Office Flooring: Creating a Great Work-Space
Office Flooring
Selecting flooring for an office space needn’t be a complicated and drawn out process. With a few key considerations and thoughtful design, your office floor can provide a comfortable, stylish and durable foundation for your business!
Office flooring, like many other aspects of office design, should reflect the brand and personality of your business. This may be achieved through specific colour palettes, design tropes or even custom bespoke flooring. This nod to the business brand may be more direct in areas such as reception spaces or boardrooms. Although branding may feed into breakout spaces such as individual offices and break rooms, the main considerations in these zones are likely to be ease of maintenance and durability.
For office flooring solutions, it would be easy to get caught up in the multitude of options available to you but our specialist flooring experts at Hamilton Flooring are on hand to help you select the flooring which is best suited to your environment and which captures the aesthetic you want to achieve. For a consultation of your business flooring needs, contact us here.
In the meantime, here are some of our general recommendations for the modern office space to get you inspired!
Carpet Tiles for Offices
Carpet tiles are synonymous with office buildings but long gone are the coarse brown and grey tiles of the past. Carpet tile systems provide greater flexibility for design, installation and refitting as well as remaining one of the most durable flooring options due to advanced technologies in the manufacturing process. One of the biggest draws of carpet tile is the ability to replace individual tiles should spills or damage be acquired in the daily use of a carpeted area.
Furthermore, the variety of colour and pattern options is astounding and there is surely a combination for everyone! Once fitted, carpet tile gives the appearance of wall-to-wall carpeting rather than piecemeal sections. Having said this, intricate patterns and designs can be created with carpet tile using custom flooring techniques, allowing for a bespoke finish and personalised aspects should this be desired.
In an open office space, carpet tile is the number one tool in the fight against excessive noise - which is the biggest barrier to productivity. Whether its an overload of keyboard clacking, frequent phone calls or the general noises of a working office, carpet tile absorbs more than three times more noise than a hardwood floor. Traditional hard flooring such as wood and concrete are poor at sound absorption and cushion backed carpet tiles offer 50% more noise absorption than hard backed carpet therefore they are a great choice for spaces like cubical/open plan work areas and common spaces. The cushioning properties of carpet tiles should not be ignored, particularly when facilitating sit-to-stand working. In this sense, a quality carpet tile can improve productivity and wellbeing through reduced noise levels and low-impact surfaces.
For areas where carpet tile may not be suitable but noise reduction remains a priority, Vinyl may be a great option. For the same aesthetic as many higher cost hard flooring solutions, Vinyl flooring is unmatched!
Vinyl Flooring for offices
Vinyl flooring designs have the ability to replicate natural stone or wood products but without the high price tag as well as being available in graphic and digitally created designs! LVT is incredibly versatile and works well for custom flooring designs and even floor level signage and branding. Vinyl and LVT are practical and popular choices for areas experiencing high footfall such as reception areas and walkways.
Sheet Vinyl is a stylish and cost effective solution which is known for durability and low-maintenance needs. Furthermore, due to its spill resistance and bacteria management properties, Vinyl is well suited to kitchens and bathrooms especially as (unlike LVT ) it is completely impermeable to water. This makes Vinyl a perfect choice for areas which will receive frequent cleaning and heavy foot traffic.
Polyflor, Forbo and Altro are all trusted suppliers working with Hamilton Flooring to provide quality Vinyl flooring systems with specialist products adhering to safety flooring standards with anti-slip technology and water resistant properties. Vinyl, in comparison to some other hard surface flooring, offers high levels of thermal and acoustic properties and won't chip, warp or discolour.
Office flooring needs to be ergonomic as well as stylish and vinyl is an effective combination of the two, with practical elements in their construction as well as a vast array of designs, colours and styles available.
Karndean - A great choice for offices
Interior design in offices and business spaces often incorporates what the industry terms ‘resimercial’ trends, which essentially is about bringing a residential feel to a commercial space. This is often achieved through the use of area rugs and accessories like lamps and plants. One way to achieve this is through the use of Karndean flooring. With designs which are popular for use in the home and with properties which lend itself to commercial use, this flooring system rejects an industrial feel whilst maintaining the durability and longevity of commercial flooring. Karndean is an ideal solution to provide a comfortable, home-like environment which is known to improve employee wellbeing. The beauty of Karndean flooring is the vast choice available across the ranges which include wood and stone effects in a variety of colour options and finishes.
Combining different flooring types across one design can be a useful way to denote distinct areas in a workspace, this is particularly effective in open plan style offices. Utilising carpet in desk areas, vinyl in high traffic locations and stylised options such as Karndene in areas like personal offices or boardrooms allows for a dynamic use of space. Drawing together texture, design and utility, flooring is a key element of any office space and can be used to promote the identity of the business, productivity and wellbeing amongst employees and to present a stylish and welcoming environment to visitors.
For more information about the services provided by Hamilton Flooring or to book a free consultation for your office flooring needs, our flooring experts are on hand to explore the creative and practical elements you require.
Unless otherwise stated, Images are used for illustrative purposes and do not represent work untaken by Hamilton flooring - examples of work completed can be found in our Gallery