When we think about the impact of interior design, we tend to think about our homes. We understand instinctively that the right furniture, lighting, colour, and layout can make a room feel more comfortable, welcoming, and enjoyable.
Yet, when it comes to our workplaces, design is often treated as a secondary consideration: something to address after priority business decisions have been made.
I would argue that this is a priority business decision.
Our working environments have a powerful influence on how people experience a company. They can affect how employees collaborate, concentrate, and communicate; how clients perceive an organisation; and how successfully a business creates a sense of identity and culture.
For businesses across Aberdeen and the wider Grampian region, this matters.
Consider the different functions that the spaces within a business have to perform. A reception area creates a first impression. A boardroom needs to project confidence while facilitating effective decision-making. A breakout space can encourage informal conversations and collaboration. A quiet area can provide somewhere for focused work or simply allow employees to step away from the intensity of a busy working day.
Spaces like these need to work hard, and good, thought-out, planned design can help them do exactly that.
The workplace has also changed significantly. Hybrid working has altered what employees expect from an office. If people have the flexibility to work from home, businesses increasingly need to give them compelling reasons to come into the workplace.
This doesn't necessarily mean bigger offices or more expensive furniture. It means creating environments that offer something employees value: opportunities to collaborate, connect, exchange ideas, and feel part of a team.
There is also a wider commercial consideration. Your workplace communicates something about your business, whether you intend it to or not.
Clients, candidates, partners, and employees all form impressions from the environments they encounter. A thoughtfully designed space can reinforce a company's brand, values, and ambitions. It can demonstrate that an organisation cares about its people and takes pride in how it presents itself.
This is where I believe businesses have an opportunity to learn from residential interiors. At home, we rarely design a room simply by asking, ‘How many people can we fit in here?’ We think about how we want to live, how we want to feel, and what we need the space to enable us to do.
The same thinking can transform a workplace.
Rather than starting with furniture, start with people. Who will use the space? What do they need to accomplish? Where and how do they naturally collaborate? Where do they need privacy? How should a visitor feel when they walk through the door?
These questions can lead to much more effective – and often more creative – solutions.
At BoConcept Scotland, this is central to our approach. Our interior design service works collaboratively with businesses to understand their requirements and create spaces that balance aesthetics with functionality.
For me, great workplace design isn't about creating an office that simply looks impressive. It is about creating an environment that supports the ambitions of the business and the people within it.
Because ultimately, your workplace is part of your business and it deserves to be designed with the same thought and purpose as every other aspect of that business.