Are you feeling your head spinning yet? We know! There’s so much involved in a commercial property design renovation project, and you might not even know where to begin. But here’s an important tip from our experts that you need to hear right now: take it easy. Redesigning your office space can be really exciting, so let’s get ready to have some fun together.
Let’s start with outlining the basic steps involved in an office renovation project.
1. Plan a preliminary office design and renovation budget.
Decide how much money you will spend on the materials for the renovation, as well as on appliances and decor. Identify what material you need for the casework construction and countertops, and prioritize your expenses based on necessity.
As with any budget you create, add a contingency fund of about 10 percent for unexpected expenses.
As you work through the project, keep a strict eye on the budget to make sure you don’t spend more than you should. You also should avoid changing your mind about certain elements of the design too many times, or you will go way over your budget in purchases and contractors’ time.
Revisit your budget regularly throughout the office redesign.
Create a diagram of the office space and a preliminary budget at the beginning stages of the project, and revisit the budget regularly to make sure you are not spending more than you should.
2. Diagram your space.
As you are planning your office design renovation, go through every room in the space to see what you need. Document answers to the following questions:
- Which rooms need to be extensively renovated, and which would be fine with only a mild touchup?
- Which rooms have windows that you’ll have to account for?
- What is the size of each room, and which rooms are more square than rectangular?
- Which rooms abut other offices in the building? To avoid noise disturbances, would you therefore want to avoid using that space on a regular basis?
- Do you have a bathroom inside the space? Does it need to match the theme of your remodel?
- What appliances are in the kitchen? Which ones do you want to keep, and which ones would you rather buy new? How will the appliances affect the kitchen design layout?
3. Do some research to find the best commercial designers and installers.
Ask other business professionals to offer recommendations based on who they used for their commercial property design renovation. Search online to find contractors near you, and look at their reviews. Explore the contractors’ offerings and compare prices to make sure the contractor can give you what you need at a fair price.
(By the way, get a load of the number of “A” and five-star reviews Spielmaker Cabinets + Countertops has received on Angie’s List and Google Reviews!)
4. Schedule a consultation with the contractor.
You may already have general material and color schemes in mind, but you can more thoroughly explore your options during the consultation.
In our case, among many other topics of discussion, we will:
- Show you examples of our past office renovations for inspiration.
- Detail the pros and cons of particular types of cabinet and countertop materials you may be considering.
- Allow you to examine our extensive pallet of colors, patterns, and textures for your countertops and cabinet surfaces.
- Help you identify the types of doors you want on your cabinets.
- Discuss layouts of each room to further identify the furniture configuration that will best suit each one.
- Explain the installation process.
- Discuss financing.
5. Choose your materials.
After the consultation, take your time to decide on the color, materials, and design theme you want for your renovated office. And by all means, stick with your choices as much as possible, or your project will last longer than necessary.
At this point, you may wish to recheck and solidify your budget now that you have more firm numbers.
Choosing the baseboard that you want is only one design element of many that you may have to consider, so working with a commercial design consultant can help.
6. Obtain any necessary permits.
Depending on how extensive your commercial property design renovation is, you may need permits from the local municipality’s government office. If you rent office space in a shared building, you should notify the owner/landlord about your plans to renovate to make sure you’re meeting all of the guidelines in the lease agreement.
7. Order the materials through the contractor and schedule the installation.
The installation can take anywhere from one day to a few weeks depending on the size of the space, how much furniture is being added or replaced, the location of the office, and possibly even the weather. It also will depend on whether or not you have additional construction contractors on the job to tear down walls, build out the office space, paint the interior of the building, and so on.
8. Notify your team of the upcoming office renovation.
If you’re currently working in the office, you may wish to tell your employees to work from home if possible during the renovation. Otherwise, you may consider closing up for a few days. If neither of those is an option, most contractors can work around your schedule, such as completing the work after normal business hours or on the weekend.
Are you ready for your consultation? Call us to schedule an appointment!