Giving Your Office A Makeover On A Tight Budget
Freshening up your office décor needn’t cost huge amounts. If you want to give your workplace a makeover, here are just a few tricks that could help to save money whilst giving your office the revitalised touch it needs.
Sell your clutter
Cutting down on clutter can make your office look tidier and more organised, making it a calmer place to work whilst also giving clients a good impression. Rather than just getting rid of any excess stuff, consider what you can sell for cash – this could be money to put towards your office makeover budget. Choosing to go paperless could motivate you to put lots of items in your office up for sale such as filing cabinets, printers and paper shredders – by converting all your paper records into digital records, you’ll no longer need these items. You can sell these excess items online using sites like Gumtree or look for a second-hand furniture store in your area.
Add a fresh coat of paint
Adding a new coat of paint to the walls could be the next step to giving your office a fresh look. Compared to most remodelling tasks, painting costs very little and yet can have a great impact on the feel of a room. Consider using colours that help to fuel people’s productivity – green is thought to be great at inspiring creativity, whilst blue is a more calming colour for concentration. Red meanwhile is better for physical tasks as it’s a very energising colour. Whatever you do, try to avoid blank white walls – whilst this is the traditional office paint scheme, white does nothing for productivity and it could actually demotivate staff.
Introduce some office plants
Office plants will help to literally bring life to your workplace. Studies have found that plants can improve concentration, perhaps due to the fresh source of oxygen that they produce. Plants can also help to bring natural scents to your office and improve air quality. The majority of plants are fairly cheap and you can sometimes find deals on sets of indoor plants. Make sure to keep them watered and place them in well-lit areas.
Shop for barely-used furniture
It could be time to update some of your office furniture with something a little more modern and good condition. Whilst brand new office furniture can be expensive, you may be able to find furniture that’s as good as brand new being sold second-hand for cheap online. Some of this furniture may have rarely ever been used – it could be excess furniture that a company wants to sell or furniture being sold as the result of a company closure. You’re best buying this furniture in person allowing you to inspect the condition for yourself – don’t just rely on photos.
Clean your carpets, don’t replace them
Replacing carpets can be an expensive task. If your carpets are stained, consider first hiring a commercial carpet cleaning company and see if they can remove these stains and bring your old carpets back to life. You’ll save a lot of money, plus it will result in a lot less upheaval.
Invest in energy-saving improvements
It can often be worth paying extra for energy-saving improvements in your office – in the long run, you’ll save money by having reduced energy bills. This could include replacing all your incandescent bulbs with LEDs – whilst LED bulbs are more expensive, you’ll save money in the long run by using up less energy in lighting. You could also consider buying new energy-efficient computers – today’s PCs are much greener than those a decade a go. Buying new computers certainly won’t be cheap and may be beyond your budget, but if you have got enough for some new machines and your current ones are looking dates, it could be well worthwhile for the reduced electricity bills.
Get your employees involved
If you’ve got employees, you consider getting them involved in the makeover. They may be able to help with basic tasks such as moving furniture, saving you from having to hire a removals company. Of course, for health and safety reasons, you may want to be careful when it comes to lifting certain heavy items, but for the most part there shouldn’t be anything too heavy in your office.