How to Design a Perfect Reception Area for Your Office

 An office reception should be so cool that people will want to take a picture in there when they visit (lol I’m just being vain) but on a serious note, Your front office is a representation of what your organization has to offer, you only get one chance to make a lasting impression so why not seize the opportunity and give a striking first impression to your clients and your guests. When people come to your office and meet a reception area that is not appealing they would assume that your conference room and offices would look as crappy as the reception area even if that may not be the case. Take a moment and think about the last office you stepped into that had a great reception area, did it make you feel welcomed? I mean it's OK to have a great online presence and an outstanding customer service, take it a notch further by creating an elegant reception area or front office to give a lasting impression of your organization and office. Having an awesome reception area is very easy and no matter the size of space you have, there's so much you can do with it to make it look outstanding. Before you take on this task of designing a perfect office reception area,you need to understand the end-users; who are the type of people that would be visiting this organization, their age range, status, etc just a little demography search. This would guide your design and selection.

9 Ways to Create a Simple Perfect Reception Area

1.  Colour Selection/ Scheme: this is a very vital part of setting up an office space generally, you should check out an earlier post on colour selection for your space. There are no particular colours listed for a reception area, most offices will fill their reception area with their company colours and extra bold logos in your faces, it’s OK to use your brand colours if they are not intense. It is wise to play safe with neutral and earthy colours in your reception area. Use white, light grey, baby blue, and simple colours that would help keep people calm and relaxed while they wait.

 2. Reception Desk and Chair: this is a major piece in your front office and it speaks really loud, your reception desk can be bespoke or already made but it should be beautiful and elegant because the desk is a major aspect to making a perfect reception area. The reception desk should always face the door, in cases where that's possible so that the guest is not confused about what direction to go or who to meet when they walk in. In some other cases facing the door may not be possible because of the structure and the available space especially in small offices. But as much as you can, keep it conspicuous. The chair should also be a nice swivel chair, this is not only for beautification but also for the comfort of the person(s) manning the reception office.  Shop for receptionist chairs                                                                                                           

3.Accessories: the reception area in as much as we want a perfect and appealing space, there is a limit to how we can accessorize it. It's not a home so accessories should be kept  as minimal as possible. we want the reception area to feel airy and pleasant. I always recommend some greenery, Adding some green plants to liven up the place and make it  more attractive and flower/plant is a cheap way to make your space look expensive, either live or synthetic plants will do just fine. Paintings are also a good way to accessorize, aside from being appealing it could also be a conversation starter or breaking the monotony of the space to give the guest something to ponder about or admire.   Look on Amazon for office decor /accessories    

 4. Seating options and Table: choose a very comfortable seating, you can use couch or airport waiting bench or a nice sofa couch; whichever you select make sure to have enough space to seat your guests. You should have an idea of the average number of people who come in daily, so make plans to accommodate them because it's not nice to keep people standing. The sofa should be made of good fabric or leather,materials that don't hold stains and can easily get the dirt off. A leather sofa is great for this or a simple leisure chair  or office guest reception bench     

 5. Lighting: this a very important aspect, lighting adds to the beauty of your office interior, it shows off the fantastic decor work done. The reception area should be bright and properly lit. Use a pendant light as it also serves as an accessory and not just lighting, let it drop just over the reception desk. The number of drop lights you use will be determined by the size of your available space. If possible make use of more natural light: keep the windows free for light to come through to complement the artificial lights.  The purpose of the reception will also determine the type of lights used. Illumination plays a vital role in interior design,in fact there's almost no design without lighting. Lighting accentuates the design and creates a soothing ambience and depth as well as draws attention to certain areas. A reception for a hotel will certainly look different from that of a formal office reception. Be sure what the purpose of your space is and make the most of it.

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6.  Comfort/Rugs and Center Table: rugs have a way of making a space full cohesive and comfortable. A moderate size shaggy or turkey rug will work just fine and a little contemporary centre table for guests to drop files or any small item while they wait. It's also a good place to keep newspapers and journals for perusal and some table top decorative pieces. 

7. Television/Media: it's great to have some sort of entertainment in the reception area, waiting can take longer than necessary don't leave your guests bored. If you have public WiFi make it available for your guests only in the reception area to keep them active while they wait.  Some reception areas may not have a wall to place the TV for some reason, if you don't have a vacant wall, you can use a mobile TV holder, now you can move your TV to any part of your office reception.

8.Air conditioning and Air fresheners: it's always refreshing when you get out of the sun into a chilled air-conditioned room that smells really cool. You can use diffusers, scented candles or air freshener sprays to keep the air fresh and welcoming.                                                                                             

9. A Friendly Person behind the Desk: my first job after my degree was as a receptionist I thought it was going to be a simple task at first but few months down the line I realized it required much more than just sitting in front, I was the face, the first person to interact with guests, I had to wear a simple no matter how tired I was. Just know that you won't have a perfect office reception area if the person behind the desk is not friendly or welcoming. Your receptionist is quite often the first person that a customer, candidate, or client interacts with when making contact with your organization, so they are essentially the face and voice of your company and for this reason, they play an extremely important role in the representation of your organization we can't overemphasize the importance of this.                                                                                                                                                 

Consider Hiring an Interior Designer from Eunicon interior to make this process seamless and easier. The touch of an interior designer makes so much difference and creates a cohesive look. Contact eunicon furniture interior to help with your setup, space management, and planning or sign up for your free interior design consultation service let's beautify your office space . You can also shop for all your office furniture online on our website.