Archive for the ‘Office Furniture’ Category

Most of us slog away at our keyboards, hidden away in generic burlap office cubicles, with no idea of any other work environment. The folks at Pixar are here to ruin that for you, by showing you what their employees think is normal office life. How cool is their daily grind? Picture rooms full of cereal, with cartoon characters at every turn, and ping-pong tables fighting foosball tables for the most-fun office furniture award.

That’s reality at the company that brought you the Toy Story movies, Up, and Monsters Inc. And this is what your life would be like, if you worked at Pixar.

10. Superheroes Guard Your Office

Forget security systems. Pixar is guarded by the Incredibles. Which is good, because your coworkers would be actual monsters. Fortunately they don’t appear unless you’ve been animating for twelve hours.

9. Your Coworkers Are Actually Creative

And not just while making up excuses to stay home from work. (Seriously. We have worked with people who would call in sick with diseases that were cured 100 years ago.)

8. Buzz + Woody + Legos = Heaven for Toddlers

If all those movies about genius three-year-olds were true, this would be where they worked. We hope they’d wear tiny suits and ties while they worked, because that would be awesome.

7. The Lunchroom Has Connecting Flights to Anywhere You’d Want to Go

Could be a cafeteria, or it could be the coolest airport ever. Also, it’s totally possible that the roof turns into wings.

6. The Best Wall Art Ever

Eat your heart out, Successories. Animators make the only truly inspirational office art we’ve seen.

5. Pixar Will See Your Foosball…

…and raise you a ping-pong table. Seriously, if you add some beer, this office becomes the coolest bar we’ve seen.

4. Oh, Wait. There Is Beer.

This is not an official Pixar beer mug. We assume that they pass those out at the Friday Beer Bash, which is a real thing. (Seriously. It’s mentioned as a perk in the ad for interns on their website.)

3. If Your Coworkers Are Bad…

…you can feed them to the shark. How often would that come in handy in your office? And hey, there’s caution tape up. They can’t say they weren’t warned.

2. All the Cereal You Can Eat

Lots of offices offer, say, free bagels once a week, or a monthly pizza day. Pixar, on the other hand, has a giant room full of cereal, which is maybe the best thing ever.

1. Cube, Sweet Cube

Animators at Pixar work in cute little huts instead of cubicles. So in addition to working at one of the coolest companies ever, they work in cottages that are literally bigger and more luxurious than most of the apartments we’ve lived in.

Photo credits: 10. http://www.awn.com, 9. http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2367/1803870848_b2f2b045d0.jpg, 8. http://pixarblog.blogspot.com, 7. http://firingsynapses.com/, 6. http://www.dailygame.net, 5. http://oscartour.animationblogspot.com, 4. http://www.cafepress.co.uk, 3. http://www.joblo.com, 2. . http://pixarblog.blogspot.com, 1. http://www.boingboing.net

Generally, when we look for office furniture, we look for form as well as function. After all, if you’re going to spend 80% of your waking hours staring at a piece of furniture, it might as well be attractive.

Occasionally, however, we throw the principles of design out the window and go looking for the ugliest office chairs the internet has to offer. Bask in the hideousness, and be thankful your office manager hasn’t replaced your Aeron with one of these.

10. “The Seen-Better-Days Chair”

This chair might have been perfectly decent once upon a time, but is now frankly falling apart. Not so much a design issue. More of a time-lapse photography project.

9. “The Human Headphone Chair”

Regular noise-cancelling headphones not doing it for you anymore? Try this chair on for size. At the very least, it’ll communicate to your coworkers that you’re in your own private nightclub and aren’t to be disturbed.

8. “The ‘My Other Car Is a Desk Chair’ Chair”

If you must get one of these chairs, we implore you to push yourself around the office in it, going “Vroom, vroom!” under your breath.

7. “The Hobo Chair”

Perfect for collapsing into one flat piece, or dissembling entirely and stowing in a bindle.

6. “It Was Colonel Mustard, in the Library, With This Hideous Chair”

All furniture design makes a statement. This chair says, “I would like you to believe that I am very important. And I’m prepared to upholster my entire office, if necessary, to convince you.”

5. “The Summertime Rolls All Over Your Office Chair”

Do you think this chair would leave stripes all over the backs of your legs, just like the lawn chairs of your youth? Because we sort of do.

4. “Grandma’s Chair Away From Chair”

The economy being what it is, folks can’t afford to retire when they used to. Which might be why your Grandma’s chair found its way into this office. Cats not included!

3. “Dr. Claw’s Black Leather Chair of Death”

Actually, with this chair? The cat might be included. Warning: May turn occupants into evil cartoons.

2. “This Meeting Is Over Chair”

B-52 Stratofortress Ejector Seat Chairs from Moto Art are real ejector seats from real airplanes, and are marketed toward aviation buffs. No word on what the boss will think when you scoot into the meeting in a chair that says, “I long to be propelled out of this room, possibly at upwards of 85 miles an hour.”

1. “The Elephant Man Chair”

Kill it! Kill it before it breeds an army of rumple-hided chair monsters and takes over the whole building!

Photo credits: 1. Oops Design Awards, 2. Nexus404.com, 3. Luxist.com, 4. Instructables.com, 5. Naturalartificial.blogspot.com, 6. Yourfurniturelink.com, 7. Erked.com, 8. East Coast Corvettes, 9. Accessorizeyourspace.blogspot.com, 10. Nickycakes.com

The receptionist is the face and voice of the company. He or she is the first person guests (and clients!) see when they walk into the office, and the last person they see when they leave. No surprise, then, that companies tend to choose their receptionists for their social skills and presentation, as well as their work ethic.

But what about the reception furniture? Do companies spend as much time planning the equipment behind the receptionist as they do hiring for the job? If it’s a smart company we’re talking about, they do. Picking reception furniture is one of the most important aspects of office design. Here’s what you need to figure out before you buy.

1. What’s your style?

When figuring out which kind of reception furniture is right for you, you want to determine what sort of vibe your company intends to put out to clients. Are you a classic firm with solid, old school values? Maybe subdued wood is the material for you. Are you a cutting-edge design firm, up on all the current trends and forging the style of tomorrow? Something sleek and contemporary is probably more your speed.

Whichever style you choose, you’ll want to make sure that the reception furniture you select is functional as well as attractive. And in order to do that, you need to ask yourself our next question.

2. What does your receptionist do every day?

Let’s face it, the days of the single-function receptionist are largely behind us. Most companies can’t afford to hire a cheery and ornamental person whose sole function is to greet guests.

In addition to being the first person visitors see when they enter your office, your receptionist might be the chief admin for the company. Or he might be the office party planner, in charge of organizing refreshments for guests and workers alike. Whatever your receptionist’s job description, you’ll want to make sure they’re able to access the tools they need.

What does this mean? Smart planning. If your receptionist needs to access files, make sure she’s near the filing cabinet. If he needs to prepare refreshments, make sure he can get to the kitchen.

Whatever your receptionist’s other duties, make sure he or she can get out from behind the desk with relative ease. Nothing says awkward like guests waiting five minutes for the receptionist to climb down off their perch.

3. What’s your budget?

Last, but definitely not least, you need to ask yourself how much money you want to spend. Anyone who’s ever participated in an office redesign knows how quickly costs can mount up. Reception should set a tone for the rest of the company, but obviously you don’t want your budget for reception furniture to be bigger than that of the CEO’s office. (He gets so cranky when the receptionist has nicer things.)

One thing to consider is used office furniture. That’s where Arnolds Office Furniture comes in handy. When you’re ready to look for deals, drop us a line – or just browse our furniture online.

Photo: Learnthat.com

So you’re in the market for office cubicles. Before you run out and buy just any old set, do a little research. Office furniture says a lot about a company.

No, we’re not talking about research on which fabric for the conference room chairs best complements the CEO’s favorite tie or what what type of decorative fern can survive the longest without being watered.

We’re talking about your basic workstation. And when it comes to purchasing cubicles, size does matter.

Wall size, that is.

Here’s the low-down (or the high-up) on the three types of cube heights and what they say about your organization.

Low (42″-high walls)

Cubicles with low walls allow employees to see and talk to each other while seated. While this doesn’t afford much privacy, it does allow for a lot of collaboration and free flow of ideas. A company that goes the low-walled route likely fosters team work and creativity. The benefits include spontaneous brainstorming sessions and informal meetings about upcoming projects. Of course, not all employees sing Kumbaya to these wide open spaces. No walls means more noise  – from Ken mindlessly humming “Desperado” to Shirley’s 3 o’clock Doritos break — complete with loud crunching and finger-licking. And while the low walls allow for more conversation, that conversation isn’t always work-related. On the one hand, this may allow employees some much-needed respite from long hours staring at spreadsheets; on the other, you might be subjected to endless debates about whether Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez were worthy replacements to Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul on “American Idol.”

Medium (53″-high walls)

Picking medium height cubicle walls is the Great Compromise of office layout. Employees have more privacy — and by extension will have an easier time blocking out the office din to focus on work. On the flipside, all they have to do is stand to share a victory high five for landing a big client, or chat with their neighbor about that upcoming presentation or how annoying Steven Tyler is when he sings along with the people auditioning for the show (I mean really, it’s not called “Aerosmith Idol”!) And (bonus!) medium-high walls have the added benefit of forcing employees to get up and stretch their legs periodically — which your ergonomically obsessed HR lady will love. Companies furnished with medium-height cubicles might come across as being more formal and productivity oriented, compared with their free-wheeling, low-walled brethren.

High (66″-high)

High-walled cubicles are the Rolls Royce of office privacy. Even standing, employees cannot peer into each other’s office space, which allows for quiet, focused work without outside distractions. This layout is ideal for counselors or others who might need to have sensitive conversations on a regular basis and for people who have difficulty focusing in noisier office environments. The drawback to high-walled cubicles is that they could make an employee feel isolated and out of touch with their co-workers, managers and the organization as a whole. And while an employee has the cocoon of silence necessary to finish an assignment, they also might try to sneak in a little extra Farmville between memos. The most formal of the three options, high-walled cubicles seem suited to a more serious or conservative company that values productivity and discretion more than collaboration.

Now that you’ve done the really important work of building an office space, you’re free to riffle through carpet samples and pick a company refrigerator large enough to hold months worth of frozen dinners and yogurt.

Office design is something every company has to address, and the style you choose can ultimately say a lot about your business. Take a look to see what your design style choice says about you:

Modern

Clean lines. Sleek finishes. Contemporary furnishings. Your office is a high-style showplace and you love it. Your employees feel proud of their workplace and each cubicle, conference room and waiting area is dressed to the nines in beautiful office furniture, artwork and paintings.

Having a modernistic style to your office shows that your business is bold, forward thinking, open to reinvention, and fine with taking risks. You care about your employees and want their surroundings to be comfortable and stylish. You strive to impress your customers or potential business partners and know that a stylish space is a great way to do this.

Classic

Rich wood desks with matching credenzas, leather chairs and minimal décor is your approach. A tailored look suits you well, with a place for everything. Storage is key to your minimalist approach, so hutches, bookshelves and filing pedestals are carefully arranged around the centerpiece of a fine wood desk.

Your classic style exudes sophistication, attention to detail and a business steeped in tradition. You have a solid plan for your business’ future, are confident in reaching those goals and are interested in forming lasting relationships with customers and clients.

Low-Budget

You’re a bare bones kind of operation…and you make no bones about it! Building a profitable business is more important to you than a fancy desk and a waiting room full of fine art. Instead, your office boasts basic workstations, no-frills filing and a conference room that doubles as a break area.

Low-budget businesses value the ideal of getting their people in place to start making money right away, rather than dealing with the logistics of pricey desks and chairs. If it were up to you, a card table and chairs would suffice, but this doesn’t always mean you’re cheap…you’d just rather sink your resources into digging up more customer contacts, sending your leaders on client-wooing trips and providing top quality print and web materials. This type of business philosophy will enable you to go far. That is, until your employees demand a more comfortable chair!

High-Tech

The more technology the better, in your eyes. Every desk and cubicle must be outfitted for power and data, and your conference room resembles the media department of the local Target. Video screens, laptops and smart phones can be found in every nook and cranny of your office space, and your people all know how to use them well.

A technology-focused business is social media savvy, and does a lot of communicating online and over video conferencing. Your group has a young, can-do vibe and the growth possibilities are limitless. You know how to reach current and potential customers and how to keep each office member in contact with the right people at the right time. As long as you remember to form personal relationships with your customers and clients, you’re poised to be a business superstar!

Green

Taking care of Mother Earth is a top priority in your company. Using sustainable materials, natural flooring and recycled or re-used office furniture are just some of the ways you green up your office. There is a recycling bin at every turn and your conference room has a lights-off rule unless there is a meeting in progress.

Plants, bamboo and other natural décor reminds employees to be environmentally conscious and your customers take note of this and appreciate your efforts. You may even inspire them to become more responsible, and they’ll remember you for that. Your caring vibe transcends into the way you do business and each customer and employee feels valued and part of something bigger than them.

So, which design style does your business employ? Are you a mix of these themes? We’d love to hear from you!

Conference tables are made for conducting business, but that doesn’t mean they have to be boring and stuffy. On the contrary! There are some amazing conference tables out there loaded with awesome features from unique inlays to high-tech bells and whistles. Here is a sampling of customized tables that are sure to spice up your workspace.

Tech Respect

This gorgeous table by Franz is a racetrack-style table with black border and maple veneer inlay. It features a power and data runway complete with video conferencing capabilities and inset microphones.

See a similar style for a fraction of the cost at Arnolds Office Furniture.

Glorious Granite

Nothing says “Cool Sophistication” quite like a gleaming slab of rich granite, complete with data cutouts (this table is from Hardrox). Some may scoff at the cold hardness of granite, but there is no denying a beautiful piece like this commands respect.

Heavy Metal

Adding inlays to an otherwise predictable wood top raises the cool factor of any table considerably. This beauty by Unique Concepts uses both black absolute granite and brushed aluminum against the maple top to make a huge impact. Stunning!

See a similar style for a fraction of the cost at Arnolds Office Furniture.

Loco for Logos

It doesn’t get much more personalized than having your company’s logo inlaid into your table top, like this style by Unique Concepts. Logos in the center – or on opposing ends – of the table show the pride and conviction you have in your business – a very strong statement to make to potential clients or business partners.

Peek-a-boo, I See You!

This super sweet Boomerang Conference Table by SMARTdesks is a video conferencing dream come true. With a quick rotation of the FlipIt laptop safes, the table either becomes clear of clutter or displays the laptop screens without blocking the faces of the participants. The included cameras and video screens allow all participants to be clearly seen, and the modesty panel prevents any accidental peeks down under.

This is just a sampling of the cool office furniture out there. Stay tuned for more round-ups and furniture features!