a workplace environment as they only require warmth and a little water to survive, plus they also add a visual aspect to your space.
Introducing Acoustic Products into your Work Space
In Scandinavian design, a fundamental idea is the use of acoustic products which are believed to increase workspace harmony. Essentially, this means that by having a unique aspect to your office, this can help employees to feel inspired to work hard and can help them to enjoy their working environment. Whether you choose to incorporate unique chairs, desks or seating areas, an acoustic element could definitely be considered. For example, office pods are a great way to inject a unique, and acoustic element into your office, and they are a great way to hold meetings, or do some individual work, they act as a separated office space within your office. Injecting some Scandinavian acoustic design can also be done through using uniquely shaped and vibrantly coloured felt panels or office screens.
Ensure Your Office is Visually Pleasing
Contemporary harmonious upholstery colours, such as grey, white or pastel colours, can make a huge difference to your office space, and can make a huge difference to the ambience of your office. If you want to be adventurous, vivid colours like blue and pink, can often add a quirky and unique feel to your space. A huge trend for 2018 has been the use of egg, swan and drop chairs. The Egg Chair was originally designed by Arne Jacobsen in 1958 for the Radisson SAS Hotel in Copenhagen, and has been a staple of Scandinavian design since, but the trend has recently taken off again. If you want to make your office more visually pleasing, it can be as simple as adding one or two unique chairs that have a bright, vibrant and tasteful colour, helping your office to feel modern and relaxed, with a Scandinavian twist.
As you can see, a contemporary Scandinavian office should be both visually pleasing and well designed. Design is a hugely important part of Scandinavian inspiration. If you’re looking to inject some Scandinavian design into your office space, it can often be done through the simple use of aesthetically pleasing products, specifically furniture, like the egg chair or even through the simple addition of grey, pastel, or even vividly coloured pieces of furniture, specifically chairs. The shades of the materials used in your office can make a huge difference to the ambience and feel of your space. Natural wood finishes are a great way to make your space a lot more visually pleasing too as well as using coloured furniture. Introducing acoustic products such as an office pod and the addition of plants, along with soft lighting can really help you create a minimal, Scandinavian ambience in your office too.
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