With a fresh new year ahead, many of us are reimagining our office aesthetic. The terms interior design mood board and design of office are amongst the most Googled and industry predictions on what’s hot and what’s not are flooding our inboxes.
In 2018, we’re seeing a continuation of last year’s flexible fitouts, uplifting colour schemes, and agile workplaces, with ‘wellness’ at the core of the movement. Clients are placing greater importance on the health and happiness of their staff, and as expected, commercial interior design trends are set to support this theme. Here’s a handful of our favourite ‘wellness’ forecasts.
Invite the outside in – biophilic design
Wellness and nature work hand-in-hand when it comes to creating a sense of calm, contentment, and tranquillity within the workplace. In 2017 we saw the popularity of indoor plants, quiet zones, and natural lighting grow, and now, in 2018, natural textures, materials, and even the quality of air are priority design features for our commercial clients.
Image: Planters Group
Not only is a natural aesthetic desirable, materials (or plant life) that offer warmth, shade, a pleasant scent, or feel good to touch, are becoming key considerations for the wellness-savvy client.
Image: TerraMai
Wellness by design
We’ve touched on the health benefits of standing desks, colour psychology, and having productivity, chill-out, collaboration, and focus zones, in earlier posts. It’s unsurprising to see the trend towards health-centric design gain momentum in 2018.
This year, we’re expecting to see commercial interiors with designated space for staff to unplug, read, meditate, socialise, or even close their eyes for a moment.
Image: Trend Hunter (Lifestyle)
Image: The Commons
There’s no place like home
The most interesting forecast for us is the trend towards ‘homestyle’ office design. Designing creature comforts into commercial spaces will shape our designs and challenge preconceived ideas about what separates the work and home environments.
You may begin to see more office libraries, games rooms, fireplaces, lounges, in-house cafes, and other perks to make staff feel comfortable and happy to be in the workplace.
Image: K2
Image: Matic
A move in the right direction
It makes sense for interior design to mirror the priorities of society. Mindfulness, work-life balance, a return to the natural environment as a source of rejuvenation – all relevant to today’s lifestyle trends. 2018 is looking like the most human-centric and health-focused year for commercial interiors yet.