Month: January 2020

Salon Partition Ideas

Space Plus Blog

Boutique hair and beauty salons are popping up everywhere across the country and surprising us with their stylish lounges, evocative interior design, and amenities. This attention to the fine details has raised the bar for these businesses and drawn many new customers in, as enjoying a top-notch salon can be an unparalleled experience. Beauty gurus across the map are realizing just how in-demand luxurious salons have become. The customer will happily pay the extra cost of an aesthetically pleasing salon over an outdated, underwhelming one any day. Going to a salon is a self-indulgent gift, and as customers, they want to feel that they were carefully considered during the designing process.

Now, to the How.

If you are ready and able to begin your salon transformation (or design an entirely novel one) set aside some healthy time to visualize, design, plan and lastly, take action. Below are some of the most crucial considerations to think about during your design process.

Plenty of light

Above all else, your salon should proudly boast tons of natural light. This will not only help aid the hairstylist in color decisions and acute visibility during cuts but also create a warm and vibrant indoor environment for everyone to enjoy. A dark salon can appear smaller, more boxed in and uninviting. To achieve the most natural lighting, install floor to ceiling windows, especially on the street side of the parlor. This will also attract curious passers-by and give clients the opportunity to people-watch while waiting.

Consider using transparent office partitions to achieve spatial separation throughout the salon rather than minimizing the open space with light-blocking partitions. The space will breathe better and light will flow freely with this space optimizing solution.

Consistent design theme

A crucial aspect of great interior design is maintaining a consistent design theme throughout the hair salon. There are so many exciting themes to choose from- the trick is not mixing and matching them. If too many themes are employed, the design can appear muddied and confused. Some classic interior design schemes are:

Modern (contemporary),
Luxury
Vintage
Chic
Rustic
Earthy
Industrial

Once you pick your theme, aim to stay within the borders of that look to successfully evoke the emotional response and vibe you’re after.

Mirrors

Mirrors effectively expand space and reflect crucial light. By integrating mirrors throughout your salon, you’ll enlarge the interior space and provide more visibility for your customers. Everyone loves a good full-length mirror. Try installing full length sliding closet mirror doors to hide your unkempt closets and backrooms. This solution is an all-around win- these sliding mirror doors will conceal mess, reflect natural light, expand the space, and provide your clients with better visibility!

Lounge Area/ Comfortability

One of the areas many salon owners and designers fail to acknowledge is the lounge or waiting area. This is a crucial facet of any salon business, as you will inevitably experience an influx of clients in and out with overlapping appointments and customers waiting to be seen. Those who are awaiting their appointment may very likely be in a hurry, anxious with anticipation and overall, inpatient. It’s necessary that you provide them with a comfortable and inviting lounge area that will smooth their nerves, provide some healthy distraction and cause them to feel excited about their big makeover, not nervous. Your lounge should have all the essentials- comfy couches and chairs, a coffee table, magazines, perhaps a tea/coffee bar and a place to hang their coats and personal items. This first impression will make or break the client’s overall experience and perception of the business. Set yourself up for success and return clients by catering to their every need.

Amenities

Anytime a customer sets out to spend a healthy amount of money on beauty, they expect to be taken care of from the minute they walk through the door, to the second they exit the building. A comprehensive approach should be employed, and you as the owner need to ensure your salon exceeds their expectations. Your customers should be greeted with a warm welcome and a beverage- be it tea, coffee, sparkling, wine or water. Bonus points for offering snacks and up-to-date magazines for them to pore over. Your receptionist should check in with your clients regularly and ensure them that their wait time is limited. A sparkling clean bathroom is also a must. Some hair appointments can take up to 5 or 6 hours and your clients will need that convenience! For an extra artistic touch, install opaque glass barn doors as the bathroom door. Interior sliding doors will save your salon space and offer a design flourish they weren’t expecting.

Again, it’s all about the fine details. These little facets to your overall design will be subliminal yet effecting and will leave your clients impressed and eager to return month after month. Word of mouth is a huge marketing platform for any salon- make it easy for your clients to refer you to their friends and family by carefully considering these tips and tricks.

To get started on your salon transformation, check out our products gallery for inspiration and product images. Schedule a call with one of our knowledgeable professionals to get a quote and other information on our many available solutions. Simply find a location near you and get that much closer to optimizing your beauty business for success!

Your Startup Needs This to Thrive

Space Plus Blog

The competitive nature of startups has generated an entirely novel approach to how we design and exist in office spaces. Most startups today value symbiotic relationships in the workplace, free-flowing exchange of ideas and ample communication amongst its workforce. The design and layout of startup office spaces are largely determined by these factors and have become the inspiration for many an architect, contractor and interior designer across the country. Setting your company apart from the sea of startups is not only crucial- it’s life or death. Great team members are now, dare we say, entitled to have idyllic workspaces in order to maintain productivity, inspiration, and cohesion during the workweek. Providing the best office environment for your workers will ensure a high retention rate and a flourishing output that everyone can enjoy.

Chic exposed brick walls, leather couches, ping pong tables and corn hole games, full kitchens complete with healthy snacks, wet bars, and beer fridges are quickly becoming the new norm across the country’s leading startups. Office spaces are no longer the begrudging labyrinth of narrow hallways and cubicles that they once were. They are essentially a *productive* home away from home- a place where employees plug away on laptops and strive to change the world alongside equally ambitious “teammates”. Often upgraded from warehouses, old clothing factories, or machine shops, trendy startups are utilizing all the rustic aesthetic they can to craft unique and enthusiasm-evoking spaces.

What You’ll Need:

A Great OFP- Open Floor Plan
Amazing Lighting (natural and artificial)
Space-optimizing Designs and Solutions
Artistic Flourishes (and greenery)

Let’s Break it Down:

A Great OFP

To optimize your startup and craft a working oasis for your enthusiastic team, you’ll need an open, lofty and intelligently laid out space. If you want total cohesion and integration amongst your employees you’ll want an effective balance of fewer walls, cubes, and individual offices. Samantha Bernstein, communications manager at Tasting Table touches on this, saying that, “Open plans make it easier for everyone to know what’s happening across departments, and it keeps the team energy level high.”

Of course, and without question, you will need a touch of spatial separation and closed quarters somewhere within your vast swath of office land. Providing a closed conference room or executive office will come in handy when special meetings or presentations are to take place, and not distract nearby workers. Use glass partitions for offices to construct totally enclosed office rooms without any major construction or hassle. Choose from a plethora of varying glass opacities- from transparent to opaque, and everything in between, the customizable options are endless. Sliding door room dividers are another fantastic way to craft a conference room within a larger open floorplan. Want to impress your team with the ultimate artistic flourish? Install the stunning modern take on a rustic design- sliding glass barn doors. This space optimizing solution for a closed office/conference room entryway looks amazing and offers an exceptionally smooth (and quiet!) glide that the entire office will love.

Amazing Lighting

It goes without saying that lighting is everything. This goes far beyond “well-lit” offices and the switch to energy-efficient bulbs. This statement refers to large floor-to-ceiling windows, open floor plans and glass office partitions to make use of ample natural light in peak daytime hours. We are all humans of the earth, and though we have become accustomed to living indoors 80% of our lives, we still need to feel like we’re somehow connected to the outside world. Great big windows do this. Glass office partitions do this. Skylights, mirrors and Edison lightbulbs do this by providing luxurious mood lighting to effectively raise the vibration and increase productivity. Instead of making your employees daydream about the great outdoors, provide your workforce with ample views to the outside world so they feel as though they’re already living and working in an ideal environment.

Space-optimizing Designs and Solutions

Well designed spaces work within the given floorplan and make use of smart space optimizing solutions to achieve a comfortable and fluid environment. Bringing an interior designer on board for your space optimizing needs wouldn’t be a bad idea, although with the unexplained intrigue and lure of a hearty DIY interior design project, why not tackle it yourself? If you’re amongst the many that enjoy the process of doing-it-yourself, here are some tips to keep in mind:

Don’t over-clutter the open floor plan
Keep the decorations to a minimum
Arrange the desks thoughtfully to encourage and integrate discussion while maintaining individual spatial separation
Leave room for a lounge area for your workers to collaborate
Use interior sliding doors so as to save space (as opposed to forward swinging doors)

Artistic Flourishes and Greenery

Again, going back to the whole ‘bring the outside in’ theory, try to integrate as many plants and vegetation inside your working interiors as possible. Plants have been tested in working environments extensively, and have been proven to increase employee concentration, production, and happiness. As previously stated, we are creatures of the earth. We need to be surrounded by natural elements in order to feel safe and healthy.

In addition to integrating essential greenery, aim to decorate your startup space with thought-provoking art, and compliment it with an exciting paint pallet for the walls. Consider drawing it all together with accent pieces such as pillows and rugs, lamps and simple sculptural elements to foster creativity and inspiration amongst your talented team.

Keeping in mind these innovative design elements, feng shui techniques, and space-saving solutions, you’ll be ready to craft the ideal startup atmosphere. You’ll impress your team and promote a healthy life/work balance for everyone to enjoy.

To get started on exciting office improvements, check out our products gallery for inspiration and product images. Schedule a call with one of our knowledgeable professionals to get a free quote and other information on our many available solutions. Simply find a location near you and get that much closer to optimizing your offices for success!

Optimizing Productivity in the Workplace

Space Plus Blog

As the dedicated owner of a flourishing company, there are many factors to be taken into consideration when laying the necessary framework for a promising business. Some of these components are more obvious, such as meeting efficiency, ensuring all of your employees are well informed and able to make decisions, and of course- a fair amount of cohesion amongst all of your team members.

One thing that typically goes unnoticed and undervalued, is the physical environment in which you and your employees exist in each and every day. Spending countless hours indoors in the classic work environment of an office space can be taxing on just about everyone. It can strain the individual and consequently – the overall morale of a business. Or on the contrary, it can be exciting, productive and a joy to exist in. How can you set your company apart from others ensuring that your workers are happy, healthy, stimulated and able to provide the best possible work for a flourishing business? The first step is to take a look around at what already exists. Below, we have outlined a few questions to ask yourself when assessing your provided work environment and the necessary solutions.

Does the existing office offer your employees the ability to work together while maintaining crucial productivity?

Do you and your employees exist in a vast open space with communal desks and no partitions? Or do you work in tight quarters secluded to individual spaces? Neither of these options is the right or wrong answer- yet both of these offer equal opportunity to either provide or detract from your business. Your employees’ engagement in their workday depends largely on how the building is laid out. If it is an open space, is it one that offers cohesion, shared thought and teamwork amongst your employees? Or does it restrict conversation and sever creative free-flow.

The free-flowing exchange of ideas can be one of your company’s greatest assets. Allowing and encouraging employees to easily communicate and brainstorm with fellow team members is a key component in innovation and creation. Work environments that do not offer a fluid surrounding suffer a great loss of unity and integration of objectives. Of course, space and solitude in any working environment are necessary and integral to successful production and typical workflow. One promising way to achieve both individual spaces yet offer integration amongst your employees is to install easily adjustable wall partitions and glass office dividers- offering options. This way, your employees can swiftly enter and exit work areas with the semblance of separation when needed. This innovation also offers an inviting feel to any office environment, boosting morale and allowing for teamwork. This is a sure way to provide much needed and appreciated cohesion in the workspace.

Is there ample light throughout the workspace? Or is it a windowless environment?

Oftentimes we don’t necessarily have the choice or comfort of abundant light in the office. If you find yourself enduring a windowless or sparsely lit existence, we have a few helpful solutions to consider. One answer to this problem is to effectively open up partitioned office spaces to allow for necessary light to pass through when windows are not abundant. Space Plus, A Division of The Sliding Door Company, proudly provides a myriad of glass wall partitions to choose from that are designed intentionally with the workplace in mind. Ranging from glass wall partitions, sliding door room dividers and glass Wall Cubicles, Space Plus offers it all. Rather than obstructing views and hindering light with solid cubicle partitions, opt for more of a free-flowing approach allowing for beautiful light to pass through. The last thing you want as an employer is for your workers to suffer and tire from an arid environment. There is little to no inspiration there, and that diminished capacity translates into the quality of your worker’s content and productivity.

Is the general atmosphere instrumental to production and enthusiasm for your team members?

A great way to gain and retain successful employees is to provide a healthy space to create. To learn, grow, develop and produce. When employees are uncomfortable, strained and lack enthusiasm about their environment, it can me expectantly difficult to anticipate excellence from your team.

A few ways to ensure a positive working container is to take the small details into consideration. Can the office act as an extension of their home? In the sense that it offers comfort, sustained energy and contentment. Consider things like lighting, art on the walls, and stylish features that are overlooked every day. Smooth sliding glass doors offer the feel that you exist in a smart and modern working arena. Hanging doors that slide, such as Space Plus’s hanging glass barn doors provide a stylish and thought-provoking flourish to a normally ‘safe’ office space. Not only are the hanging glass doors a joy to slide open and close, but they signal that care and intention were thoughtfully consideration in respects to their working environment. Offered in addition to the doors themselves are a plethora of accessories and options to individually customize your products. From a variety of glass opacities to framing options and panel configurations, your unique choice is implied in our business model.

By adding thoughtful touches and well-considered features to your office environment, you set yourself and your employees up for successful work experience. After all, you want your workers to be inspired, productive and sustained at the beginning and end of each day.

To get started on your exciting office improvements, check out our products gallery for inspiration and product images. Schedule a call with one of our knowledgeable professionals to get a quote and other information on our many available solutions. Simply find a showroom near you and get that much closer to optimizing your offices for success!

Becoming An Office Eco-Warrior With 4 Simple Tips

Space Plus Blog

We spend the majority of our weekly waking hours getting to work, existing in the office, and of course, getting home at the end of the day. We are accustomed to making these transitions and bulk time spent in the workplace as simple and effective as possible. But can we push ourselves further and consider a few simple ways to lessen our overall environmental impact surrounding our work life? With these four simple tips, you’ll be on your way to living and promoting a greener lifestyle.

1. Transportation consciousness

The average American jumps into their own car each morning, commutes to work in a mostly empty vehicle and sees nothing wrong with it. To observe this phenomenon, simply look to the right and left of you next time you’re stuck in traffic during your daily commute. Everyone is driving solo. This not only burns an unthinkable amount of fossil fuels, but it also discourages community, conversation, and potential exercise. This is not a normal feature of everyday life in other countries. Most Europeans exclusively take the underground, utilize their city bus’s, carpool or even bike to work. Lucky, there are a few easy ways to jump on the eco-train and slash your CO2 emissions overnight!

We now have a plethora of great ride-sharing apps made available to us that we can choose from. There is really no good reason to drive a four or five-seater car alone to work five days a week. You may be surprised to discover that someone in your neighborhood is doing the same commute each morning- also alone, paying too much in gas, and feeling slightly lonely.

Below are just a few Rideshare apps to get started and redefine your daily commute:

Secondly, the option is always there to make use of great public transportation in your city. Take the Metro or the city bus. Many of us don’t even consider taking public transportation to work- because it seems like a hassle… it’s not necessarily on our individual schedule, or it’s uncomfortable. However, the pluses far outweigh the minuses. Public transport provides a fantastic solution to a daily commute, and it’s typically much faster than driving. There is virtually no traffic, no red lights, no accidents to make you unexpectedly late. Not to mention, taking public transit is far more economical than burning gas and the taxing miles you put on your car during a daily commute. A quick internet search will provide readily available information on a metro or a bus near you.

Lastly, consider a healthy alternative to normal transport. Biking, skating, walking, scooting or jogging to the office is a viable option for many, yet for some reason, we tend to shudder at the thought of exercise outside of the gym. Now that many office spaces are providing showers for their employees, a biking commute to work is a viable option. No worries about remaining sweaty throughout your workday. It just becomes a matter of giving yourself a little extra time in the morning to allow for slightly longer travel time. Your waistline is not the only thing benefitting from a physical commute!

2. BYOD

That is short for Bring Your Own Dishware! Mugs, plates, and silverware are all necessary items in the office. Come lunchtime, that midday cup of coffee, or unavoidable snacking, we tend to use whatever our companies provide for us. Often times, that means paper plates and plastic cups and utensils. Using throw-away plastic dishware is understandable a few times a month but becomes excessive if used every day. Five plastic cups a week quickly becomes twenty plastic cups a month- and a whopping 230 plastic cups a year. Now, multiply that by the number of employees in your building all doing the same thing and you have a major waste issue at hand.

Consider bringing a reusable coffee mug and water bottle to work from now on. You’ll be saving the planet a lot of unnecessary waste and will also save your company a lot of money on products. Check out the amazing vacuum-sealed Hydroflask water bottles and canteens for a great solution to throw-away cups and water bottles. You can also invest in some great alternatives to paper and plastic plates and utensils. For example, Cost Plus offers these stylish BPA-free bowls made from bamboo at an affordable cost that will gain you major karma points with Mother Earth and your company.

3.Lay Off The Thermostat!

Offices that are shared by many tend to endure high monthly heating and cooling costs. During frigid winters, most offices overcompensate by cranking the heat and therefore pouring a mountain of resources into regulating temperature. This is extremely costly, not to mention consequently generating a lot of ugly CO2 emissions in the process. In the summertime when it is too sweltering outside to comprehend, our buildings are typically overly chilled to the point where we find ourselves in jackets in the middle of July. There are a few smart solutions to combat the temperature swings both economically and environmentally.

Bring layers to the office. Keep a coat and a variety of shirt options in-house so that when the office temperature rises or drops, you’ll be ready. This way, you can swiftly adapt to the atmosphere rather than asking management to adjust that thermostat. This will save you time, annoyance and your companies money all at once.
Suggest that your company update its typical partitions for offices and glass walls. Making this transition is a great way to increase airflow and temperature regulation so that air can move freely throughout the entire office space and not get trapped in pockets of stagnant air. Have a look at Space Plus, A Division Of The Sliding Door Company office partitions, glass room dividers and sliding glass doors to see how they can improve your energy costs.

4.Lighting is Everything

We’ve all heard it said before- lighting is everything. And it truly is. Light greatly affects how we work, how we exist in an environment, and how we feel. Too often, places of business do not thoroughly consider the lighting for their offices. Not only is this a bad economical move, but its also unfair to its employees. Fluorescent overhead lights are a staple of the workplace. But are they right? If they aren’t LED, and they detract from the quality of life of the employees, they’re probably not a great solution to lighting in the first place. Luckily, there are a few simple solutions.

Using spotlighting with LED bulbs- i.e. desk and floor lamps- can update a space and transition an office into a green business. LED bulbs now come in all sorts of hues and shades, from white light to amber and soft. Switching to LEDs will undoubtedly save hundreds of electricity. Many LEDs have a rated life of up to 50,000 hours. This is about 50 times longer than a typical incandescent, 20-25 times longer than a typical halogen, and 8-10 times longer than a typical CFL.

Secondly, transitioning to glass partitions, glass office doors, and glass office room dividers throughout an office building will allow natural and artificial light to pass through and therefore- slash energy costs. By replacing standard office partitions and light-blocking walls with glass partitions and sliding glass doors, you create a warm, light-filled environment that is not only an economic no-brainer, but it also greatly improves the life-quality for office workers.

With these four simple tips, you can start your transition to becoming the eco-warrior of your dreams! Discover how much cleaner and guilt-free you’ll feel about taking conscious action towards a normally wasteful experience in the workplace. Check out Space Plus, A Division of the Sliding Door Company for ideas and inspiration in updating your office space for the better. Get a quote from one of our professionals to begin the transformation today.