by Valerie Glander

While our showroom remains open and we are taking all recommended safety precautions, we realize not everyone is able to visit us in person. Please enjoy a virtual showroom tour of our newest product. (And keep an eye out for the video version, coming soon!) We’ve gotten in some of the latest in Hon product and would love to show it off!

by Kim Schroeder

Art has many purposes. It can be beautiful to look at or evoke a particular feeling. However, art is not just something that you hang on a wall and forget about. Yes, it can simply be interesting to look at, but it can also help boost mood and physical well-being of the person looking at it.

There have been dozens of research studies that show that art in the workplace improves employee performance. Let’s take a closer look at this idea that adding art in the workplace brings employees and visitors alike more positive vibes. What are the benefits of art? Well, for one, art inspires imagination and creativity which in turn stimulates production. Art also brings about lower levels of anger and restores mental energy, which in turn helps businesses to see less absenteeism and a decreased turnover. Art is also proven to reduce workplace stress.

by Valerie Glander

Working with an office design team to plan changes in your office space can be a critical component to a successful project. Experienced Office Designers can help you avoid common pitfalls in office planning and offer solutions to meet the unique needs of your team. The process often begins with a walk-through of the space and an initial meeting about the project, where our most critical task is listening to you, our client. We’ll come prepared to discuss your ideas and identify the vision and scope of the project. By thinking through some of these questions in advance, we can make the most out of our time in that critical first meeting.

by Kim Schroeder

The future of schools is a hot topic. As schools begin to open their doors to students and we move back to face-to-face instruction, conversations need to be had on how school spaces will, or should, function in the future.

One area of school design that is interesting to dive a bit deeper into is the makerspace. A makerspace is a collaborative workspace inside a school…for making, learning, exploring, and sharing…

by Valerie Glander

Your waiting room is the first impression your patients receive. This impression tells them about how your practice is run and what to expect. Not only that, but healthcare surveys show that many say their time in the waiting room is the most frustrating part of visiting a doctor. Lobbies and other transitional spaces offer a significant opportunity to improve patient experience and distinguish your practice from the competition.

Providing more choice and supporting a range of activities helps to make the wait time seem shorter. For families, offering lounge seating or a child-friendly corner to keep kids entertained can be important features. Offering quiet work space for busy professionals with tables or counters and easy access to power helps to alleviate stress and show you value your patients’ time.

by Valerie Glander

In Part 2 of our new product introductions, we’ll take a look at some of our design team’s favorite new products. Soft curves and even softer color palettes continue to dominate new product innovation and we’re loving the shift. As the future of office environments remains uncertain, I am confident in one thing – our ability to innovate and adapt. Office design has seen significant change over the last decade and we will continually be challenged to find new ways of accommodating a younger, more flexible workforce.

by Valerie Glander

Typically, summer is a busy time for the OEX design team. Not only is this a busy time of year for construction projects and furniture orders, but Chicago’s NeoCon design fair— in June— is also when we get to review the newest products releases. Of course, 2020 has thrown us quite the curveball. The NeoCon event may have been cancelled, but the fresh new product and inspiration has not slowed down.

NeoCon 2020 product launches feature lighter scale furniture and softer color palettes. Gentle curvature in lounge furniture has been a huge hit and creates a comfortable tension to the high-tech productivity solutions we are seeing in the office.

by Kim Schroeder

Prior to Covid-19 offices saw a shift toward open, collaborative spaces. The trend was for low panels, benching systems, wellness rooms, and large open collaborative areas. Our main focus was centered on improving the place where we spent most of our time, the office. We opened up spaces, added natural and biophilic elements; we all thought the more open the better. While this concept lent itself to beautifully imagined spaces, people had mixed feelings regarding privacy. Fast forward to today and we are now having to reimagine those spaces to make them safer in our new COVID-19 world.

by Valerie Glander

Systems furniture, better known as cubicles, has gotten a pretty bad rap over the years - and for pretty good reason, I suppose. Consider this: even the man who invented panel-based systems furniture, Robert Probst, is quoted as saying, “The cubicle-izing of people in modern corporations is monolithic insanity.”

Let’s take a look back at the beginnings of systems office furniture and how the office furniture industry has adapted to meet the needs of the 21st century office.

by Valerie Glander

Between 2005 and 2015, the number of U.S. workers who do at least 50% of their work from home grew 115% to nearly 4 million workers.  Industry experts predict that this trend will continue, reaching nearly a third of workers working remotely in the next 10 years.  What do these shifts in the workforce mean for office environments?  How can employers play a proactive role in planning for these changes? 

Moment of truth here-- I’m writing this from my sofa with my laptop on my lap.  While I don’t quite meet the criteria of ‘at least 50%’ work from home, I’m part of the growing group who splits time in the office and at home.  It’s not hard to see why – as email and 24/7 accessibility become the norm, it’s no longer necessary to stay at a desk in front of the landline to be reachable and productive.  Now considered an ‘always on’ economy, expectations of response times and flexible schedules dominate the workforce.   

Summer is here and furniture projects are hot right now!  We have a lot going on in the Interior Design department and it is all about COLOR!  We are seeing color pop up in all industry segments – from Education to Public Sector to Office and Manufacturing.  

As designers, we love the opportunity to personalize your space for your business.  We bring together color, pattern and texture to create a space that not only looks better, but functions better as well.