Laminate Office Desks

Laminate office desks

Laminate office desks come in many shapes, colors and sizes.

The core construction of a wood desk is generally a particle board, fiberboard or some sort of other wood. More often then not it is a particle board.

Then a layer of laminate is put over the particle board for the finished look. One of the keys to make sure that you get a long lasting laminate office desk that does not peel is to assure it is a high quality manufacturing process. Laminate office furniture has come a long way over the last few decades, and the process that is used to make the desk is the key.

Another important aspect of a laminate office desks the edge detail. Around the top of the desk, you can get many different edge styles.

One type of edge is the self edge, which is a band of laminate that surrounds the edge of the office desk and makes a square edge. The problem with this is that there is a seam between the top of the desk and the edge, which can come apart or peel over time.

Another edge is a t-mold edge which is a rubber like edge that has a flat or rounded side to it. On the back side is a strip that comes out of it to form the T. The work surface top is routed on the edge and the T part of the T-Mold fits into that routed slot. This make it easy to replace in the field if needed, but this can come apart as there is a seam as well. However it can be pushed back into place.

PVC edge is perhaps one of my favorite edge styles from a durability standpoint. PVC edge is generally thermally fused on to the work surface and comes just slightly over the top of the office desk and seals the laminate under it. A PVC edge does not peel, and it holds the laminate in place and provides a durable long lasting edge. If you had a choice to pay a little more for a PVC edge over a T-mold or Self Edge then I would say go with the PVC edge.

Wood Edge is another favorite of mine, but you need to make sure it is a hardwood. A wood edge adds to the aesthetic value of your office desk or work surface by providing a natural look. It will be durable, but keep in mind that as with any wood you can damage it. Again, if I had to pay extra for a wood edge, I would go for it because the aesthetic look combined with the durability is what makes this one of the best choices.

Office Space Design, Cause & Effect

When you are planning an office space, whether it be the whole office space, an individual office, the conference room, or the reception area there is one thing to remember, something that you probably learned in school many years ago.

Newton’s 3rd law states;  For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.  Since this law holds true in everything, it most certainly applies to office interior design.

So let’s say you want to update your conference room.  You get new a new conference table, but you do not update the walls, ceiling and carpet at the same time, or the chairs for that matter.  What will it look like?  Well the conference table will look nice.  But the rest of the room will look worse than before.  This points back to Newton’s 3rd law.  The action that was taken was to get a new conference table.  The equal and opposite reaction is that the rest of the space looks worse because the newness of the conference table is reflecting the outdated carpet, walls, ceiling and lighting of the conference room.

This is why planning an office space is so crucial to do ahead of time, instead of trying to just update it with a band-aid apporach.  If your office furniture needs updating,  chances are that the rest of that space does as well.

Planning for the Interior Design of your Office Space

The planning stage in interior design is also know as the programming phase. After the vision for your space is determined, the next thing to determine is the project scope, or goals for this project.

Here are 5 things to consider when thinking about the goals for your project.

1.  Moving to a new space, expanding existing space, or a remodel of existing space

2.  Incorporating existing furniture and fixtures, buying all new furniture, or a combination of both

3.  Determine the style based on the vision

4.  Consider “green” elements that want to be achieved

5.  Planning for growth or divestiture

While this is a short list of considerations, these tend to expand as they are talked through.

And of course the million dollar question is, “How much will this cost?”

I did not budget enough time to write about cost right now so that will have to wait until a future post!

Office Design & Your Brand

Whether you like it or not, the appearance of your office has an effect on the brand image of your company.

If you want to present a particular brand image to your customers and employees, then you must live that brand.

Your employees must buy in to your brand image, after all they are the ones dealing with your customers and creating value for your company.   If you expect your employees to live out your company brand, then everything you do as a company should be tied into that brand image.  You can’t have people buy into your brand if there is nothing to buy into.

We were recently at a company that understood this brand image concept. They have  a game room, a candy store/lunch room and they cater food in for their employees everyday. They provide the little comforts for their people so they can thrive.

This company has been trying to get the interior design of their new offices completed.  They attempted to go at it on their own, but realized that they were not in the interior designer business, and did not have the resources to get the finished look they wanted.  So he hired us to assist in completing his vision of providing an interior office space that lived up to his brand.

This company was not just portraying a brand image. 

They are living it, and will stop at nothing to complete this vision.

This type of attitude is what makes great companies.

People inspiring people.

Reception Area Design

When designing a reception area, the first thing to keep in mind is a focus point. When you enter a reception area, or any room for that matter there is a focal point that your eyes are drawn towards. This focal point is the key factor in planning your reception area. This area is by far one of the most important spaces to design properly, because this is where the first impression of your organization is made.

Because of the importance of this space, it should not be left to the amateur decorator.  An interior design professional must be hired.  You want this space to speak to your clients, your staff, saying that you are serious about your business.

All too often the good intention of the owner’s wife tries to “decorate” the reception area. We typically see this in a doctor’s or lawyer’s office.  The problem is that residential decorating is applied to a commercial setting.  What happens very rapidly is that this type of design becomes quickly outdated, and the residential products used do not hold up to the traffic of a commercial space.  There is also a balance that is needed between personal taste for a space, and commercial style that needs to be considered.

I am not saying that the owner’s wife should not be involved in the process; in fact she should work with the interior design professional to get the reception area space just right.  An interior design professional has a library of products that can meet any need.  The designer will not only provide a detailed space plan layout of the reception area, but will provide color concept boards and professional drawings to make sure the vision is correct.  Plus all the product samples will be brought to you.

Commercial products are important to use in a reception area space because of the wear and tear.  Residential products are not meant to take the abuse of a commercial space. Especially a reception area where you see the most traffic of your entire space.  Commercial reception area products are more durable, and have qualities that you just can’t find in residential products.

Planning your own reception area  space is also tough because of the emotional element involved. There is a lot of pressure when designing your space, because if it does not look right, it will be very costly to redo. There is tension with your spouse, and your friends will see your reception area and the work you have done.

My advice is to leave it to the professional interior designer, and live happily ever after.

Vision For Your Space

The planning stage in interior design is also known as the programming phase. It is in this stage where the client is interviewed to catch the vision that is desired on the project. The vision may include re-configuring current furniture to meet growth or divestiture needs, or to do a remodel of the space so that it creates an atmosphere that inspires.

The vision of your space is very important in that it will reflect the culture of your company.

Take some time and consider the following 2 questions:

Is your vision to have an office space that is inspiring to your team?

How do you want your space to be presented to your customers?

If you want your company to be a great company it starts by having your space reflect that desire. It starts with planning. The planning is either great or bad.

The more planning that is done, the better the outcome of your space. Can you remember a space that looked great? You just wanted to be there and felt good about being there? That was great planning.

Can you remember a space that does not look that great? That is bad planning. Or the plan was that there was no plan.

If you want great results than the planning stage should start with;

How do I want people to feel in my space?

Is your meeting space a trip?

Have a safe trip, see u next fall..

If you have a conference room that has cords running across the floor to the table from the wall, then this is for you.

Not only do the cords laying across your floor look bad, but they are a hazard to your employees and guests.  If you have clients coming to your meeting space nothing says we are a sloppy company like a disheveled meeting space.

Here are some common, expensive ways to fix this.  And one smart, cost effective way.

First, you need to interview contractors to drill a hole in the concrete floor underneath your conference table or location where you need electrical & data.  If you are lucky enough to be on the 2nd floor or above and you can talk the tenant below you and the building management to let you run electrical and data through the ceiling to your hole, that would be the next step.  If this stroke of luck is not in your cards, then you will need to either “floor trench in the concrete from that hole in the center to the wall to get connected, or you will need to run an electrical & data film under the carpet.  Either way you, these are costly solutions.  Sure you could also run wire mold, but then  you might as well duct tape the wires to the floor.  You could also install a power pole from the table to the ceiling but c’mon really?  The other way, and yes I am laughing, is to install a raised floor, or also known as a computer floor.    Yes they still make those.   (The also still make raised platform shoes as well.)

Raised Floor

Raised Platform Shoes

Ok, here is the smart, cost effective way.

Install a power track, that goes under the carpet, it is raised gradually and is less than an inch high.  Depending on your existing carpet, you can cut it and stick this power track underneath.  You run this from the wall to the center of  your conference table, and then we can have a professional installer drill a hole in your conference table, add a power/data module in that freshly cut hole.  An electrician will hook up the electrical and  then run the data and you have a meeting space that will make you proud.

Easy enough?  www.thinkspaces.com can help you with the whole project.  You can also use this for workstations, or any other application where you need to get electrical or data to the a location in the center of a room.

Playing it Safe Is Risky

We were recently asked to come to a school in the suburbs to help them with a space issue.  We meet the department head.

The student services area at this high school has not been updated for the the computerized world. They basically missed the 90’s and now into the last year of this decade they are in desperate need to update the space so that it can handle technology and traffic flow.  What has been done in the past is a band-aid approach,  supplementing a metal desk with a computer cart, taping wires to the floor with duct tape, and a collection of mismatched office furniture throughout the space.  This school houses about 2500-3000 students, and is in a affluent neighborhood.  In this office space, the secretaries are not located near the staff they support, and there are a lot of  students coming and going which cause major traffic flow problems.   They have had “furniture dealers” come out in the past and give them quotes using  basic floor plans to sell more furniture but nothing has been done yet.

Seeing how this school has not updated this area at least the last 20 years or so, it is imperative that they get the design of this space right when they do this, because it will probably be another 20 years or so before they get this chance again.

After our evaluation, we gave a modest proposal of the cost to redesign the space to the department head who requested this.  This proposal explains that we will provide a space plan that will take into consideration the adjacency of the office staff,  the traffic flow from students, common task areas needs,  along with other related items.  We would also provide a concept board that will include flooring, ceiling, paint & wall covering selections so that they will have an overall vision for the new atmosphere of the space.  Other considerations that would be taken into account is lighting, electrical & data needs, artwork & accessories, evaluation of noise issues, new furniture options, plus a plan to incorporate current furniture into the plan if necessary until budgets open up to by new furniture.

We gave this proposal to the department head, who then had to give it to her boss who is in charge of facilities for the school.  The person in charge of facilities who would not let us have a conversation with him, he told the department head he never had to pay for a space plan before and that is not how they do things there.  That pretty much explains it right there. That is exactly why the space looks and functions so poorly.

What he was really saying is that the way they have been doing things is broken. Their space is the evidence.  A band-aid approach of getting new furniture will NOT be a long-term solution.

While this may seem to be the safe approach for this facilities manager it actually adds more risk.  As Seth Godin points out in his blog “When people become cogs” Safe is Risky.

What has to be understood here is that your space and your staff are assets, just as cash is an asset.  But you can improve your assets by investing cash.  Training your staff to perform their jobs better is a good investment.  Investing in your space can have the same return.  Investing in your space will have dramatic affects on the performance of your staff.   Instead of spending countless hours  every week walking from one side of the space to the other to interact with the  staff they support, their time can be used more efficiently by doing the work they were actually hired to perform.  By eliminating the  traffic flow problem you will increase productivity for all involved.  Creating an atmosphere that has ambiance and functionality should be the goal.  Ambiance and functionality will improve productivity and morale.

Is it safe for this decision maker to do what has always been done?

Is it safer to take a risk and spend the time and money to get the space done right so that the staff that uses it can function to their fullest potential?

Is this administrators legacy going to be “I save the school a few dollars at the sacrifice of staff and students?”

Safe is Risky!

Magnet Schools

As we drove through this neighborhood in the inner city of Chicago, we knew we were out of our element. We were on our way to see a public school that needed assistance in using their space more efficiently & to improve the appearance of the school.  Not the first time we have done this in the inner city, but it was clear to us that we were really in the “inner city”.

As we walked into the school, we clearly were in a different world. A world where kids come to keep warm, and get a hot meal. A place that underprivileged were getting a chance to get a good education.

These schools buildings are old.  And by old I mean like built at least 50-60 years ago.

See this school is a trying to become a  Magnet School.  Magnet Schools of America provides leadership for innovative instructional programs that promote equity, diversity, and academic excellence for all students in public school choice programs.

One of the major keys here is that parents that send their students to these schools have buy in.  And by buy in I mean they are really involved with their children’s education.

To be a part of this program, students parents must turn in an application, and then a lottery system is used to select the students that attend.

We have worked with another Magnet School in the area, and from the looks of it these are good programs.  These programs need more funding and more support to get more schools in the program.  Awareness for this program is key.

As were getting ready to leave, I couldn’t help but feel discouraged for these students and the conditions that they were growing up in.

To my surprise, our contact person there, who had a great attitude and seem to be a very caring and passionate person said “come here, I want to show you something before you leave.”

She lead us to the kindergarten room, which was full of about 25 or so 5-6 years.  She asked the class to count to 10 in Chinese.  And they did it without missing a beat!  Then she asked them to do it in Spanish, and of course no problem.  But in Chinese!  That is one of the hardest languages to learn, and here were these young fresh minds, counting off to ten in Chinese!

That woman must have known that I needed a lift like that, because that put a big smile on my face and my discouragement turned to encouragement.

The Snow Bailout

How are the snow removal companies faring in this economy?

My guess is that this year will not be a recession or a depression for these folks.   With the recent weather it seems that there is no end in sight to the precipitation.

When it does not snow, are the snow removal companies complaining that they need a government bailout due to the lack of snow?

I can see it now, Kris Kringle the head of the Federal Snow Bank asking Congress for bailout money to build and run snow making machines to assist the snow removal industry.  And where will they get this money to support this bailout? Well the taxpayers of course. They should bear the burden of the lack of snow.

There would be a committee involved and you would have the snow removal company leaders driving to Washington D.C., plowless of course because of lack of snow, to meet with Congress and give them their sad cold story in an effort to get bailout money.  We need money to have snow machines produce snow so we can keep our plows busy so that we do not fold.  When we are plowing all is good.  So as long as there is snow then all will be good. So help us make it snow.

Crazy right?

Well if the Big 3 GM, Ford, and Chrysler can get away with this why not.

My guess is that the snow removal companies do not have Ivy League school degrees like some of the Big 3 management does but it seems to me that they have the smarts to have other aspects of their businesses to rely on during slow times.

There is no guarantee it will snow, or is there?