Registry 7

As office furniture has generally changed to suit the dynamic changes in the office workplace one particular piece of office furniture has had to change perhaps more than any other.  That piece of furniture is the office desk.  While the traditional rectangular office desk remains a mainstay, especially as use in executive offices, shared workspaces require far more worker friendly designs.  Simple adjustment such as rounded edges and circular extensions allow faster movement throughout the work area without the risk of injury.

These ergonomic office desks are designed to be assembled as quads with desktop screens separating them to establish privacy.  Another aspect of the ergonomic office desk is the tiered superstructures created to accommodate high tech components such as computer keyboards and printers.  Ergonomic office desks usually come pre-drilled for passage of computer and telemetry cables.

Yes, there have been numerous changes in the design and manufacture of office desks.  And for as many adaptations that have occurred there have been just as many implementations of new materials used for that manufacture.

Desks made of solid wood are definitely still available. However these are usually made of less expensive lower quality wood such as pine and American oak. The days when an executive office desk would be built from solid mahogany or walnut are probably at least 50 years behind us. The majority of all office furniture and for that matter furniture in general is built of pressed wood or particle board construction. This does not necessarily have to mean that furniture built this way is of lesser quality. When properly veneered or plasticized, office furniture built from pressed wood is still of superb quality.

Office furniture is also being constructed with modern high tensile plastics, steel and glass. Glass office desks allow for ease of cleaning and definitely provide a high tech designer look. An obvious disadvantage to using a glass office desk is its transparency which for some may offer lack of privacy. And, unless designed in a tiered modular form, glass office desks are not practical for those seeking an L shaped design.

With the average office desk having been turned into more of a multifunction work station L shape office desks are better suited to construction using heavy duty thick particleboard. When given a quality veneer, these can be built with a round end and seamless L shape office desk extension.

Particleboard also has an excellent reputation when used for boardroom furniture. How else can one expect to create 12 and 15 foot long meeting tables that require huge widths and lengths?

In a sense the modern office has become a factory of sorts.  With so much of our productivity tied to information technology today’s office requires a far greater degree of comfort and functionality.  Hard plastic or wood reception room chairs are now been replaced with upholstered reception sofas.  Reception chairs themselves are usually comfortable padded armchairs.  The truth is clients are forced to wait longer periods of time and they must be given a more relaxing place to spend that time in.

In the same manner, the office break room or cafeteria has changed drastically as well.  Clever bistro furniture is installed into even the smallest office employee area.  High quality bistro tables either in round or square design require far less space than the older picnic style counterparts.  When employee break areas are fitted with matching bistro chairs and tables it also allows the worker a sense of momentary departure from the day’s pressures.

An important item to note is that office chairs, much like cars, television sets or any other mass produced items are built and available in many different grades. As such, when comparing office chairs, one must make certain that factors such as wheels, fabrics, hydraulics, and steel frames are of equal quality. A heavy duty office chair should be built to sustain virtually endless repetition of collapse on their cushioning devices. Lower quality office chairs are noted in that they develop slow pressure leaks which result in the operator’s position sinking downward over the course of an hour.
This flaw especially obvious when dealing with chairs for heavier workers. Even though the industry standard for office chairs is to be able to support a weight of 250 pounds, heavy duty office chairs are recommended to be used for any worker who is overweight. A quality heavy duty office chair should be built to last for 10 years.

Other specialty chairs include draughtsman chairs. A draughtsman chair can be adjusted to a greater height to accommodate work on taller counters and draftsman’s tables. These chairs should always be fitted with a foot ring so that feet and legs are supported.

A very nice flourish for addition to the executive office is a leather recliner. No longer designed as simple home furniture in the form of the traditional barcalounger, leather recliners are viewed as an important stress relief executive tool. Often following the famous Eames design with a matching ottoman, leather recliners in the office place also double as additional seating for casual meetings.

Even though the vast majority of our records and files are now stored on computer hard drives the average office still has need for filing cabinets. Paper records may have been replaced for quick access by electronic files but most financial and medical records are still required to be held for up to seven years in the original hard copy. Metal filing cabinets are preferred for sensitive to secure records. These are also built to higher fire safety standards than wooden filing cabinets. Although the latter are still preferred for their aesthetic design.