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Home Office Essentials

The three must haves for your home office

By Angela D. Wagner

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, more people than ever before have been working remotely. Although many have been able to return to their offices, a recent Gallup poll suggests that one-third of Americans are still working from home. A piece from Review42 indicates 77 percent of telecommuters claim to be more productive than in the office. Remote employees can reportedly earn up to $4,000 more annually, so it’s a good thing 55 percent of businesses worldwide offer some capacity for remote work.

It’s not just workers who benefit, though. According to the aforementioned article from Review42, companies can save an average of $11,000 annually for every employee who works remotely half-time. That’s real money businesses could be saving!

Thankfully your home office can be just as functional as the workplace with a few simple upgrades and essential office must-haves such as an adjustable desk, an ergonomic chair, and a variety of storage solutions that are as stunning as they are practical.

Adjustable Desks

It’s a widely-known fact that sitting at a desk day in and day out can be detrimental to your health. Experts suggest taking breaks to stretch or move approximately every 30 minutes to combat this problem, but another solution is to invest in a standing desk. Researchers at the University of Waterloo advise full time employees to stand 45 minutes out of every hour that they’re working. That adds up to six hours of standing time a day!

Most standing desks today are completely adjustable, meaning you can easily convert your standard desk to a standing one in a matter of seconds. The RockIt @Home Sit/Stand Desk from Inscape is designed to make changing work positions simple, quick, and quiet with its squeeze paddle lift activation. The RockIt is abrasion, heat, fade, and stain-resistant and is available in two colors that can easily fit into any home office space. A 1-inch safety contour protects your fingers when adjusting the height and the seamless design makes it easy to keep clean.

Inscape’s RockIt Sit/Stand Desk

If you’d rather adapt the desk you’re currently working in, HON offers a number of desktop risers that can be used for laptop or desktop computers. These risers can be used to mimic the feel of a standing desk without disrupting the entire workspace. The company’s entire Coordinate series is designed to make sit-to-stand workspaces both functional and elegant.

The HON Coordinate Series

For some, though, the standard work desk reigns king. If your home office needs a basic upgrade now that you’re working remotely, look no further than the Nomad table from Berco Designs. The chic, industrial design will work best with exposed brick, pipes, or steampunk décor and is available in a number of finishes, heights, and sizes. Glides or casters can be added on for mobility and floor protection.

Nomad Table by Berco Designs

Ergonomic Chairs

A great chair is by far the number one office must have whether you’re working from home or not. The industry leader in customizable and ergonomic office seating is ergoCentric. Their chairs feature six adjustable points so you can easily alter your posture throughout the day between seated, perched, or standing. This reduces injury and can promote both productivity and better health. On the company website you can be virtually fitted for a chair, which ensures it will be fully customized to your specific workplace seating requirements.

ergoCentric has a wide variety of ergonomic seating options

The benefits of ergonomic seating are undeniable, which means they are becoming more widely available. National Office Furniture features a Find Your Sit tool that allows you to find the chair that works best for your workspace. HON also has a multitude of task chairs for you to choose from such as the Ignition, Solve, or the Nucleus. The bottom line is the variety of chairs available is as vast as the number of bottoms that sit in them.

HON’s Ignition
HON’s Nucleus
Solve by HON

Storage Solutions

Practical yet stylish storage solutions are imperative to creating a truly functional home office. Cabinetry, shelving, credenzas, case goods, and filing cabinets are all great ways to keep your workspace organized as well as looking good.

The most comprehensive solution is a commercial case good which is typically made up of built-in style shelves, cabinets, and drawers that fit behind or perpendicular to a desk. JSI Furniture has a number of beautifully designed case goods to choose from such as the Flux Private Office. The Flux Private Office is made up of individual components, meaning there are countless configurations for you to choose from. All of JSI’s case goods are available in a large variety of colors and finishes to fit any space and any design style.

JSI has terrific options for open floorplans including the Flux Private Office series

If you’re looking for something simpler, National Office Furniture has great options when it comes to storage. National has 11 private office collections making it easy for you to find multiple pieces that match one another and can provide the organizational style you’re looking for. The Alloy collection, for example, is made up of locker-style cabinets and drawers whereas the Barrington collection contains more classical-looking bookshelves and chests of drawers.

The Alloy Storage series by National Office Furniture
The Barrington Collection by National Office Furniture

Thonet on the other hand offers more conventional storage solutions such as the Modern Heritage Shelving System. The unit is totally customizable, down to color, finish, and the number of cabinets or shelves included. They also offer credenzas, media consoles, and other products to keep your home office tidy, organized, and ready for work while looking great.

Thonet’s Modern Heritage Shelving System

Ancillary Accessories

No home office would be complete without fun and functional accessories. Such accessories can be incorporated to make you more comfortable and your work a little easier. National Office Furniture’s Exhibit collection was created on the philosophy to “let the walls do the work,” so they offer a selection of markerboards and tackboards to help you utilize available wall space and clear up clutter from your desk. Most people are visual learners, so having a board to write on close by can be extremely beneficial to keep track of lists, notes, and other ideas. They can also be used to decorate your space with personal photos or other types of inspiration.

National Office Furniture has markerboards for your office or school
National Office Furniture tackboards are beautiful and functional while adding a pop of color

Tech accessories are also great additions to your home office. A desktop power station is a great way to plug in multiple things at once safely and clear wire clutter from around the desk without being bulky. Another useful thing is a wireless charging pad which can charge your phone without additional wires and can be moved out of the way of paperwork and computers.

In addition to chairs, ergoCentric offers a variety of work-from-home products meant to increase productivity and overall well-being such as anti-fatigue mats and leg and foot rests. The ergoCentric Foot Flexor sits neatly under your desk and encourages you to constantly change the position of your hips, legs, ankle, and lower back muscles. This device relieves tension and static in the muscles so you won’t feel as tired or stiff after a long day of work.

ergoCentric helps keep you on your feet with antifatigue mats

If you are interested in upgrading your home office, contact CORE at (520) 999-3470. Our commercial office specialists are here to answer all of your questions and assist you in building a modern, healthy remote work environment for yourself for years to come.

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Make Big Impressions with Your Small Workspace

By Angela D. Wagner

Maybe your small office workspace was planned intentionally to create a cozy, collaborative environment. Or, perhaps, you’re economizing as you plan to expand later on. Regardless of why your business is operating in tighter spaces, making the most of the premium space you do have can provide an opportunity for creative efficiency. With the right space-saving furnishings, you can provide your employees with a workplace primed for success.

CORE works with an impressive list of high-quality manufacturers to present a wide variety of options for every workspace and every budget. No matter what your office’s total square footage is, the experts at CORE can help you design the perfect workplace in any space with products to show off your business, its work ethic, and its style with complete functionality.

Reception Desks

These are the pieces of furniture that work the hardest to provide your office’s best first impression. Affordable with a top-quality appearance and ultimate function, DeskMakers’ Overture reception desk is available in many styles, sizes, finishes, and materials. This variety of options enables any business to leave a long-lasting good impression even when space is a concern.

The Overture reception desk by DeskMakers allows your office to save space while still making a terrific first impression.
The Overture reception desk by DeskMakers allows you to save space while making a terrific first impression.

Fluid Concepts offers a variety of reception designs to fit any size and shape of space your organization has available. One of the things we at CORE love most about the reception desks from Fluid Concepts is that they are offered in a variety of finishes and materials which means customizing your reception area from a complete corner desk to a creatively curved design is no problem. Additionally, the company focuses on using environmentally friendly and sustainable materials.

Make the best use of every corner with corner reception desk designs by Fluid Concepts.
Make the best use of every corner with corner reception desk designs like this one by Fluid Concepts.

Another great manufacturer of small reception furnishings is Cherryman. Like the others mentioned above, this company offers a multitude of smaller reception desks to fit any space. Its reception products are available in a range of materials from wood and leather to glass top reception desks. Cherryman even offers the seating and tables you need to accent your small reception area while keeping things looking professional without busting your budget.

Reception desks can be small and functional while making a statement. Take this Cherryman reception desk, for example.

Small Worktables

For smaller office spaces, wall-mounted work surfaces are a terrific space-saving option. Peter Pepper offers a multitude of curvy and straight-edged wall-mounted worktables to choose from. They come in a variety of materials from metal to wood to match any office décor. With the daily use of modern technology from laptops to cell phones that require charging, the outlets built into these worktables make charging simple so there’s no wasted time searching for a place to charge.

Wall-mounted work stations are great for super small spaces that still allow employees and guests to get things done comfortably and conveniently.

When training sessions are completed, reuse the space by storing these Drake inline nesting tables with flip tops from ERG International. These easily stored tables are on casters for maneuvering made simple. The small worktables allow you to use your smaller spaces with versatility, style, and complete functionality.

Inline nesting tables like this Drake table by ERG International make it easy to use, store, and go for multiple purposes from training to collaborative work areas.

Multi-purpose tables by HON are another great option for small spaces that require furnishings to handle working double duty. Whether you need your tables to be mobile workstations with a height-adjustable base or you need them to work in interactive training spaces, these multi-purpose tables can do it all. They are easy to move, reconfigure, and stow away quickly. Talk about smart furniture!

The multi-purpose tables by HON are an excellent option when you need tables that do double duty.

Compact & Portable Workstations

Perfect for smaller work areas, the Cloud Workspaces offered by in2design offers an opportunity for focused individual assignments or group projects. With its compact design, the Cloud is ideal for privacy but is also open enough for working with others. Your employees will love how the design allows them to transition quickly from individual tasks to group activities and discussions. Their small footprint and inviting oval shape make them ideal for small spaces.

Cloud Workspaces by in2design offers a stylish alternative to traditional cubicles in small spaces without losing functionality.

You might not be able to move walls to create more space, but the next-best thing is a movable workstation. The KORE Work Cart by Kimball® is designed for smaller spaces that embrace shared workspaces. This piece is completely adaptable, giving employees the option to work privately in their own space or move their desk with ease to work with others in a shared space.

Small, portable, and workable, the KORE Work Cart by Kimball is a great opportunity to add mobility to workstations while saving space.

Mobile Service Desks by TMC Furniture are ideal for healthcare settings. These desks are set on casters to allow them to move in and out of spaces, even small ones, with ease. They are a perfect addition to settings that change frequently such as patient waiting areas. They even offer calming images on the front to beautify your office or business while improving patient health.

Mobility adds to the functionality of this Mobile Service Desk by TMC Furniture. Add some grace to any area with charming front panels and store away to make space when needed.

Height-Adjustable Furniture

Design a work area that goes beyond mere cubicles with the versatile offerings of the sit-stand Equity workstation by Neutral Posture. It employs a panel-based system that is an industry first, allowing for modularity along a centerline and 90-degree and 120-degree planning that’s perfect for open-plan layouts.

With the Equity workstation by Neutral Posture, you can mix and match your employee set up to save the most space in your workplace.

Quiet motors raise or lower the height of the TiMOTION worktable by ergoCentric a range of 26.5 inches in just 17 seconds. This allows for a variety of specialty heights for comfortable work environments in small or large spaces. It offers a sturdy and economical sit-stand solution for even small work areas.

The TiMOTION worktable by ergoCentric allows your employees to move seamlessly from sitting to standing and back again without taking up much room.

AMQ offers height-adjustable desks with a standard push-button handset offering four memory presets to make getting the height for each employee just right. The adjustable bases fit three work-surface sizes so you can get the desk that offers a perfect fit for your available space. These desks promise quiet motors and can be used alone or added to others for condensed workspaces.

Even in the smallest of areas, you can allow employees the health benefits of height-adjustable desks like these from AMQ.

Storage Cabinets

For offices storing paper files in cabinets, Spacefile offers space-saving tambour doors whose shutters roll up to reveal files, then roll down for security. They also promise a clean, professional appearance, which is especially important in open office spaces. The best part is they are totally customizable to fit your specific space and storage needs.

Save space with cabinets by Spacefile that feature tambour doors that roll up and down.

Spacefile’s Roll-Away II & III systems provide laterally movable shelves in front of a rear stationary unit, none of which are mounted to the floor. This is a cost-effective, space-saving solution when it comes to meeting your business storage requirements. The mobile rows allow for tons of seamless storage in the smallest of spaces.

Small offices can be challenged to provide storage for personal items left out in the open. Not only can personal items create a cluttered, unprofessional appearance, but leaving items out doesn’t do much in the way of security. Footprint® Pullout Storage by Kimball offers secure, secluded storage that gives your team members their own area even in an environment where space is at a premium.

Footprint Pullout Storage by Kimball makes storing personal items, files, and more simple and easy without using a ton of space.

For healthcare environments, Alterna® by Kimball®Health offers modular caseworks that can be seamlessly added no matter your space considerations. This healthcare furniture adapts well to small public areas as well as clinical spaces and workstations. The caseworks can be completely modified to meet the availability of space in your office.

Capture wall space for storage that looks great with the Alterna modular casework series from Kimball.

Seating Selections

Small offices are often challenged to provide temporary accommodations for clients and other guests. HON Office Furniture’s nesting chair is a flip-up model that stores easily in a small area. These seats open easily to provide comfortable seating. Another perk: It sits on casters that make it easily mobile.

This HON Motivate stacking chair just one of many styles available to reduce space usage.

Safco’s new Cava collection offers desk and office seating with rounded lines, colorful and comfortable fabrics, and ergonomic options to keep workspaces comfortable and appealing. You can choose whether you want seating that is stackable or on casters for added mobility. There are a variety of styles ranging from low-back to high-back and those that are height adjustable for better ergonomics.

Cava Urth is one of many space-saving, stackable chairs available from Safco.

To allow employees to move seamlessly from sit to stand and back again, consider the variety of stools offered by Sitwell. Sitwell stools promise comfortable height-adjustable seating in a range of styles and colors. They can be used as a footrest when standing and don’t take up much room. They also sit on casters for simple mobility when it comes time to move to your next collaborative assignment or team meeting.

The variety of stools by Sitwell offer employees the chance to move from sitting to standing with ease.

Maximizing Desk Space

Those awkward 90-degree corners can become functional with RightAngle Products’ Create-A-Corner. These desks maximize your use of space by taking any such corner and turning it into a useable workspace using flexible articulating arms. With RightAngle, you can make every corner count.

Use that excess space in hidden corners to create more workspace with the Create-A-Corner by RightAngle.

Need to maximize every square foot of space atop each desk? The clamp mount monitor arm by National Office Furniture lets you get organized with a non-permanent installation. Simply use the clamp to secure the monitor arm to the edge of the desk and you have just saved yourself valuable surface space on your desktop.

For those in need of two monitors with little space, the clamp mount monitor arm by National Office Furniture is the perfect solution. Save that desk space for better things.

Optimizing small spaces pays off

Space challenges don’t have to mean giving up a professional appearance. You can achieve effective functionality and room to maneuver in your office for employees, clients, and guests regardless of the space you have. A wide variety of products and designs are available to afford even the smallest offices to look and feel successful. With the right mix of furnishings and products to equip your work environment, you’ll begin feeling like you’re already in larger quarters.

To learn more about space-saving corporate office furnishings and products, contact CORE online or call us today at (520) 999-3470.

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Sitting Selections: Identifying the Right Seating for Your Work Environment

We find seats everywhere. They are at our office desk and in conference rooms. There are seats for hospital exam rooms and others that are perfect for creating a welcoming, comfortable lobby. There are seats designed just for students in educational settings, chairs for adjustable-height desks, and those meant to be a comfortable place to collaborate as a member of a team. And, according to research used in a piece by the Independent, the average employee spends 6.5 hours a day sitting at work. That is a great deal of sitting.

There are so many seats to choose from, it can seem a bit overwhelming. Since we spend so much time sitting in them, care must be taken when choosing seating that will fit your specific environment. Furniture selected for a classroom would not necessarily be appropriate for a medical waiting room in a geriatric doctor’s office. This little guide offers you a few things to keep in mind when selecting furniture for your particular work space.

Medical Environments

Medical professionals find that their seating environment not only needs to be ergonomically correct and aesthetically pleasing, but it needs to protect patients from contracting any form of infection or virus. Additionally, medical settings typically require a wide variety of seating from the lobby to exam rooms and physician seating to chairs for front office staff. These facts can make medical seating quite challenging to select.

The first rule of thumb for medical office seating is to pick furniture that is seamless or with little to no stitching and crevices. This will reduce the risk of growth and the spread of harmful bacteria. It also makes cleaning much easier. You can even purchase seating for your medical practice or hospital that is made with antibacterial material to further reduce the spread of germs.

You’ll also want to ensure your seating allows for freedom of movement in the space you are purchasing it for. For example, you’ll want to consider the space and layout of your lobby and waiting areas. Not only should the seating be comfortable for your patients and visitors, but it should also allow for ease of movement. Patients may have wheelchairs, walkers, or crutches that hinder their movement and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) provides federal requirements for removing barriers in public spaces such as restaurants, schools, and doctor’s offices.

Commercial furniture retailers such as CORE are familiar with ADA requirements and can help you map out your lobby, waiting areas, and other spaces to ensure your business or office meets federal regulations. Additionally, seasoned professionals should also be able help you select the proper products from bench seats and chairs to ergonomically correct seating for your staff and comfortable exam tables for your patients.

Today’s manufacturers offer a wide selection of materials, colors, and patterns to choose from so you can make your medical environment as clean and safe as possible while providing a comfortable and welcoming atmosphere to reduce stress on your patients. You can choose from solid colors to bright patterns. It’s all about the statement you wish to make with your medical environment. Intensa is just one manufacturer of medical and laboratory seating that is engineered specifically for the healthcare industry with a wide variety of options to choose from. Stance Healthcare also offers premium seating designed specifically for medical offices and facilities. For example, check out the Carson Sleeper which converts from a cozy couch to a user-friendly, easy-to-clean bed and back again.

Whether you are looking for something to fit your existing décor, you’re undergoing a complete renovation, or you have a brand new medical space, there is seating to meet your workplace needs. For more information about selecting seating and furniture for medical spaces, check out the CORE blog “Selecting the Best Furniture for Medical Spaces.”

Educational Seating

As teaching methods continue to grow and evolve, so does classroom furniture including seating. When choosing the best seating for your students, the age of the students, their average size, and how long they are sitting in the classroom should all be taken into consideration. You’ll also want to think about students who may have any special needs and ensure that the seating you choose fits the space you have in order to allow ease of movement.

Not only is the right seating important for capturing bodies and minds, it can teach correct posture and sitting habits starting at a young age. Heavy backpacks and sitting for hours in a classroom can make it difficult for children to achieve proper posture but there is classroom seating available to improve the ergonomics for your students. For example, American Seating offers a wide range of educational seating options including the NIMA® that is built to offer an exceptionally comfortable design while adding color to your classroom.

Classrooms also vary from seats with attached desks such as the Us® Chair Family by American Seating to chairs with tablet desktops such as the Reve™ by Safeco. Some educational environments require space to adjust seamlessly from one activity or lesson to the next which calls for easily stackable, storable seating options such as the Acton® by American Seating.

Older students at the secondary level or in institutions of higher learning will appreciate more versatile seating such as the Tuck Collaborative chair offered by AllSeating.  The chair offers arm rests and mid-back support for comfort but also sits on casters and swivels to allow students to easily turn or move in order to collaborate with others.

AllSeating, among other manufacturers, also offers a wide range of other educational seating options ranging from counter-height stools for the science lab to benches for shared spaces such as the library and high-back seating for teachers and professors. Kimball also offers a wide variety of seating options and arrangements from stackable and mesh chairs that are light and easy to move such as their Guide™ collection to rolling seats to allow for simple collaboration among scholars.

Just as with medical facilities, seating in classrooms and environmental areas will need to be easy to maintain and clean. With proper care, they can last for many years and create a bright, fun, and comfortable learning atmosphere. For more information about selecting the best furniture, including seating, for your classroom setting, read “Choosing the Right Furniture for Your Students and Classroom.”

Conference Rooms

When it comes to selecting the best chairs for your office conference room, there are a number of items to consider. First you will need to account for how many people you want to be able to accommodate. You’ll need to measure the space you have and consider allowing extra room for movement and those with special needs.

The next step is to consider size of table you want for your conference room. The table will likely become a centerpiece in the room and your seating will want to fit well with it. Based on what conference table you select, this will determine how much space you have for seating and how many chairs you will need. Some to consider include the Ayles by AllSeating for its contemporary appeal with a knife-edge shape, the stylish NV™ by Neutral Posture for comfort with its high back and armrests, or the clean shape of the Ardi by Enwork featuring subtle lines across the back for aesthetic appeal.

It is also a good idea to have extra chairs that are not around the table, but can fit in the back of the room or along the sides to provide overflow seating for those larger-than-expected meetings. The Tucker™ side chair by Kimball is compact and attractive enough to add to a conference room while providing comfortable seating. Among other overflow seating options are the Flip with Arms by Euortech which offers a black mesh back and efficient storage with a flip-up seat.

Keep in mind however, that there should be a comfortable amount of space for people who arrive late or leave the meeting early. They should be able to walk past without bumping into other employees as they enter or exit. Accurate space planning is something the professionals at CORE can help you with before ordering.

Conference rooms will have different people in and out of them throughout the day. Some meetings will last a mere 15 minutes while some can go on for hours. This means it is important to have ergonomically changing seating for whoever is using the chair at each time. This means seats that can adjust the height of arm rests as well as the chair itself. Chairs that recline and swivel also allow for added comfort and collaboration during group conversations. AllSeating offers a wide range of conference seating as do several other manufacturers so you have many options to choose from to fit the specific needs of your office or business.

Employee Chairs

A supportive office chair can help prevent fatigue in employees, lower discomfort, and provide many health benefits. According to Gear Patrol, employees are more productive and contribute more positive work than an uncomfortable employee. That’s where padded, adjustable seating with ergonomic support comes in.

Bad office chairs can lead to bad posture which can then lead to back problems, leg strain, and carpel tunnel, all of which can lead to medical time off. It is important to select the best office chair to keep your employees not only healthy but happy.

Many manufacturer’s such as AllSeating have worked hard to develop chairs that offer proper ergonomic support. Some chairs are stationary and cannot be adjusted while other can have too many knobs for the user to figure out. The most important adjustable parts of an office chair should be lumbar support, arm width and height, seat back width and height, and seat and back angle. Swivel chairs with wheels at the bottom are great so employees can move around their desk space without over reaching which can lead to straining or falling.

The Levo Task chair features a proprietary “hands-on” back adjustment system that provides lumbar support at five intervals while the Cozi® 24/7 by Neutral Posture offers catered seating with two back size options and built-in lumbar support, two contoured-seat options, and adjustments for the height, angle, and tension of the seat. Neutral Posture’s Icon chair provides adjustable and removable lumbar support, has three adjustment levers, and replaceable/removable seat cushions.

With a few simple steps and easy instructions, every employee can adjust their own seat to match their individual needs. See the quick video from AllSeating. Additionally, here are some ergonomic principles from Neutral Posture to keep in mind when selecting desk chairs you’re your employees:

  • Set the height of your chair to allow the floor to supporting your feet and lower legs only.
  • Make sure the angle between your torso and legs is greater than 90°.
  • Allow two to four inches of space between the front of the seat cushion and the back of your knee.
  • Look for forearm and elbow support that allows the user to keep their wrists in a neutral position.
  • The seat should allow the position of the backrest to be nearly upright, or slightly reclined with head support.
  • Select seating that allows support of your lumbar curve.

Finally, the fabric or material of your seats should be breathable. This stops the chair from becoming overly hot after hours of sitting. It should also have enough cushion to support every employee so they cannot feel the chair through the fabric.

Reception, Lobby & Waiting Areas

The first thing a visitor sees when they walk into an office is generally the reception area, lobby, or waiting room. The style of a these spaces can say much about a company’s values and can even be designed to generate certain emotions in visitors.

From residential buildings to businesses, nearly every building that has people coming and going has a reception, lobby, or waiting area. Whether for aesthetics, security purposes, or functional operations, almost any visitor will have to spend some amount of time in these open spaces. It can leave a lasting impression so it is important that your reception and waiting areas convey a feel that speaks to your business and provides optimal seating options for anyone who may walk through your door.

To achieve this goal, there should be seating that allows for group discussions as well as independent seating for those in need of privacy for telephone calls, texting, or work. That means there should be a breadth of seating options in every one of these areas.

Pixley by Enwork features asymmetrical, organic curves to define seating space without separation. You can group several together for big groups or spread them sporadically for seating throughout a large space. These upholstered benches are great for public areas and can be ordered with or without backrests in a wide variety of colors to match any office décor.

Kimball offers a wide variety of seating options that allow for both group and private arrangements. The Wilder™ provides private seating that can be paired with other sitting options or left on its own while the Pose™ offers long-term comfort and style that may also stand alone or be grouped. For a lush, contemporary yet relaxing seating experience, Enjoy™ and Vista™ promise additional options to choose from.

Versteel® offers a wide variety of public area seating with its Immix collection. The strong materials allow the seats to last for years to come while the design allows seating to be structured in several ways. Whether you want to offer round seating for people to enjoy open views through large windows or clustered seating interspersed with tabletop pieces for drinks and magazine, Immix is something to consider. The chairs come in a variety of fabrics, colors, and prints so you can choose what speaks to your business or office environment.

In conclusion, there is a great deal of seating to choose from in the world of commercial furniture but not all furniture fits all needs. Before you buy seating, be sure to take proper measurements of the space you have, how much traffic you have in the room you are buying for, and the comfort of the people using them. Additionally, you’ll need to consider the amount of use the chairs will experience, how they are used, and by whom. There’s also the look and feel you wish to create with the furnishings you choose.

If you need assistance with ordering the right seating for your work environment, contact the professionals at CORE at (520) 999-3470 or visit us online. You are also invited to swing by our new showroom at 698 E. Wetmore, Suite 410, in Tucson to experience some of the many seating possibilities we have to offer. You may also view our very own chair wall featuring additional seating and decorating options for your office.

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Open Office Workspaces: Better mobility, collaboration, and more

Open office workspaces improve life for employees on a daily basis.

When businesses began to boom after the return of soldiers from WWII, office spaces began expanding to accommodate growth. That often meant adding more rows of cubicles where conformity and private production were the name of the game. But times have drastically changed, in large part because of technological advances and changes in the way people work. Today, open office workspaces are being utilized to improve employee collaboration, mobility, and employee health.

While cubicles have not disappeared, they have substantially changed over the last 20 years like most things in the typical office. No longer are tall walls meant to keep employees isolated and working. The office of today incorporates the comforts of home, cubicles with shorter walls, technology that allows worker mobility and collaboration, and comfort that allows workers to stay healthier than ever before.

The Resommercial Open Office
Where there was once a room filled to the brim with row upon row of high-walled cubicles, open office workspaces have morphed the modern office. The comforts of home have moved into the office with what is now known as “Resommercial” furnishings, which is all about combining residential design with commercial spaces. This fairly new office design trend adds a homey feel to the office by incorporating everything from furniture designs to fabrics that have traditionally been reserved for home spaces.

Some of the most cutting-edge employers have offices featuring shared workspaces with couches that have small desktops for working and USB outlets. Large computer screens in open spaces allow for shared input and collaboration among several employees. Fewer walls or those made of glass allow offices to feel brighter and more open than ever before. Offices featuring resommercial furnishings in common areas create a feeling of welcome for employees and visitors alike.

Technological Advances
The technology of today is leaps and bounds over what the workforce had even 20 years ago. Computers have been minimized from the bulking mainframes of the 50’s and Apple IIe’s of 1983 to sleek laptops, tablets, and cell phones. Employees now require little space and businesses can do more with less square footage than they could even a decade ago.

With extra room to move around, 21st Century employees are now seeing fresh benefits as a result. Businesses are using extra space and funds to incorporate everything from in-house coffee shops to fitness studios in order to lure new employees. By offering extras that help employees multitask in today’s fast-paced world, businesses can draw a workforce that wants to spend more time in the office because it is a cool, comfortable, and exciting place to be.

Mobility
Arguably one of the most exciting aspects of technological advances is mobility. With Wi-Fi now a mainstay in most offices, workers have terrific mobility and are no longer chained to a desk or a set workstation. Technology has allowed for greater flexibility in creating work environments where employees have the option of using a private workstation as well as inviting shared spaces where they can enjoy a cup of joe while chatting with colleagues about projects they are working on.

With fewer wires comes mobility which lets employees choose to enjoy couches, standing desks, and communal workstations in addition to their traditional private seating area. Many offices now even harbor large kitchen tables with seating where a dozen employees or more can eat, chat, and work together on their mobile devices.

Contemporary Cubicles
Cubicles are still employed today but are much smaller than the traditional 8-feet-by-8-feet of the past. Most modern cubicles are now only 6-feet-by-6-feet and can even be smaller than that. The modern open office workspace features cubicles with two or three shorter walls, allowing everyone to see what is happening around them and participate in collaborative conversations.

In 2017, roughly 70 percent of offices in the United States either had low or no partitions, according to a recent article in the Chicago Tribune. Rows of cubicles are now often broken up with shared spaces such as open meeting areas, shared seating, and fewer walls. While employees could balk at the smaller personal workspaces, they don’t because there are such lush common spaces they can also enjoy and have the freedom to move around.

Improved Health
Open office workspaces have been shown to improve both employee health. For starters, studies have shown that spending the day sitting in a chair can be detrimental to one’s health. One study by researchers at the University of Sydney showed those who sit for eight to 11 hours a day have a 15 percent increase in death from all causes over four years compared to those who sit in the same position for only four to eight hours a day.

“Prolonged sitting is a risk factor for all-cause mortality, independent of physical activity,” according to the conclusions derived from the Sydney study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. “High volumes of sitting time have possible associations with increased risk of obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer.”

With open office workspaces, employees are encouraged to move around and find different ways to get things done. From height-adjustable desks that allow workers to stand or sit to inviting common areas and even treadmill workstations, the employees of today can get moving while they work.

If you would like more information on open office workspaces, designs, or furnishings, please call CORE today at (520) 999-3470 or visit us online.

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The Big Move

CORE’s relocation provides more space and a larger showroom.

The dust is settling, decorating is underway, staff have extra room to work, and visitors get to see more of what they are looking for. After three-plus years at the same location, Commercial Office Resource Environments (CORE) has relocated in Tucson, giving its staff more space to spread their wings and clients a bigger showroom.

When CORE opened at the beginning of 2015 at 124 W. Cushing St., the 1,800-square-feet of office space was enough for the company’s small staff. They loved the historic brick building in the heart of old Tucson but as the business grew out of its infancy, the location simply became too small for both the staff and the showroom.

“We needed a bigger showroom space,” said CORE Principal Mercedes Flores. “Our company was growing. We were running out of places for people to sit.”

CORE made the big move at the end of March to its new digs at 698 E. Wetmore Road, Suite 410, not far from the Tucson Mall, where upgrades, fresh furnishings, and new décor continue to be integrated.

“There are so many benefits to our new space,” said Flores. “We have the ability to show off more things. We are centrally located and it’s enough space for all of our employees.”

The new location offers nearly 3,000-square-feet where CORE staff work to fulfill client furniture orders, host meetings, and participate in combined lunch and learns with manufacturer and vendor representatives. There is even enough room in the conference room for educational seminars where staff and designers can obtain their continuing education units.

“Designers and architects must have them and we can do them right here,” said Flores.

The best part, adds Flores, is the extra space for an expanded showroom where CORE can stage new options for office seating, tables, medical equipment, and other furnishings that are perfect for a wide variety of settings from legal firms and corporate offices to medical suites and classrooms.

“We’re going to have the new Kimball Narrate,” said Flores. “It’s a panel system (commonly known as cubicles). We are going to have a small medical vignette and an educational vignette. We’re going to have Collette from National (a leather sectional with an integrated table) to showcase our resimercial seating. It’s commercial-grade seating with the familiar, comfortable elements of home furnishings. It’s gorgeous and we’re going to feature it in our front lobby.”

When considering what to integrate into CORE’s fresh setting, Flores said every facet of the office becomes part of the showroom from the décor to the furniture and even the lighting.

“We’re going to have some really cool lights,” said Flores. “It comes in mid-August. It’s acoustic lighting.”

The new flower-shaped fixtures will have felt fins around the lights to reduce noise in open settings such as the new CORE office and showroom. Clients can also take a look at a plethora of seating, wallpaper, and flooring options in the new “chair wall,” and can even check out the innovative kitchen and lounge seating that might also be a good fit for their own offices.

Flores said the new office will also have KI modular walls installed in the near future to allow everyone their own privacy while retaining an open feel for the office and showroom.

“They are glass office fronts with sliding barn doors,” said Flores of the soon-to-come walls.

In addition to CORE, the new location offers enough space to share with local Interior Designer Janet Fischer of Fischer Design Studio. While she operates her business solely and separately from CORE, Fischer said the two companies often partner on projects and enjoy working together. Sharing space made sense in terms of both economics and combined resources.

“We get the advantage of having an interior designer design the showroom,” said Flores of the shared space with Fischer. “We also get to share a library space.”

“That’s a huge advantage,” added Fischer. “It’s (the library) a time-consuming thing to keep up.”

Fischer said it’s also nice for her to have a furniture person on hand at all times.

“I’m always running to Mercedes to ask about a chair or a table,” she said. “It’s nice that they know about the products.”

Both women, who have become close friends as well as colleagues, agree that it’s nice not to be so isolated in their own businesses and clients can enjoy the services of both companies at once. Plus, there’s the advantage of a shared office happy hour on Friday afternoons once the doors close.

Elaina Vasquez, the office manager at CORE, has been with the company for more than three years. She said the move was a big job but is excited to be in the new location.

“It’s more open and I am glad that there’s more storage,” she said. “I like that they got to design it themselves and it’s closer to home for me.”

The newest member of the CORE team, Business Development Manager April Cardinal, said clients will love that they have the ability to see more of what CORE has to offer.

“Since we have more storage, we are able to show clients what we have,” Cardinal said. “We don’t have to say, ‘Oh, we’ll have to order that,’ so the turnaround will be faster. Clients will be able to see what’s new and what’s available right here.”

While the office and showroom are currently still a work in progress, CORE Account Manager Cristina Arriaga said clients are going to love the project when it’s complete.

“It’s going to have a grand effect,” said Arriaga. “When all of the new furniture and colors are in, it’s going to be an adventure to come into the showroom.”

Flores added that once the office and showroom are complete, CORE will host an open-house so clients, manufacturers, and vendors alike can experience the new location for themselves.