Office furniture is a broad term which encompasses a variety of product categories including computer furniture, office desks and tables, and conference, meeting, and training furniture. Additional office furniture categories include files and storage, institutional furniture, home office furniture, and equipment, machine, and printer stands.
Selecting the right office furniture is important not only for providing a pleasant environment for employees, but also to maximize the flexibility of the office furniture applications to help minimize obsolescence. Please browse our various office furniture categories - if you don't find what you need, feel free to call us and we will cheerfully locate the product for you.
Here are some furniture buying tips for your growing office:
1. Define your furniture requirements by what you and your employees need to work effectively. This calls for a stronger emphasis on mobility and adaptability, a new blending of ownership and sharing. You need to consider open displays for shared information, as well as support for shared technology and storage. As the employer, your goal should be to help workers communicate more effectively and function better in teams. In providing more collaborative environments, you need to ask these questions: What kind of furniture do we need? Tables for meetings? Acoustical panels for privacy?
2. Generate a list of the minimum furniture you require to avoid buying things that you do not need. Space, for one, is a problem for most home offices. Oftentimes, you will need to furnish your office vertically to maximize every square inch of your office.
3. Buy furniture for its functionality, not for image. If furniture is not appropriate for the way your people work, it becomes impractical.
Office Desks and Tables
The primary difference among office desks is the material used in their construction. Desks are typically made from wood, laminate or metal.
While wood is considered to be the best looking-material, it tends to scar and must be treated to maintain its appearance. As a result, most office desks are made of laminate, which is a plastic finish applied to a wood core. Laminate comes in a wide array of patterns, from wood grain to color finishes, and is available in the budget and mid-market segments. For even greater durability, some businesses prefer metal desks.
Using Desks with a Computer
When using a computer on a desk, you must also make sure that the keyboard can be placed at a comfortable height. A normal desk height of 29-30 inches can result in great discomfort when working at a computer for long periods of time. To address this issue, the desk should be equipped with either a keyboard platform (preferably adjustable), or legs that can be adjusted. Check also that the keyboard platform is large enough to support a mouse or other pointing device.
Also consider how computer wiring is managed. Some computer desks are equipped with wiring holes. These allow wires to be dropped through the worksurface so they do not hang over the edge of the desk. Other desk manufacturers address this issue by adding channels along the edge of the desk to funnel the wires. Some manufacturers have even developed a storage area for a surge suppressor so it can be kept safely out of a foot's reach.
Office equipment stands includes printer stands in different sizes with various shelf configurations. Also included are equipment stands which can hold the fax, copier, data/digital projector, scanner, conferencing and multimedia equipment.
Conference, meeting, and training room office furniture include conference tables, chairs, and copy boards or markerboards. Newer technologies include Interactive whiteboards which connect the board to a computer and a projector so you can interact with computer based information.
Storage and filing solutions include both mobile and stationary models. The most traditional filing solutions are vertical file cabinets and lateral file cabinets.
Vertical file cabinets are a traditional style of cabinet that's common in many offices. Vertical cabinets are taller than they are wide and therefore use a minimum amount of wall space. They can have two to five drawers and hold letter and legal-size documents. The files in a vertical cabinet are placed from front to back in the drawer, with files facing the user.
While vertical cabinets are a good choice for long-term storage due to their compactness when the drawers are closed, if you'll be using a vertical file everyday, make sure you have enough room in your office. A vertical file doesn't use a lot of wall space. However, it does require an office that has a lot of walking space.
Lateral file cabinets, which are wider than vertical cabinets, but not as deep, are built for high-volume capacity. They also have two to five drawers and can hold letter or legal-size documents. Files are either placed in the cabinet from left to right, facing the side of the drawer, or are arranged from front to back in multiple rows. Many two-drawer lateral models are designed to fit underneath work surfaces and tables for additional storage and are often paired with a desk to increase horizontal space.
Lateral cabinets are efficient filing solutions, especially for crowded areas. Due to their shorter drawer extension, lateral files can be used in spaces where a vertical file cannot.
