Workers in the UK spend, on average, more than 42 hours in the office – the highest in Europe, according to a recent study by Eurostat and reported in the Daily Mail.
Over the course of a week, this represents a quarter of all available hours. If you consider that the majority of Britons work to a five-day week model, this proportion actually makes up more than a third of their time.
It’s no wonder therefore that organisations are increasingly likely to pay consideration to the working environment, and not least because of the relative positive impact a pleasant working environment can have on productivity.
If your organisation also regularly welcomes customers or other visitors to your premises, there’s even more reason to ensure that your space is not only aesthetically pleasing but that it also portrays the right image of your business.
Here, as the leading tile suppliers in the northwest of England, we take a look at some of the ways you can make your office space a place where your employees want to be and where your customers want to visit.
Smaller Spaces
You don’t have to have a huge amount of room to make a big impact; there are design tricks you can employ in order to give the appearance of a larger space. It might seem counter-intuitive but utilising big tiles, such as those in our Super Size Porcelain range, particularly if laid on the diagonal, will naturally draw the eye away across the room.
Tiles in lighter shades will enhance this effect and our Ultra Onici collection are not only bright but will reflect the light too and create a seamless, contemporary feel to your workplace.
Make a Statement
Depending on the nature of your business, you may have potential clients visiting so providing the right environment to showcase what you can offer them is crucial. A tiled feature wall can help provide that wow factor. Restricting a bold statement to just one wall gives you the flexibility to choose the material and design you want without making a huge dent in your budget.
Gardenia Orchidea, the industry-renowned ceramic tile manufacturer, has teamed up with designer fashion powerhouse Versace to create a range of stunning collections to suit all styles. The Versace Vanitas collection, for example, with recognisably-Versace patterns adds character and personality, particularly if teamed with solid colours on the other walls.
Open Plan
The days of people working in separate offices appear to be numbered: businesses of today generally opt for a more open-plan layout, so a space often has to perform multiple functions. This doesn’t necessitate a compromise on aesthetics or practicality, however.
The use of different flooring types, whether that be through colour or material, can help to define specific ‘zones’ within an open space.
You might want to use our Key range, for example, which adds a warm, contemporary feel for the flooring of an area where people are to sit and work. A designated meeting zone could be differentiated by our Epoque collection with their striking patterns and busy design perfectly reflecting busy minds at work.
A communal refreshment area can be marked out separately and if the dimensions of your building restrict this simply to a water fountain, adopting one of the hottest trends in interior design, the creation of an ‘apron’, means you can incorporate practicality too. This can be achieved by tiling a section behind the water fountain and extending it along the floor underneath and mosaic tiles are not only perfect for creating this look but also allow the versatility to create the design of your choice.
Brand Designs
Whatever image you want your brand to project, we are certain there’s a range in our collection for you. Your interior décor will show visitors what you stand for, what your values are and how you want to be perceived. Employees will also benefit from the consistency of that message if it surrounds them in the work environment.
So if your business prides itself on tradition, the Versace Marble collection creates a classic and stylish feel, with its reflective quality adding an airiness and light.
A more contemporary organisation with aspirations to appeal to a modern customer base might choose an ‘urban’ approach, which can be achieved by using a combination of materials. A brick wall with a band of tiles does this perfectly and our Metalica tiles with their metro shape, bold colours and reflective surface create a super-stylish feel.
Get Creative
Even with the smallest of budgets, you can use tiles to add personality to your work area or provide some quirky focus points to brighten your employees’ day by taking some creative inspiration.
Leftover tiles from creating a statement wall could be used as bespoke coasters to add a unique and functional accessory to place in work spaces whilst picking up the theme set by a feature wall.
Another option might be to display any spare tiles into a picture frame to hang on a plain wall opposite a feature wall to create a classy sense of unity.
Employee engagement is taking on increasing importance, so why not craft a vertical chessboard by fixing tiles into a frame and adding a small lip to sit the pieces on? Colleagues can then take a turn as they pass or on a break to provide a bit of light-hearted entertainment as well as making a quirky statement.
Whatever your office size and whatever your budget, we at Roccia are proud to be able to offer you the perfect solution to make the most out of your work space. With the biggest tile and bathroom showroom in the UK, why not come and visit us to see our collections or take a look on our website for some inspiration.
