Maximise Wellbeing with Biophilic Design
Slowly becoming aesthetic hallmarks of modern interior commercial spaces, biophilic designs connect the natural and man-made worlds to create beautiful interiors for optimum occupant comfort.
Housing contractor refurbish head office.
DEVON HOUSING CONTRACTOR USE LOCAL OFFICE INTERIORS SPECIALIST TO REFURBISH NEW HEAD OFFICE!
Devon house builder, Devonshire Homes has made a major investment to rebrand the company and refurbish its head office located in Tiverton. The company with developments across Devon, including Cullompton, Chulmleigh, Kingsteignton and Barnstaple put out a tender for the works; awarded to independent Exeter-based office refurbishment specialist MD Business Interiors.
MD Business Interiors worked closely with the client from conception through to completion of the fit-out, providing imaginative solutions to gain space and additional storage. A number of services were carried out as a part of a bespoke solution for Devonshire Homes, including: design of open plan office space; incorporating the new brand and corporate colours; creating room for expansion and modern mixed height meeting areas. Dramatic changes included folding doors to the boardroom creating a versatile space transforming the large area into two separate private meeting rooms.
Devonshire Homes, Tiverton.
Info: Glenn King 01392 426 984
Photo, Tony Charnock, 07770 484888
The Devonshire Homes head office currently occupied by 20 employees, has been future-proofed, with room to expand across all departments with an additional six work stations. The company established in 1992 has had a major revamp for 2016, seeing them rebrand with a cleaner, stripped-back logo and new website launched in June. The refurbishment, the final part of the rebranding exercise, has seen Devonshire Homes refresh their image as a modern and dynamic company. Moving forward they are looking to expand and taking on a further two employees by the end of 2016.
She adds: “The team are delighted with the new look office, which has created a fantastic, motivational work environment for all. The space created is contemporary, dynamic and versatile, and has given plenty of storage space, lacking before. Creating room for the team to expand was key to the refurbishment, with future business growth in mind. Our office is now light, bright, modern and stylish, in line with the new Devonshire Homes brand.”
Jane Pearce – Sales and Marketing Director, Devonshire Homes comments: “As part of the brief given to Mark Dowse at MD Business Interiors we asked that there would be minimal downtime for the business, our staff and customers. The refurbishment programme was completed in six weeks, with all minor works carried out by the MD Business Interiors team outside of office hours. The final transition saw the new office furniture turned around in one day.”
8 desk options for modern offices
We are a family run, SME focused business based in Exeter, Devon with most of our work coming from recommendations and referrals. We have a wide portfolio of suppliers from the UK and from further afield. Here, with our manufacturing partner Lee and Plumpton we present our offering of a variety of desks in many different shapes, sizes and colour finishes.
We strive to offer you the broadest possible choice, from our classic contract office furniture range which is available in as little as 5 days for customers in Devon, through to the contemporary, modern and elegant designs of our ‘build to order’ office furniture collections.
Here is a brief summary of our desking and office furniture range.
CRESCENT
Also known as radial desking, the traditional crescent shape incorporates a return and is available in left or right-handed orientations. The major benefit of crescent desking is that it provides a lot of space and can easily be configured into clusters or positioned in room corners.
A desk high pedestal can be employed to create more working space.
WAVE
Wave desking is also available in left and right-handed orientations and bridges the gap between rectangular and crescent desks. The wave element provides additional working space without consuming as much actual floor space as a crescent desk.
DOUBLE-WAVE
Available on selected product lines, such as Atmosphere and Ascend, double wave desks provide the added benefit of additional space on both the left and right hand sides.
A-FRAME
Our A-frame desk range, named Ascend, is an elegant and contemporary desk that is ideal for modern workspaces. The pedestals for this desk are angled at the rear to complement the desk frame and an optional return desk is available.
BENCH SYSTEMS
AURA bench modern desk range from Lee and Plumpton…..
Bench systems have been growing in popularity for a number of years.
Our AuraBench range is now firmly established as one of our most popular product lines, reflecting a broader market trend that is being driven by changes in working practices, corporate culture and collaborative technology.
Bench systems bring people together and that is why it is ideal for collaborative workspaces. The bench format breaks down visual and spatial barriers and encourages spontaneous communication between people and groups.
AuraBENCH has integrated cable management as standard.
EXECUTIVE
Our Atmosphere series is a popular choice for executive applications and the range includes a crescent conference option with an integrated meeting point. There are a number of leg detail and modesty panel options to choose from too.
RECEPTION
Our standard reception desk with integrated pigeonholes and full depth flushed modesty panel is a popular choice but our customers also use desks from the Atmosphere, AuraBench and Domino Beam collections as reception desks.
Many of the reception desks we supply are actually bespoke items that are manufactured to order by our tailored solutions department.
VARIABLE HEIGHT SOLUTIONS
Height adjustable and sit stand desks are growing in popularity due to increased awareness of the health implications associated with prolonged periods of inactivity.
The purported health benefits include lower long term mortality rates, improved circulation and a reduced incidence of the problems typically associated with poor posture, such as back ache and neck pain.
Variable height desking could also help to mitigate some of the serious health risks that are associated with a sedentary lifestyle.
Our Sit-Stand desk has an electric motor that adjusts the position of the worktop from seated to standing while our original height adjustable desk has a manual crank system. Both desks are available in wave or rectangular formats.
RECTANGULAR
Standard rectangular desks are space efficient and their geometric shape means they are very easy to space plan. You can try combining straight desks with other shapes to create more visual interest or as a creative solution to space limitations.
DELTA
Delta desking is often overlooked in favour of more traditional options. The format does, however, offer some distinct benefits in relation to many other desks.
The 120° workstations in our Atmosphere collection can be configured to accommodate large groups of people and they work well when combined with other desk shapes. One of the lesser known benefits of delta desking is that the central positioning of the display on the work surface blocks sound as it travels towards the opposing desk.
BESPOKE SOLUTIONS
We aim to provide the broadest possible choice but sometimes a tailored solution is required. One of our greatest strengths is our ability to manufacture bespoke furniture to your specifications and we can also make alterations to our exisiting product range.
To find out more about our ranges of office furniture and office fitout or refurbishment & renovation services for Devon, call our customer services team based in Exeter on 01392 834980 or email contact@mdinteriorsdevon.com.
An insight into the psychology of colour!
We are office furniture and office fit out and office refurbishment specialists based in Exeter, Devon. We share with you a blog from our office furniture manufacturer Lee and Plumpton about colour as below.
Colour can have a profound impact on our behaviour and productivity in the workplace.
The four primary psychological colours are: blue, red, yellow and green. Although there are no universal truths in terms of colour psychology (mostly due to cultural and individual differences) certain colours have been shown to possess distinct psychological properties.
Psychologist Angela Wright has developed a scientific theory of colour. According to this theory, red affects the body, blue soothes the mind, yellow stimulates our emotions and green can balance our mood*.
The intensity and saturation of the colour you choose is just as important – if not more so – than the hue itself. Bright, striking colours will stimulate while softer, pastel shades will soothe. By combining colours of varying intensities, it’s possible to create harmonious office spaces that promote productivity, efficiency, creativity and wellbeing.
When choosing your colour palette, you should also consider the culture of the workplace in question and the nature of the work being done.
Blue
Of the four primary psychological colours, blue is believed to improve productivity and is a good choice for office environments that demand concentration and focus, such as accountancy practices.
It’s important to note that colours are generally classified as either warm or cool and can influence the perception of temperature. Certain shades of blue could make rooms appear cold and unwelcoming compared to warmer colours such as bright red, yellow and orange.
Red
Commonly associated with passion and anger, red is a highly stimulating colour that can provoke a physical response by raising blood pressure and quickening pulse rate. It can be useful in sales environments that require staff to be assertive or professions that demand a keen eye for detail but it could exacerbate stress and tension.
Yellow
Yellow is believed to inspire creativity, which makes it ideal for creative professions such as graphic design.
Fully saturated yellow can be very psychologically stimulating and could be a catalyst for negative emotional energy including anxiety, anger and frustration.
Yellow is also highly reflective. Despite these issues, it can still be a useful addition to your colour scheme.
Green
Green is thought to be a calming colour that promotes a sense of serenity and tranquillity. As a result, people are considered to be more relaxed in green rooms and this effect can be exploited to promote social communication and networking.
There is a current trend towards natural, earthy colours such as green and brown.
Trends in office design
Colour trends change over time. White is popular at the moment because it has a modern appeal and can make rooms appear more spacious.
Neutral colours such as beige and grey continue to be popular despite negative colour connotations. Many people find these colours dull so they should be used sparingly and offset with brighter colours.
Don’t overlook the use of bright accent tones on seating and partition screens to add a splash of colour to previously uninspired office spaces. And don’t forget to exploit the uplifting effect of natural light and other strategies that are thought to improve wellness at work, such as bringing plants into the office to complement your colour choices.
Source:
www.colour-affects.co.uk
Project complete and some feedback, BPA Quality…
Just over a year ago we did a large refurbishment for BPA Quality creating a new HQ at Pynes Hill in Exeter. We recently did some additional works for them and there was their feedback below:
“It’s my first day back in the office after 10 days off and was going to email you with my feedback. Not only was the quality of the work excellent, the approach of the guys you sent to do it was fantastic. They got on with the job with the minimum amount of mess and interruption, and left the room clean and tidy at the end. Please pass on my sincere thanks for a good job very well done.”
Kind regards
Judith Yates
HR Director EMEA
BPA Quality
Pynes Hill
Exeter
https://bpaquality.co.uk
Choosing the right office partitions!
Devon office refurbishment contractors MD Business Interiors share their thoughts on office partitions & how to choose the most suitable for your project.
So you’re planning a new office fit-out in Devon or Exeter and there’s a lot to think about – from picking the right paint colours, carpets and blinds, to making sure that you choose the most comfortable and appropriate workstations, your mind is suddenly full of critical decisions.
Double glazed office partition with integral blinds.
Full height single glazed partitions
One very important element of office fit-outs that may risk being forgotten in all this is office partitions. Not only do they contribute to the professional appearance of your office, but they play an important role in making it a functional and productive working environment.
Office partitions are an essential element of office fitouts for various reasons. Most usually they are placed in between cubicles in an office building to provide privacy and space sectioning in an open-plan setting. In this way, partitions are an effective way to provide different workers with their own secluded space. Once the design of your office is set you will need to begin to consider which selection of style and finish of office partitions will work best for you and your company to ensure your finished office fitout is exactly the way you want it.
There is a huge range of partition options for office fitouts, including plasterboard and glass partitions, full or half height partitions and unique one-off designs that can be created according to your individual requirements. See here for some case studies. In fact, the selection of office partitions to choose from is so huge that it’s a good idea to narrow down your scope of selection by first noting down what colours, materials, styles, widths and heights will be most suitable for your particular needs.
Height is one of the most crucial considerations. Although colour is highly customisable, there are just three main heights available in partitions for office fitouts and not every choice in height is going to be suitable for you. One of the most popular styles of office partitions are half height, often used to construct cubicles in open plan offices. If the demands of your office necessitate a quiet environment, you may wish to consider a full height partition, which reaches from floor to ceiling, and is more like a temporary wall than a screen. The third type of partition commonly used in office fitouts is the ‘accordion’ style, which have the appearance of full height partitions, except they concertina open, allowing stylish and easy access between separated spaces.
Effective space planning.
The materials used to construct office partitions ranges from glass to plasterboard, light wood and cloth covered foam. Again, your choice of material is likely to be a very individual decision based on the lay-out of your office, your style of décor and the available space. For example, if you wish to optimise the transmission of natural light, glass partitions will be a great choice, but, if you plan to regularly rearrange your office furniture, a more durable and hardwearing material will be a better option. Apart from height and material, you should also consider the possibility of future expansions when choosing office partitions. If your company is likely to expand, mobile partitions or wheeled partitions that are light, easier to move and re-position when the need arises, may be your best choice.
Finally, when it comes to deciding what is most practical and suitable in office partitions for your office fitouts, it may be worth consulting an expert office designer who will consult with you at every step of the way to designing your office fitouts and partitions according to your needs and budget.
For more information email here or call our Exeter office on 01392 834980.