How to Maximize Your Office Space in Minimal Time!

We can all picture the setup of a typical startup office: rows of desks packed one after the other, where is the creativity in that? Sure, this is not the case for every startup, but in the past months we’ve seen quite a few office spaces which faced this bleak boring reality.

So here’s a quick guide on how to choose the right desk arrangement for your office in order to maximise space both in terms of efficiency and comfort - the latter may also help with increasing your employees productivity and general happiness. And in the startup world with fierce competition, it’s all about keeping employees happy and motivated!

Optimising space through different desk arrangements

The ideal office space should give people a degree of privacy to be able to work independant effectively, but also has to encourage collaboration – no question, a tricky balance to pull off.

So when organizing your seating arrangement, tailor the layout to the space available and the level of interaction you would like your team to have with each other.

Here are the four basic layouts:

Paired Islands

Desks are scattered in facing pairs like islands within an open-concept room. This may work for individuals who don’t need to interact much with others and who should not be distracted easily (e.g. Dev-teams).

Assembly Line

The most efficient use of space - desks are lined up side-by-side along the length of the room in rows. Be aware that for some spaces, this will feel far too cramped and perhaps more like a factory than a space for collaboration. Have your rows face each other to at least build a debate-style set up for conversation and ideation.

Blocked Seating

Desks are typically arranged in groups of 4, much like the paired island structure. A great set-up for team-based collaboration.

The Bullpen

Desks form an inner-facing circle (or rectangle) so that you can get the most face time with everyone on your team. Think of the bullpen as the campfire or circle of trust for your team. If you have more space available and want to encourage conversations between different team members, this might be a good fit for your space.

No-Go’s:

• Desks facing the wall, this will likely make you feel boxed in and with little room for inspiration.
• Avoid having your back to the door/entrance, as this makes you susceptible to feel more uncomfortable when people walk up behind you.
• Tiny desks - the ideal desk size per person should be at least 120cm wide and 80cm deep, any thing else is too small.

You are not limited! You can combine different layouts, based on the different needs of your co-workers and their functions. Room dividers can also be an easy way to change the feeling of the space and when in doubt, check out this IKEA hack for maximizing the role of a room divider.

Last tip - many offices are designed solely thinking about direct light from the ceiling, this makes the room look sterile and uninspiring. By simply adding additional lights throwing to the walls and ceilings, the room will appear larger, brighter and less claustrophobic. For further light inspiration, check out this Pinterest board.

Do you have a layout that we did not list? Let us know!