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Office Space, Buying the Right Furniture |
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If one of the stages in renovating your home office space includes buying new office furniture, then you want to make sure that you "buy smart" as I call it. Believe it or not, there are some people that haven't got a clue. I'm not trying to be rude or cynical. I'm just stating a fact. I've always considered myself fortunate in this area because of having over 10 years experience in the furniture business (lots of office furniture sales included), so I never condemn those that don't have the experience.
The most important step in the furniture buying process has always been (even though it isn't always practiced) to measure your space, measure it a second time, and then measure again. As redundant as that sounds, you would be amazed at the disastrous consequences that can result from being off even an inch. Now, take the floor plan of your office space that you have committed to paper (hopefully graph paper with measurements done to scale), and head over to the company where you intend on buying your furniture.
Before I get too far on this, here's a time-saver for you. If you (and your budget) are going either with RTA (Ready to Assemble) furniture or the real nice items, one way or the other, insist on FREE delivery in the transaction. Places like Staples will deliver free of charge anyway once you've spent $50 or more, so that's not an issue. I'm talking about the furniture stores. You're going to negotiate a better price than what it's marked anyway, so include free delivery in the negotiation process as well.
Make sure that before you have left your house that you not only have your floor plan, but you more or less have an idea of the style that you want in your office space. Here's a few tips. If the walls in your office are medium to dark in color, then buy lighter colored or lighter stained furniture. Putting darker furniture into an already darkly decorated room spells instant claustrophobia, and you will never want to stay in there for long periods of time.
Conversely, the opposite holds true when the walls are a light color to white. If you put lighter colored or lighter stained furniture into a lighter colored environment, it will look like the office space is still too empty. This often results in going out and buying more pieces to fill that "emptiness" (which really doesn't exist) and then not having a place to put the piece or pieces that you bought.
The final tip on buying furniture for your office space that I give people is that, if it is at all possible, try to at least by furniture that has a wood veneer finish. It doesn't have to be Ethan Allen or Pulaski to look good, but real furniture is a better option than RTA furniture. Though the majority of the material composition of each piece of furniture is particle board (or MDK as it is now referred to), at least it is covered in wood veneer to appear like solid wood.
RTA furniture is made up of MKD and "Wuzzwood" --- it wuzz wood before they ground it up, threw in some glue and other chemicals, and turned it into particle board. Real furniture doesn't fall apart when you move it. RTA furniture does not fare well when moving it around your office space or moving to another location, so keep that in mind. |
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