Written by Julia Hoyt, Community Coordinator at NextSpace Coworking Berkeley
If you’re a coworking space operator, you’ve probably read many blogs, books, and magazines about how interior design impacts your community. As time goes by, you may start to notice that the eclectic design choices made in 2010 just doesn’t match the needs of a 2020 professional.
From open floor plans full of glassy private offices and lush greenery, to more inviting exposed-brick interiors with natural light, interior design options these days appear highly refined and more focused on highlighting structural features. If you’re thinking about how to update your space without completely altering its “bone structure,” here are three options that may give your coworking space a little refresh.
1) Capitalize on the greenery trend by investing in space-specific plants
Your local nursery sales-person can be your best resource here, as they often know of just the plant for your individual needs. It’s important to choose plants that are well-suited to your space and its lighting.
There are many low-maintenance plants that thrive in low-lighting, such as: various ferns, philodendrons, and snake plants. Have a well-lit space, but it (thankfully) isn’t lit up like a performance stage? Consider purchasing succulents to place on your desks or larger pots of croton. Here’s a short list of my personal favorite local nurseries to help you get started:
- Berkeley: Berkeley Horticultural Nursery
- Albany: Flowerland Nursery
- San Rafael: West End Nursery
- San Francisco: Clement Nursery
2) Enhance current conditions by simply giving your space a fresh coat of paint
Pantone comes out with a new Color of the Year, ostensibly because each year has its own cultural purpose and significance. I’m not suggesting you paint your entire floor plan Classic Blue, the color of 2020, but since color trends do change year to year, it adds extra reason to refresh older paint jobs.
A current, highly versatile trend in interior design is to paint simple, geometrical “mural” features that highlight current furniture and art installations by extending the color of a given area by a couple shades differentiation in a veritable halo. Features like this are highly Instagram-able and inviting to members. Check out our Pinterest page for some good old-fashioned mood board inspiration!
3) Is your furniture looking outdated or feeling uncomfortable?
It may be time for new pieces or upholstery. Consider what your members ask for most frequently. At NextSpace Coworking Berkeley, our members frequently ask for sit-stand desks, so we will be adding several during our upcoming remodel. Also consider the impact of common-area seating in your social media presence and ask yourself:
Is it inviting?
Does your current furniture present well?
Do members feel comfortable taking a selfie to show off how happy they are to be working in your space?
If you find that your space is lacking an intimate, yet Instagram-able space, you may want to create one. It can be focalized around a member wall, or specifically set-up for chill coffee breaks. Think iconic New York City — the dozens of pictures of repeat customers on the wall of your favorite restaurant or the sofa at Central Perk in the TV show ‘Friends.’
As I mentioned, NextSpace Coworking Berkeley will be remodeling our space in the near future. We’ve been open and running since 2013, so we certainly deserve a space refresh!
Currently, our space runs into those 2010 design issues: disjointed eclectic art installations, outdated furniture, and aging color schemes, but we’ll be updating all of that! For some, this is disappointing because this space has served the community well all these years!
In the meantime, here are some before pictures for everyone to enjoy. You’ll notice that we are home to some beautiful orchids, as well as people!
About NextSpace, Enerspace and Pacific Workplaces
NextSpace and Enerspace are coworking spaces powered by Pacific Workplaces (PAC). PAC offers flexible offices and coworking spaces. Our locations include a wide-range of full and part-time furnished office spaces, virtual offices, mini-suites and coworking. We offer this in a collaborative environment with curated communities that maximize networking opportunities and serendipity. Members have access to meeting rooms, coworking areas, business lounges, VoIP telephone, answering services, IT and admin support, an online legal library, and preferential access to a network of nearly 1,000 touchdown locations worldwide, under a pay-per-need hosted model PAC refers to as Workplace-as-a-Service. Our brands facilitate meaningful connections through events and day-to-day networking that help our members build relationships with like-minded people. For more information, visit Pacific Workplaces.