Psychology, Meet Design: Creating a Corporate Work Space

Psychology, Meet Design: Creating a Corporate Work Space

Creating a corporate work space is about more than choosing nice desks. It’s about creating a space that reflects your company’s culture, and empowers your employees.

Here are some tips on re-configuring your corporate setting….

You Are Not Google

I feel it’s important to point this out in the beginning. Often times, companies think that in order to have a successful and inspiring workplace, they need to take tips from Google; their offices are famous for slides, sleeping pods, and bean bags. Although this works great for Google developers working 20+ hour shifts, it may not be the best solution for everyone. Stay practical.

Be Space Conscious, but FUN

Even though pool tables, ball pits and an in-house arcade may be over-the-top in terms of cost and space, a small in-house gym or a foldable Ping-Pong table can be a great alternative. They give employees a healthy stress outlet on breaks, raise energy, and build relationships. 

Inspire your Employees

A windowless room stuffed with desks and computers would make anyone want to pull their hair out. Create an office that is not only a productive place to work, but one that enhances your employee’s well-being, creativity and engagement. In other words, inspire them to want to grow your company! Remind employees why they do what they do.

Airplane inspired Bechtel offices – a leader in aviation. Designed by Kelly Tivey Interior Design 

Know your Employees

Designing a workplace that works takes research and care. When in doubt, ask your employees. Go through their day. What are three things they wish your office had, what are three things they don’t enjoy about their work day? Do they go out for lunch? How often do they work overtime? Do they enjoy working with others, or wish they had more quiet time?

Although open office plans are proven to encourage collaboration, accountability and employee relations – they are not for everyone. Some people enjoy a quiet place to retreat to. Figure out a way to incorporate different work-styles into one space. 

Stay Inspired!

Kelly Tivey

Kelly TiveyInterior Design

How to Think Like a Interior Designer

Thinking Like an Interior Designer

Not everyone can be an interior designer, but with the right tools and foresight, anyone can successfully re-decorate their home. Successful interior designers have spent years educating themselves on the art of balance, color, proportion, harmony and technical skills involved with getting a design right.

The first step to designing like an interior decorator, is to think like one…

Know Yourself

Image found via Pinterest

The first step any good designer takes, is getting to know you! Chances are, you know what you like and don’t like, but it’s not that simple. Take a deeper look into what inspires you, how you use your space, and how you would like to use your space.

Plan Your Project

Prioritize, budget and plan. You can wait on details like color, style and fabric – the real work is in measuring, sketching, and planning how the space will be best used. Next, you need to plan your budget. Make sure the number is not only realistic, but leaves wiggle room for trial and error. Define your boundaries and know your limitations!

Find Your Vibe

Image by Lynelle Less of Abode Designs

It’s important to explore your comfort zone – test your on limits and introduce designs that you may never have before considered. If you want your home to look like it was created by a designer, make sure to avoid the out-of-the-box look. The perfect solution is to create an inspiration board! Not only are they fun, but designers actually create these – and for good reason. When in doubt, refer to the board.

Build your Room

Things like shopping for paint and choosing furniture can be surprisingly overwhelming. My tip is to choose a color that flows with the style of your home, while still defining the individual room. Always test your paint, and try to choose furniture based on measurements of the room, vibe and functionality.

Accessorize

This is the fun part! Just make sure to keep this part for last. Design visions usually evolve and pivot throughout the process, so an item you choose in the beginning might not make sense for long. Plus, too many accessories will make a room look cluttered.

Keep up with our weekly blog posts for more insider tips!

Stay Inspired.

Kelly Tivey

Kelly Tivey Interior Design

San Francisco Interior Design: Making Small Spaces Work

San Francisco Interior Design: Making Small Spaces Work

Anyone that lives in the San Francisco area knows that sometimes you need to forego square footage for a prime location. There are ways to make small spaces work – bigger doesn’t always mean better.

Here’s how to make your pint-sized pad work for you:

Make Deliberate Choices About What Stays

With small spaces, everything you own needs to have a purpose – even if the purpose is to enhance aesthetics or tell a story. Make a habit of purging unnecessary nick-knacks. 

Create Space Separation

We tend to think of big open spaces as a good thing, and sometimes they are. But often, there’s too much going on in one place and it can be overwhelming to the eye, making things look messy. Make sure to create the separation of separate spaces for different functions. It will make your place feel like a home. 

Rethink Unused Space

Take a walk through of your home and identify any dead spaces. Brainstorm how you could use those to your advantage. You could turn that large windowsill into a workspace, put a decorative storage basket on top of your refrigerator, or maybe install some shelves next to your door frames. 

Dual-Purpose Furniture 

There are tons of great transformable furniture options out there, even for those that choose to forego the dreaded Murphy bed. My tip is to find cool pieces like hollowed ottomans, and dining tables with leafs.

Creative Storage

The most important piece in making your small San Francisco space work for you is to come up with some creative storage solutions. Make it fun! Find some cute storage boxes, vintage suitcases or install some simple shelving.

Photo via Camille Styles

Keep up with our weekly posts for more tips on San Francisco Interior Design! 

Happy Friday, 

Kelly Tivey at KellyTiveyInteriors.com

The Secret to a Family Friendly Home

Functional, family-friendly interior design is possible, even if you’re a busy San Franciscan with a tight budget and tighter schedule.

Here are some tips on containing the chaos…

Centralize – The Family Command Center

The key to functional design is planning. Know your lifestyle and who you live with. My tip is to centralize your chaos. Having beautiful built in shelving (with charging station and shoe rack) can be a lifesaver. You won’t have to think about rounding things up every morning. Grab and go! 

Images via Pinterest

Bonus Tip:  Keep your linens organized. Store sheet sets inside of matching pillow cases to keep them together. Less time rummaging through the linen closet finding a matching set!

No Fuss Furniture

No fuss furniture should look good, but expect the worst. Avoid couches and chairs with skirts or too many pillows (things tend to disappear) in favor of exposed legs and chic but comfortable cushions. Also, choose a coffee table and side tables that have some extra drawer space for storage. Organize smart! 

Traditional Living Room Design by Vancouver Interior Designer Enviable Designs. Inc.

Bonus Tip: As gross as it may sound, check out your current furniture and look at the colors of stains. Match your pattern and texture for new furniture accordingly. 

Kid Space VS Adult Space

You don’t want the kind of home where you’re constantly paranoid about kids touching surfaces – or one that looks like a daycare center. Create a home that allows for fun and exploration, without sacrificing your sanity. Figure out which spaces can be kid only, adult only, and (like the living room) places for you to be a family. A great designer can help you figure out how to arrange the home so that kid clutter remains out of sight, out of mind.

 Image found via Pinterest

Get the Family Involved

Don’t hold off on decorating just because you have children. You deserve a nirvana. A great way to do this is to get your family involved in the design process. Picking out new stuff is fun, plus they’ll appreciate the work that goes into making a home beautiful. Maybe they’ll think twice before throwing their muddy shoes on the new area rug.

Image found via Pinterest

The right designer will get to know your family and can help you plan your space and routine. If you’re interested in seeing if a makeover is right for your family, shoot me an email at ktivey@comcast.net. I’d love to get to know you!

Kelly Tivey

KellyTiveyInteriors.com