Offices
Reception Furniture Planning for Offices
Specify the occupied size, operating clearance and route into the building before choosing furniture by catalogue dimensions.
Explore the ideas
Compare the options
- Set the brief
- Use templates at the size of the actual furniture. Include seated users, open drawers and reclined positions where relevant.
- Compare
- Decide which items need to move independently and which benefit from built-in anchoring.
- Before buying
- Confirm that the largest pieces can turn at the entrance, lift lobby and corridor, or specify assembly in place.
Worked example
A family wants a console and bench in a foyer, but the lift lobby door opens close to the apartment entrance.
Use a narrow console with rounded corners and a bench that tucks fully beneath it. Measure the entry door at full swing and test carrying a bulky delivery past the furniture.
How to test it
Overlay the furniture in its stored and in-use positions, then check both against the measured plan.
Apply it to this space
- Layout
- Place the desk in direct sight of the entrance, with waiting seats beside it and a clear path onward.
- Detail
- Use a durable counter face and a warm, even light on the visitor side; keep the sign visible from the door.
- Trade-off
- A dramatic desk can make a strong first impression but consume space needed for circulation.
- Test the entry sightline from outside
- Walk a visitor route without crossing desk queues
The Elixir portfolio
Details worth a closer look
