Commercial Flooring: Considerations for Your Office Space

In this article, you will learn just how important flooring is to your office space and why it should never be an afterthought when it comes to office space design. 

Starting with the color of the design to the direction you orient it, flooring helps you define functional areas without spoiling the continuity of your interior vision. 

Flooring provides structure to open office plans by breaking up areas with changes in material, color and orientation. You can also use your flooring strategy to break up continuous elements, such as rows of workstations or long lines of glass walls.

Perhaps most importantly, it sets the tone for how people feel as they conduct business throughout the day which can affect everything from productivity to sales.

Like people, rooms and spaces take on the persona you endow them with in your design. Consider the personality that you want to reflect to colleagues and customers. The flooring option serves as a canvas that frames everything else you add to the space.

Your flooring needs to set the stage and appeal to the entire workforce. Millennials currently outnumber Gen-Xers and leadership teams need to use every tool at their disposal to keep the work areas fresh and inviting.

While tackling the crucial project of replacing the flooring in your commercial office space, consider the following:

• What are the design elements you want to reflect?
• Will you use different types of flooring?
• Which flooring products suit your purposes?
• How can you achieve function, beauty and long-lasting flooring?
• What type of tone do you want to project? Fun, serious, casual? 

Review the on-trend design ideas listed below to achieve a professional but welcoming commercial flooring plan for your office space.

Incorporating Resimercial Design Principles to Your Office Flooring Plan

The resimercial trend extends beyond furniture choice, room arrangement and overall design concepts. Flooring is the most visible aspect of your design and defines the feel of your space more dramatically than any other factor.

The current thinking brings in cozy, residential touches to warm up commercial office spaces. This increases productivity because employees are more comfortable, and it can even encourage remote employees to want to spend more time at the office.

Here are a few examples of flooring options that underscore this resimercial trend:

• Warm wood tones
• Materials such as wood or carpet
• Color choices that match the interior design
• Elements of remote working

Importance of Color

Color sets the tone for each area. In commercial office spaces, it's important to create a soothing environment that promotes productivity without being too sterile. Color choices are tremendously important in achieving truly resimercial design.

For example, colors such as green and blue promote feelings of calm, while bold primary colors can add spark to your design and inject feelings of positivity and excitement. Red exudes confidence to your guests and encourages practical thinking among employees. So, be sure to incorporate red tones in flooring to emphasize these impacts. Similarly, blue carpeting encourages focus and imagination.

Changing color and material expands your palette when it comes to flooring choices. Red-toned vinyl wood planks or blue tiles add interest and promote the tone you wish to convey without overpowering your design concepts.

Don’t forget to consider the impact color has on visitors, including clients, vendors and other important parties.

Switch Up the Orientation of Your Flooring Materials

Flooring orientation can guide the eye along unconventional lines. Use orientation to consciously control the impact in various areas of your commercial office space. For example, order tiles or wood laminate diagonally to direct the eye to separate office spaces along walls.

Run planks straight into communal areas such as conference rooms or lunch areas to encourage employees to congregate. This builds cohesion and promotes communication.

Resimercial design champions cozy meeting spaces, convenient wireless technology and functional design that suits each space. The orientation of the flooring can help employees make the mental transition between spaces and gear up for meetings, kick back on breaks and stay focused and happy in their primary work areas.

Using More Than One Type of Material

With such a wide variety of commercial flooring material readily available today, varying the materials used throughout the office helps create a sense of separation between spaces.

You see, one of the primary goals of open office space design is to achieve and maintain a modern vibe that promotes collaboration between employees. At the same time, employees need to feel like that openness still maintains a sense of privacy for tasks that require uninterrupted concentrated efforts.

The use of different flooring materials to draw clear lines of demarcation can balance these two opposing goals without compromising the open office space layout.

For example, tiles in the eating area mimic many home kitchen flooring choices. Warm woods in lobbies and hallways prevent your office from taking on a sterile atmosphere. Just as fun carpeting in work areas encourages a relaxed vibe, dark panels or polished wood tile create a formal vibe that commands attention. 

To get your thoughts flowing, consider the following examples:

• Bamboo and other sustainable materials reflect an ethos of responsible stewardship that appeals to millennials as well as Gen Z employees.

• Dark wood sets a luxurious tone

• Warm vinyl planks and easy-clean tiles give off more of a casual, family-oriented feel

Keep Everyone Happy

Flexible schedules and remote work options are very much in demand. To keep the best employees at every level, senior leadership must show that they care about the well-being of their workforce. That puts more pressure than ever on creating a vibrant, comfortable workspace.

By selecting the appropriate flooring materials, color, and orientation, you can create an office space that everyone will love. Not to mention, bridging the gap between home and office directly contributes to how inviting your workspaces are to prospective employees, tenured professionals and guests. 

All of this translates to employees who are invested in their company on numerous levels and supports policies that promote growth for the entire company. 

For help transforming your office space contact Connecting Elements today. We have offices in both North Carolina and South Carolina.