Lighten the retrenchment mood

SPENDING 40 hours a week or more in an office can take its toll on the best of us - but with some simple office decorating ideas you can transform a stale environment into a welcoming workplace you can enjoy.

According to JP Beukes of Onepointzero, an award-winning interior design company, the economic downturn of 2008 saw several companies downsizing their complement of staff and putting strategies in place to cut costs.

"Office space also became an issue as organisations moved to more affordable places. This led to an increased demand for corporate interior designers to maximise the space available in offices while taking health, safety and welfare issues into consideration."

What are the latest office decor trends?

Shane Brains, an interior designer in Fourways, says office décor is all about creating a fun work environment that refreshes the mind and personality and hopefully leads to improved quality.

"Office design this season is all about bright colours. After the mean mood created by the recession, followed by retrenchments, a lot of office designs needed to change to lighten the mood," Brains says.

"Interiors such as green, red, sky blue and grey are popular. It's all about creating a fun work environment that refreshes the mind and personality, hopefully leading to improved quality."

He says this year's office interior design decoration is influenced mostly by the events of the past recession.

"The designs are minimalist and the shapes are elegant, with a unique style and shapes that also take comfort into account. All the furnishings are elegant and stylish."

Isolation in interior design is very important. Do not neglect the isolation idea as it helps create a more productive environment. A quiet and relaxing office interior design helps workers finish work faster.

He says it is better to select bright interior design colours for office decorating. He adds that walls, ceiling and floor create a stronger contrast with office furniture and help design an energetic office interior.

Brains says psychologists suggest that cool background colours are better for offices since they create a more businesslike atmosphere.

"Cool office interior design colours are great for decorating rooms that are used for meetings and discussions."