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Commercial lounge furniture is having its moment. Once relegated to a few comfortable chairs (or even a sofa!) in a reception area, these pieces are making their way into office spaces well beyond a company’s front door.
There are a number of factors driving this change, from the rise of stylish, highly designed co-working spaces to the need for open office environments to offer more than row after row of workstations. And best of all, lounge furniture encourages something every company wants: collaboration.
Here’s a closer look at why casual lounge furniture matters office-wide, and how HON’s new West Hill™ casual lounge seating perfectly serves this new design trend.
A confluence of work and home
There’s a new term for this approach to workplace design: resimercial, the marriage of “commercial” and “residential.” It may sound funny, but it’s actually a perfect term for it, because it combines the strengths of both categories into a desired, fresh option. “It’s an alternative to traditional office furniture that feels much more welcoming and much more comfortable,” says Michael Ryan, Category Merchandising Manager for The HON Company.
Like home furniture, these pieces are softer and more comfortable than typical office options, with colors and design details you might expect in a retail store or in the showroom of a modern home/office design leader. But they’re designed and built for daily business use, with more durable construction and materials than you’d find in the home.
“We’re seeing a confluence of home and work stylings, with a commercial-grade product,” Ryan says. “It reflects the trend that people are working everywhere, from coffee shops to offices to their homes. They’re no longer sitting at a desk, nine to five.”
IMAGE: Resimercial-blog-post-2020-04-27
Comfort equals productivity
Moving from a confined or individualized office space to something more comfortable and social can help change an employee’s perspective. “Sitting on the couch, opening up a laptop, having a cup of coffee — it puts you in a different head space,” says Trevor Roose, Product Marketing Manager for HON.
It also encourages collaboration. “Having a conversation between counterparts can be easier in a more relaxed setting, as opposed to the rigid formality of sitting across a desk from them,” Roose says.
“If you’re trying to iron out an accounting document, you’re still going to sit at a desk for that. But the physical posture of lower, more home-like furniture really does change not only interactions with others, but even yourself. It can provide a minute or two to relax or catch your breath before the next meeting.”
IMAGE: HON-WestHill-VN3.5-Horz-blog-2020-04-27
Home appeal, commercial toughness
Resimercial products, like HON’s new West Hill™ casual lounge collection, pull off a tricky combo: they boast the design appeal of fine home furniture, but are built to withstand the rigors of the workplace. “These pieces are built in North Carolina and have been commercially tested,” says Roose.
They’re also covered by HON’s full lifetime warranty — something that can’t be matched by entry-level residential furniture sources that sell a mix of work and lifestyle furniture. “These pieces are designed for high use, much more than a typical living room. They’re designed to look as good in five years as they do on day one.”
Stylish and customizable
This isn’t the first time residential-style sofas, chairs, and end tables have been offered for business use. But it may be the most fashionably designed — and flexible. In developing the West Hill™ collection, HON partnered with design firm Qdesign to study trends and influences, and understand how resimercial spaces could be built out. The result is a line that’s contemporary and comfortable, with neutral colors that can be customized with bolder throw pillows to match any environment. In other words, they’ll make facilities managers and design-minded employees happy at the same time.
“On the sofas, West Hill™ offers both standard and pillow backs — and they’re interchangeable after purchasing,” says Roose. “So a single piece can feel more formal or casual, depending on the company’s taste and where it’s used.”
Under-used areas get new life
HON calls them “nooks” — corners and leftover spaces in a building’s layout that don’t serve a specific purpose. “These areas are where West Hill™ pieces can make a difference overnight,” Ryan says. In fact, smaller set-ups, with just a singleseat or two-seat lounge, can be a low-risk way to introduce these informal, but functional, arrangements to a workplace.
“The system is great if you want to start small. But there’s a lot of flexibility for creating bigger layouts, too,” he adds.
HON put its theories into practice during the development of West Hill™, performing LET, or live environment testing, in an unused nook in its own offices.
“Every single time I walked by it, I saw people on the furniture, chatting or taking a break, or debriefing from a meeting,” Ryan says. “As these alternative spaces evolve, companies will see possibilities in common areas, cafés, even private offices. It’s important to give employees these kinds of choices for the way they work.”
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Visit hon.com for ideas and inspiration, whether you’re designing an environment from scratch or want to introduce casual meeting layouts in small doses.
Download the West Hill™ brochure.
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