Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic, life at home, workplaces, and almost everywhere altered significantly. Speaking of workplaces where we spend most of our active and waking hours, it eventually became important adopting to a safer, flexible, and hygienic environment that promotes the well-being of the workers, keeping them comfortable, productive, and motivated at all times.

And now that life is returning to normal with businesses being reopened almost everywhere around the world, it’s high time to execute the post-covid workplace plan that puts commercial interior design and essential products or assets on priority. That said, the coming of pandemic resulted in the swift transformation of offices as we know; balancing social distancing, nature, and efficiency.

If you’re brainstorming over creative office interior and essential products, have a look at some amazing ideas, to begin with!

Workstations Rethought & Redesigned with Physical Distancing

Ensuring a six-foot distance everywhere is very difficult, especially in offices where teams need to collaborate with each other on various projects. Digital software solutions and communication tools aside, no one would remain isolated or away from each other for constant eight-to-nine hours which prompted commercial interior designers in coming up with such workstations that can accommodate people while keeping the six-feet distance.

For quite some time, we became familiar with cramped cubicles and smaller workstations that were designed to increase synergy between workers as well as foster a livelier environment. But that trend may go out of style, at least for a few places where the severity of the virus has been at its extreme. Take for instance a table that previously accommodated eight people would now be reserved only for four or even three.

Keeping this in mind, it’s now up-to businesses if they’d opt for new interior design from scratch or simply keep the existing furniture while 50% of staff work from home. To ensure keeping the social distance without changing the interior, employees should be provided laptops to work conveniently rather than a desktop system where they need to sit at all times no matter what.

With this, you might as well invest in recyclable or disposable placemats to make sure the workstations remain clean throughout the day.

Open Floor Plans

Open floors were introduced years back whereas the interior design is considered absolutely perfect for today’s post-pandemic workplaces. And these aren’t going anywhere anytime soon whereas cleaning and maintenance of open floors is also easy; not to mention the fact that such a floor plan automatically maintains social distancing.

Ventilation is key to preventing the spreading of the COVID-19 virus and with an open floor, there’s plenty of space to keep the doors and windows open, allowing natural airflow and sunlight. On the contrary, you may also invest in a climate control system for the office in case you would need to keep the doors and windows closed most of the time for various reasons, which also includes security.

Greater Focus on Appliances, Finishing & Furniture

Future-proofing the environment is possible through the use of adaptable furniture, selection of special materials, making sanitization and disinfecting easier. Appliances today have all these features as well as technology that supports eco-friendliness while taking less space. Here’s a breakdown for clarity:

Furniture - Offices all over the world nowadays are investing in flexible, kinetic, and lightweight furniture that can be moved, reconfigured, and sanitized in a safe and convenient manner. It’s also compatible with open floor plans that allow easy changing of the furniture set. In addition, microfibre-based chairs and couches have an excellent reputation for being functional whereas they’re easy to maintain and clean.

Appliances - Bathrooms, pantries, and kitchens need to be fully innovative to ward off germs and other such filth. Take for instance a single communal refrigerator or dishwasher that, if remained, under-maintained and uncleaned for longer becomes a hub of viruses.

Finishing & Technology – Other than the microfibre-friendly surface, Advanced-grade finishing welcomes self-cleaning in a variety of ways which makes it a perfect option for offices. Some companies also use mats and skins to clean high-trafficked areas and public points. Touch-less technology and upgraded building mechanical system will provide optimal environmental control. Possible options that come with such technology include:

• Motion sensors and lights
• Automatic door opening technology
• Voice or smartphone-controlled elevators and AC system
• Smaller Conference Rooms

Ever since the entire pandemic thing, de-densification of offices has become a necessity for safety which is more important now that businesses are reopening. Flexible workspaces that welcome smoother communication and collaboration are prioritized according to which interior office designs are being reconsidered.

Conference rooms today are expected to have a huge multimedia screen with a built-in sound system that can easily connect with remote employees while ensuring all those present in the room can see and hear them. It’s all about maintaining transparency and educating employees to keep the operations fully functional and undisruptive.

Adopt to the Unconventional Style

The out-of-the-box thinking that encourages both employers and employees to be more productive and engaging in offices should be accommodated in the interior design. More and more flexibility plus social distancing that ensures a safer, cleaner, and healthier interior while keeping up productivity and communication is being achieved with the unconventional and creative interior.

Now that we’re familiar with some of the most essential post-covid office commercial interior designs and products, let’s reimagine our workplaces for more creative and home-like spaces.