Often dubbed as the second home, the office is where Singaporeans spend the bulk of their adult years working and earning their keep. Well-designed office spaces can boost employee morale, encourage a higher level of efficiency and productivity, and ensure workplace safety.
As a business owner, investing in office renovations to beautify your office space will only benefit your company in the long run, especially if the renovations are done properly and quality materials are chosen for durability. Before you jump into hiring a commercial interior designer in Singapore for your office renovations, here are a few important things you should do and keep in mind.
1. Research
Gather your senior management team and think about the kind of environment you want in your office. It could be a “corporate-style” office with little to no decorations, or it could be a lively and colourful office space. This will often be influenced by your industry, the type of work culture you wish to instil and the image you want to show to your customers, partners and employees.
Doing research online, gathering photos of office interiors that catches your eye, and knowing what you want first will help you identify the right commercial interior design and renovation company to work with.
2. Space Planning
Space planning refers to planning out the space in your office and allocating a spot for everything. They include areas like the pantry, conference rooms, lounge rooms, employee cubicles, head of department rooms and washrooms.
A good commercial interior design company should be able to handle this for you, but you should always have an idea of what you need the space for and what work areas you need to include in the office space you have. Aside from the work and lounge areas, you must also factor in spaces such as your reception area, storage rooms, printing areas and so on.
To plan out your space, start by listing out the number of meeting rooms and work areas you need, the seating arrangements that will work best for your company, and the amount of space needed for each work area. This will be much easier if you first take a look around your empty office space.
3. Budgeting
One of the most difficult aspects to manage for an office renovation is the budget. Due to the large space and the vast amount of renovation work to be done, there will inevitably be errors and loose ends you need to tie up eventually, all of which will affect the cost.
A good strategy is to make your budget flexible, allowing for minor changes in spending amounts due to unforeseen circumstances that may arise over time. This can be accomplished by allocating a price range to each aspect of the renovation. For example, allocating $9,000 to $10,000 for flooring works, $5,000 to $6,000 for painting work, and so on.
Regularly check in with your renovation contractor along the way to ensure that things are running smoothly. It will be good to assign a project manager who can visit the site to check on the progress of the renovation every now and then.
This person should also be aware of the materials you’ve chosen for your office space as he or she will be required to check and ensure that the materials used are correct. This will prevent you from incurring additional costs.
4. Permits
Home renovations require permits and so do commercial renovations. The types of permits you will need to apply for will vary depending on the type of renovation work you will be doing for your office space.
Applying for and obtaining renovation permits will take a significant amount of time; make sure you allow enough time for this process after speaking with your renovation contractor. An experienced commercial renovation contractor should be able to help you handle all the permit issues before beginning renovations.
5. Design Elements
Office renovations, unlike home renovations, require a great deal of thought and consideration to make the office a more conducive environment for employees. Consider some design elements you can include in your office to make it more pleasant for your employees. These could be design elements that help your employees focus, or make the office quieter.
Carpeted floors for less noise when employees walk around, soundproofed meeting rooms and call booths, soothing colours to make employees feel calm, or plants that employees can look at after staring at their screens for a long period of time are some things you can consider.
Office renovation work is not an easy task and should not be undertaken alone. Enlist the help of your senior management team and hire a professional commercial interior design company and renovation contractor to handle all of the work for you so that you can focus on running your business.
Starry Homestead is a Singapore-based interior design firm that specialises in both residential and commercial renovation projects. Our interior design team is highly skilled and capable of creating both beautiful and functional spaces for your commercial property. Contact us today for a hassle-free renovation journey.
