There’s no need to spend a fortune to make your company’s space impressive to visitors and inviting for your team.
You don’t want to be living in a home which doesn’t make you happy. Why wouldn’t the same be true for your office space? Whether you’re starting from scratch, or giving your office a new look, it doesn’t have to cost you a fortune. We have the tips to ensure you get the most productive, modern, and functional office space, while staying in your budget.
We’ve put together an infographic of the top four tips so that you can start planning for your office design:
Click here to download this infographic
Making the right budgeting decisions for your office space
More often than not, companies either don’t have a firm budget in place for any renovations or redesigns. Before proceeding with any space planning, or design and decor proposal, it is best to have clear budget parameters in place.
Budget parameters need to be established, or your designer will not have any boundaries within which to tailor the design. All design decisions are based on the budget constraints. Structure, finishes, and furnishing specifications, need to be in-line with the approved budget.
Once the budget is established, the designer is briefed by the client to ensure that the specifications such as structure, services, finishes, and furniture for the project are in-line with the budget that has been approved. A good design company will wait on the budget of a project to be approved by their client, before creating any designs to show their client.
Read: Where does the cost estimate and quote fit into our design process?
Separating what you want from what you need
The “needs” must to be considered before the “wants”. You can explain the vision you have for your office space to your office interior design company, but they will help you separate what is a necessity and what is a luxury so that the design will be within your budget.
Being flexible around the various spaces in your office can help you get the most out of your design budget. Think of the multiple functions one space can have in your office. This is important especially for small businesses as you don’t want to have to constantly redesign and spend more money as your company expands.
What to include in a standard office space design budget
This depends on the brief from the client, whether existing structure, finishes, and furniture are being re-used. The standard interior fit-out would include costs for:
- Interior Structure (walls, doors, glazing, ceilings)
- Services (lighting, electrics, air conditioning, plumbing)
- Finishes (wall finishes, floor finishes, window treatment)
- Furniture (custom design items, office furniture, office seating, casual or occasional and canteen furniture & seating, storage & shelving)
- Sundry Items (signage & graphics, audiovisual, artwork & accessories)
- Health & Safety requirements
- Rubble removal and site cleaning
- Municipal costs (submitting plans to council)
An alternative is to eliminate some of your “wants”, and to set them aside to do at a later stage. It’s important to focus on what is essential for your office space now, to be functional in the present.
Another alternative is to consider renting the new assets (such as office furniture), and include the rental value into the business’ monthly operating budget, to reduce the capital expenditure on the project.
Our Office Space Calculator will give you an estimation of how much space you need so choosing the right office space will be easier.
