Category: Workplace Design

June 29, 2022

Sparking Joy With Office Design

As economies continue to reopen, more and more workers are transitioning from the home office back to the traditional setting. Commercial interior design trends present innovative strategies for creating physical environments that bring people back together.

While whites and neutrals used to be standard color choices in workplace interiors, many companies are now introducing bolder color schemes in their designs, whether renovating an existing office building or acquiring new office space. Every designer knows that color and mood are inextricable. The emergence of color in commercial design may indicate the pure joy born of gathering once more in person after two long years of separation and isolation. Even if it’s just a desire to add a touch of whimsy, vibrant hues are an excellent way for designers to inspire optimism in commercial interiors.

We still love our neutrals, and we have plenty of fabulous ones to choose from, but here are some great options to consider if you are intrigued with the idea of sparking joy through color in your next commercial office design project.

COLORI

Colori is a colorful collection of porcelain primary hues — the ultimate palette with a spectrum of options.

PASTEL

There’s nothing subtle about the shiny, saturated palette of this versatile subway tile line. Convey your distinct style with Pastel’s lush, gloss-infused hues.

MURAL

Mural brings the bold colors of nature to your interior design with a daring collection of polished, 24×48 tiles.

FREESTYLE

Stylize your walls with dimensional decoration in a rainbow of cosmopolitan colors in our Freestyle collection.

GIO is your gateway to beautifully designed, strategically selected collections of floor and wall tile sure to fit your demanding specification requirements and unique style. We look forward to working with you!

May 5, 2022

Getting Back to the Office: Revisiting the Resimercial Design Trend

Back in 2018, we published a blog about the rise of resimercial design (the trend of bringing home-like comforts into the workplace). Resimercial design is a marriage of commercial durability with a residential feel, a style that celebrates residential-inspired features over the standardized feel of traditional corporate designs and furnishings. We wrote:

“Home-like environments in the office can lead to more comfortable, and presumably, happier workers. And happy workers, according to current theories, work harder.”

Four years later, and more than two years into the global COVID-19 pandemic, resimercial design has new significance and is more important than ever. We’ve grown accustomed to the comforts of home because we’ve been working from home. Now, as we begin to shift to in-person work environments, adaptation is key to supporting the transition back to the office. Employees want and expect comfort rather than a stark, cold atmosphere, and they crave diversity and choice in where and how they work.

When merging residential and workplace elements, it’s important to understand that office still has to function primarily as a workplace. Residential aspects of design that are incorporated into the office must be flexible enough to be comfortable but should satisfy ergonomic needs as well as the integration of technology. And furnishings and surfaces that feel like home must be able to withstand the wear and tear of a demanding commercial environment.

Here’s a look at some of our tile collections that will lend a residential feel while offering low maintenance and durability for the long haul.

Wood Looks

There’s no doubt about it, wood surfacing is probably one of the top choices for injecting a homey feel into an office environment, But who wants or needs the upkeep to maintain them? We offer a range of wood look porcelain tiles, from incredibly realistic incarnations to more artistic interpretations, all designed to deliver warmth and inject a home-like vibe into any commercial space.

Tigerwood captures the varied graining, rings, and wavy wooden hues of a revered Brazilian hardwood species, offered in plank sizes for flawless installations.

Tigerwood in Saddle 6x 36 Rectified

Versailles masterfully replicates centuries-old parquet in a range of looks featuring modern planks, criss-cross, and inlay designs —stunning style for the modern traditionalist.

Versailles, 24×24 Grey Rectified Inlay

Atelier goes minimal for maximum style, and the result is flawless Norwegian chic in four fresh, lightly grained hues available in standard or chevron planks.

Atelier, Grey 8×40

See all of our wood-look porcelain lines here.

Color

Remember when offices were mostly beige? Not any more. Injecting color into an office design scheme is a great way to amp up the residential feel, and we have the tile collections to do just that.

Vitro glass tile for walls is offered in crystalline colors with shimmering or frosty finishes. The line is thoroughly modern and available in both mosaic modular sizes.

Vitro, Aqua Mini Brick Mosaic

The rainbow reigns in this colorful collection of porcelain primary hues. Colori offers the ultimate palette with a spectrum of options for any fanatic of chromatic design.

Nature

We’re always trying to bring the outside into our homes, and the commercial office should be no different. Biophilic design elements, which replicate the sensations of the natural world, also contributes significantly to our productivity.

Mural brings the bold art of nature to your wall-to-wall interior design with this daring collection of polished, 24×48 tiles in two stunning groupings–sumptuous marbles and two animal-inspired styles.

Mural, Aqua Onyx 24×48 Polished & Rectified

Rex is a stunning vein-cut onyx look interpreted in enduring porcelain. Offered in four lush neutrals in a polished or matte finish, Rex is classic, sexy, and bold.

Rex, Black 24 x 48 Polished and Rectified Bookmatch Field Tile

Many companies have successfully invested in resimercial design for their offices so that workers can relax and collaborate more naturally. There’s really no argument—making the workplace feel like home is a big step in the right direction for transitioning employees back to the office, while increasing retention, productivity, and creativity in the long term.

August 30, 2019

Workplace Design: The Comforts of Home

There’s no place like home. Home-like environments in the office can lead to more comfortable, and presumably, happier workers. And happy workers, according to current theories, work harder. In fact, studies show that happy workers are more productive and creative.

Enter resimercial design—a design style that brings the homey feel of residential furnishings, layouts, and amenities into the workplace. Resimercial design is a marriage of commercial durability with a residential feel, a style that celebrates residential-inspired features over the standardized feel of traditional corporate designs and furnishings. The goal behind resimercial design and furnishings is to make the workspace a welcoming, comfortable place to spend time, something that employees are increasingly demanding. Millennials, in particular, are a big part of what’s driving the demand. Today’s professionals want spaces that inspire. They want spaces that allow them to express their individuality, as well as collaborate with others. This trend is especially important to millennials who grew up with mobile technology that allowed them to seek out the best, most comfortable places to study and collaborate.

Getting Started With Resimercial Design

Ambiance

Designing your new resimercial office with a focus on ambient features will help to make your office feel less formal and structured.

Wood look tiles are often the answer to inject warmth and create a homey vibe into commercial spaces. Shown here is Fountaine porcelain tile in Noce.

Durability

Most residential furnishings and materials can’t stand up to the hard wear and tear that commercial environments are subject to. Fortunately, the resimercial trend has caused many suppliers to offer lines of residential-inspired furniture and materials with commercial quality.

Contempo porcelain tile in in Calacatta

Collaboration

The resimercial design movement prioritizes the power of collaboration. With this in mind, focus on layout features that facilitate movement and interconnection.

Traverse porcelain tile in Grey

Variability

It’s important to remember that comfort is subjective. In addition to collaborative spaces, create a variety of spaces, including secluded areas, to suit different needs and individual work styles.

Farmhouse porcelain tile in Beige

Many companies like Google and Lyft have successfully invested in resimercial design for their offices so that workers can relax and collaborate more naturally. There’s really no argument—making the workplace feel like home helps to increase employee retention, productivity, and creativity.