All in a Day's Work

The buzz in office design in the last few years has been something called "hoteling". It is a way for companies to judiciously allocate space to it's part-time or traveling employees and thus saving valuable real estate.  Many companies are allowing their employees to occasionally work from home.  Sales people are on the road most of the time and just need a space to land for a day or two per month.

But what about the space in your home where you work? Whether you work from home occasionally or you are an entrepreneur with a home office, you need to plan your work space carefully. Analyzing your work processes and your storage and equipment needs will allow the designer to help you be more efficient. We refer to this as "cognitive ergonomics".

Is the type of work you do paper or computer intensive?  Do you sit for long periods of time?  Do you use manuals and reference books on a regular basis? If you're a sales person who regularly uses samples, how do you store them? These are just a few of the questions I ask my clients who enlist my services to design their offices - corporate or home offices.

In some cases budget is a major concern.  Think about how long you plan to keep the furniture.  How much use is it going to get day to day?  The more use your furniture gets the more important it becomes to buy good quality.  I have seen some pieces in consignment shops as well that would translate well to a home office.

This table desk is available at Office Depot.  If you are on a tight budget, you may want to start here.  If you use a laptop and smart phone this may be all you need.  Other pieces you may want would be a bookcase and a small file cabinet.

Always check to see if there are grommets in the desk to drop USB or power cords. Keeping wires and cords out of the way and out of sight will make your work space less cluttered.  If you can use wireless connections, even better!

If you need to store samples or office supplies, try this storage credenza with baskets. This is something I saw at the local Hobby Lobby.  Perfect for housing printer paper, files, or even the kids' drawing paper and crayons. Set up your fax machine or print on top.

Store your trade magazines in baskets or vertical organizers to keep them tidy on the bookcase.











If you need room for two people, consider a peninsula desk arrangement.  This is a set up that can fit in a 6 ft x 8 ft footprint.  Allow for walking clearances and room to pull chair in and out from desk.



Time to address "physical ergonomics" - your chair. Your desk chair is probably the most important piece of furniture for your overall health.  If the chair does not adjust to your height and give you proper back support, you will feel tired in no time.  I recommend a chair that has height, seat depth, armrest and lumbar adjustments.  If you can choose the type of caster your chair has, get a soft caster for hard floor surface and a hard caster for carpet.  If your carpet is very thick or has a heavy pad, Invest in a poly chair pad. Your chair can be the most expensive piece of furniture in your office, but at the end of the day you'll be thankful for it.

So whether you like traditional, modern, or shabby chic, your furniture should first function for your type of work needs. So shop your local office furniture store. Stick to your budget and don't by-pass consignment shops. Even if you hire a designer to consult with you for a couple of hours it will likely keep you from making a costly mistake.  You may even find more time in your day!

Aahhh, the Gulf Coast

The Catch

Balcony view of Ono Island and Old River

Well, it was great while it lasted! Vacation that is. I love the sandy, white beaches of Alabama. We stayed at a beautiful condominium in Orange Beach not far from the Flora-Bama. Visited with old friends and met new ones. My son caught two huge redfish - the day limit.  Good times.



 

Image URL: http://media.al.com/alphotos/photo/2012/06/11...

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One thing that concerns me is the amount of building on the beach. We left the day before the warnings of the eminent tropical storm Debby started. (Living in "the cone" of probability is no treat.) I can't help but question the sanity of those who build right on the beach. It is wonderful to walk out your door to the beach and the surf but to build a huge 10-12 story building seems a shame. Having not been there in 4 years, it was amazing to drive down the beach road through Gulf Shores and feel like I was in a concrete and stucco canyon.

We spent some time in Perdido Key and the building was more conservative.  Many of the condominiums were older, low rise buildings.  Maybe Florida has more strict building codes than Alabama.  I'll have to check into that and let you know.  The nostalgia was there - how I remember the beach as a kid visiting relatives in the summers.

I hope you all get to spend some time away from your daily routine this summer. Go recharge your batteries and get a fresh outlook - even if it's for a weekend just a short drive away.

Until next time ....

Color Quest

How does an interior designer use color?  It can give you a lift or bring you down.  Being surrounded by red can energize, raise you temperature or even increase your appetite.  Being surrounded by blue can evoke a calm demeanor or a sense of trust and stability.

The age of the persons using the space has a bearing on the shades of color used.  We refer to this as the value of the color.  The colors that have a grayed value or a cool undertone are difficult to see by an older population.  The color needs to be more saturated, slightly brighter to counter-act the affects of aging eye sight.  In a 2010 article, 'Visual Design for an Aging Population', by Liam Otten on the Washington University at St. Louis web site, Otten notes the following, "By the time one reaches age 60, shrinking of the pupil reduces the amount of light reaching photo receptors by as much as three-fourths. This causes colors — particularly “cool” colors, such as blues, greens and purples — to appear dimmer and less distinct."

Perception of color is so important.  One person may see cream and another person will see that color as yellow. When working with an interior designer, if you love a particular color, give them the exact color number from a paint chart.  If you give us a color name, it may not have anything to do with the color itself. Trying to describe a color is usually not the answer either. I have worked with a client who called a color "sage" which is really more gray-green and when I saw it, it was more of a pale teal.  One person's sage is another person's teal. 

Pantone Formula Guide

Pantone colors are the most accurate.
They use a number system instead of names. But if you don't have a Pantone color selector, use actual paint swatches.

This brings me to the issue of lighting.  A color will change depending upon the exposure to daylight and artificial light.  Interior designers, either by training or experience, will be able to direct you to the appropriate shade based on the use of the room and the lighting that room will receive.

 Your age, your experiences, your personality as well as physiological challenges such as color blindness all - pardon the pun - color your world. A designer can use this information to design for the person with color blindness as well as the people using the space who do not.  You just have to be creative, know how to mix colors and be perceptive.  A great designer will have this knowledge and this is what you are paying for when you hire a professional interior designer.

To Green or Not to Green?

I really hate more government involvement in our daily lives.  I am a LEED Accredited Professional and as such, I should be happy that there are more regulations to get people to conserve our natural resources.  But there is that rebellious side of me that says, "I can make my own decisions!"

As an interior designer, I always make my clients aware of the best products for the longest life cycle, or ease of maintenance.  Selecting finishes that will hold up to the rigours of daily use is important, whether they are in a house with a family of 5 or an office building with hundreds of people walking through.   It is my business to educate my clients on innovative products or uses of existing products that will help save them time and money. And many of those products have recycled content or can be recycled at the end of their usefulness.  But ultimately it is their decision to embrace the concept.

I attended a webinar today where one of the moderators used the examples of "the carrot, the stick, or nothing." to get the use of sustainable best practices in regional projects.  The old adage, "You can catch more flies with honey than vinegar" comes to mind.  The "stick" was the example that made me bristle.  I don't believe anyone likes to have a stick shaken at them.   If the Green Movement is going to be a success, we need to make it palatable, not a forced adherence.