We just rented out a second office space. Calling it an office space is a misnomer. It’s a simple two bedroom apartment. Size: A compact 720 Sq.Ft. But what makes it strategically important is that its right above our exisiting workplace. The timing couldn’t be more perfect. We were expanding our team and started to feel the space crunch and when this opportunity came up, we lapped it up.
For those of you who didn’t know, my workplace is in the same apartment complex where I live. So, it *really* is only a stone’s throw away!
It also helps to be the Apartment association’s secretary. My wife was earlier the Treasurer. Together we weave a sizeable influence out here. If anybody gets to know about new vacancies, it usually is us. Never hurts.
Anyway, back to my new workspace. 720 Sq.Ft may not be much but you can pack quite a punch even in such a small space. I also want to spice up the place and make it a colourful, Fun place to work in.
Over the last two days, I have been brainstorming on some of the inexpensive interior decorations that can spice up the place. Here’s the list of things that I’ve been planning to do. Please note that these are wish lists and I hope to eventually get all of them done.
Dual Monitors for all my employees : OK, this one is clearly a wish list. I’ve been using two flat monitors and I can see that its definitely helped in work productivity. Eventually I’d like to have each of my folks have dual monitors as well. It also makes the office look cool. The Last.fm office folks are lucky. Some of them have 3 monitors each!
A Big World Map : Yup, a big massive map. Even better if its in the boss’ room. Makes it look as if you are plotting a huge global expansion plan! Besides, I’m geographically challenged and helps to have a ready reckoner.
Cycle on the wall : Oh, this is my favorite. I love cycling and would like to have a cycle right in my office. If its on the wall, even better. I have a road bike (race cycle type) and have planned to put this up. The only hitch? I need to drive in a few strong nails on the wall to hold up the cycle. And I have a feeling my house owner isn’t going to like it much. But hey, who cares!
Beanbags : Yup, a few brightly coloured ones. Very Googly. They add an air of insouciance. Luckily, I was able to trace out a shop (courtesy Ramanujam) where the guy has multi-coloured ones. Even better, he has a ‘Buy one, Get one Free’ offer. Definitely picking up a couple.
Smiley Balls: Yes, those yellow coloured, soft, squishy balls. And lots of them.
Mini-Basketball Hoops: Put a ‘dustbin’ right under it and suddenly, disposing waste paper gets more creative. I like crumpling unwanted paper into a ball and pretending to be Kobe Bryant. And yes, those smiley balls are good as well. Nice stress reliever.
XBox and Wii : I already have an XBox. Need to buy a Wii when it launches in India. Getting a nice big LCD TV would be nice but I won’t be able to afford it. Would have to suffice with a 19 inch flat monitor.
Dart Board : It’s part of the ‘must have’ list. I know a couple of sports shops that has very nice big ones. A little expensive but worth every rupee.
Writable walls : White boards are passe. Turning the walls into writing spaces is the in thing. Greatly helps in brainstorming during team meetings. Having ideas all over the walls makes the place an awesome place to spend time in. The downside? Quite expensive. You need glazed glass and they cost quite a bit. Any inexpensive alternative available?
Potted Plants : A couple of tall plants that thrive in shadows, placed in corners in office. The greenery adds such a wonderful relief and contrast. Then have smaller plants and have them placed on desks.
Big Framed Photos: Select a few awesome photos from Flickr that are under the Creative Commons licence. Have them framed nicely. Great way to decorate the office. Each good frame would cost close to Rs.1000 but they are well worth it. Once the photos are framed, take a picture and mail it back to the original photographer letting him know how cool his work is.
A Hanging Clinkler: Oh, I just invented the name. What I meant to say was those hanging bells make nice clinking soft musical sounds when they move.
Serial Lights: Yes, like how they do during Christmas. Not those blinking types. Those are distraction. I’m talking about those nice ones that light up the place good. Have them strung around near the ceiling and the place immediately takes on a fun festive atmosphere. When I couchsurfed in HongKong, the guy’s bachelor pad had such lighting and immediately decided to filch the idea.
Row of Clocks : The ones with different time zones. Its cliched but I think it adds nice variety. Its also symbolical that you do business in different countries.
Daughters’ Paintings: Their scribbles and messy painting are worth more to me than a pro-painter’s. They’ll adorn my room for sure. They are colourful and if I give them a nice expensive looking frame, there’s a good chance, you’ll mistake them for a modern painting!
Well stocked kitchen : A mini- fridge, coffee maker, electric stove, full array of utensils. It gives a ‘help-yourself-anytime’ message. Useful during those deadline driven long nights.
Paint up the Ceiling: Yeah, enough of those boring white ones. Time to get something nice. Don’t know who to
Soft lighting: No raw lights. Diffused lighting is so much easier on the eye.
Nice Sofa: A bright red one. Already decided the color. So cushiony that you sink into it. Doubles up as a place to crash.
Logos of Clients: It’s time to take pride in the kind of clients that we work with. Frame up the logos and have them proudly display them on the wall.
Flower beds on Window Sills : During my visit to Japan, I was absolutely impressed with how Flower Beds like these I found in Sapporo on the window sills. Naturally colorful.
A Wiki Wall : An entire wall for visitors to add their creativity. A complete set of colours and paint brushes will be placed and anyone is welcome to come and paint. We did something similar at the iCommons Summit in Japan and take a look how the eventual painting has turned out
Neon Light: I want a neon light that has the words ‘Lets Kick Arse’ put up. A bright reminder to enjoy ourselves while we smash our internal revenue records.
Paper Lamps: I’ve seen some awesome paper lamps at Auroville. Some of them are huge round ones and the others are taller than me. Should get a few of those. Get those big paper lights and those long standing ones I found in Auroville store
Alright, so these are some of the ideas I’ve got. I’d encourage to use these ideas to spice up your office as well. If you have any good ideas, I’d love to hear from you. Please drop them at the comments section or email me at kiruba@kiruba.com .
I’ll get down to actioning these something mid-next month and as I do them, will document them as a photologue. Should be interesting to see how the new office shapes up.
And oh, this new office will also be a co-working place. If you are new to coworking, I suggest you read this. I’ll have at least 6 work desks that will be free and will let it out for entrepreneurs or freelancers to use them. If you are interested in a cool place to work in, let me know.
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Hi,
do post a shot after the decorations!!
I wonder how you are gonna pack all these things in 720 sw ft
xbox & Wii => drool !
Sats, its definitley going to be a challenge but if you notice most of the stuff does up on the walls.
Will definitely post photos during the work and one after things are done.
cheers!
how about a water fountain at the entrance
Srini, please tell me you are kidding!
Kribs,
Already you have decorative flowers at the entrance of ur office, this gave a cool feeling which i experienced while i came to your office.
On the same line i thought of hinting you on a water fountain at ur new office.
a decorative indoor fountain does have a soothing Vaasthu effect which improves the environment of your office.
Kiruba, I can help you with some ideas as well. Prepared a list for pagalguy’s space too, will help you spruce up your kingdom !!
If you haven’t decided on these ones formally, drop me a mail at
aakanksha@pictualize.com
Hi
Amazing concepts, if space permits how about a table football, you even get foldable ones. Also some small Buddha statutes will add a nice calming touch
Hi Chetan, yeah, I thought of a Foosball table but they occupy too much space. With space being such a premium, guess will have to give that a slip.
Buddha statues is a good idea.
Hi Aakansha, thanks. Just shot across an email to you.
Is this an office or lobby of a 5-star hotel?
*Sending across CV to you to recruit me*
Can you let us know where the shop which has the bean bags is located?
Ok, have any plans of taking some 720 Sq Ft in Bangalore? I would love to spend lots of time there
that sounded a little too much when I first read it, but then on the 2nd read, as you told most of it was in the walls and ceilings! So guess It will all work out well! And I guess It’ll be fun working there!
Anand: Is this an office or lobby of a 5-star hotel?
Well, that’s not a bad effect to have on people. The idea is to make it look less like a traditional office. The ambience has a lot to do with giving an attitude to the place and we hope that attitude rubs on people as well.
The less stuffy and traditional the place is, the more is the creativie energy in the place.
Shrav, yup, I’m certain it’ll be a cool place one would want to work in. Feel absolutey free to add your own idea or to tinker around with any existing ones. Its our place and we can make the place what we want it to be.
Cheers!
Creamteam : Ok, have any plans of taking some 720 Sq Ft in Bangalore? I would love to spend lots of time there
No plans yet to come to Bangalore, CreamTeam but yeah, that would be cool, wouldn’t it? One of these days, hopefully. If that happens, will make sure to ping you and would be nice to have you over.
Kartik : Can you let us know where the shop which has the bean bags is located?
Here it is, Kartik.
http://www.asklaila.com/listing/Chennai/Nandanam/City+Bean+Bag/maC4CdIG/
Its at the junction of the Nandanam signal, at the end of Venkatnarayana Road.
Srini: a decorative indoor fountain does have a soothing Vaasthu effect which improves the environment of your office.
Agreed Srini and a good idea. Will pick one if its good. Usually they are steeply prized but worth checking out.
hey kiruba,
congrats and all best .
please post the pics of your new office, would love to see’em.
cheers
satish
Hi ,
Fish tank is missing !!
pls post the images once you finish all your stuff .
Kiruba, Wonderful reading all your plans and I am eager to experience co-working in your office. Hope I’ll get a chance when I visit Chennai…
Kribs, I believe the ‘clinkler’ called ‘Wind Chime’. Get the bamboo ones, the sound has a better effect than the metal ones.
The smiley balls are a great idea. I guess you can custom order them with your company’s name/logo/url and give off to visitors/clients/friends.
Hi Kiruba,
I bought a couple of bean bags from City Bean Bags too under that buy-one-get-one scheme.
Unfortunately, there is only space for one in my house
(didn’t exactly think the whole process through!). Anyway, my mom is behind me to get rid of one.
Would you like to buy it? It’s black and has not been used yet. I bought it two weeks back.
If you’re interested please mail me at anishmdhar@gmail.com
Ciao!
The water fountain need not be a mega one. I spotted a couple in Lifestyle showroom in Oasis centre in Bangalore – about the height of a stool.
These fountains are some short brown tree shaped structures with electric plugging facility. And water just flows out continously from the top of the tree downwards. Looks elegant and does not occupy much of space.
Hope we all will be invited for the launch party of your new office once it is ready…?
All the best…
Kiruba,
For writable walls, you can probably buy writable “white board” like wallpaper and paste it on the wall. There are definitely some that come close to a white board…
Satish: please post the pics of your new office, would love to see’em.
Sure thing, Satish. Will definitely post the pics. Infact, I’m meaning to document the entire process of decoration. Should be a fun thing to follow.
Gowri: For writable walls, you can probably buy writable “white board” like wallpaper and paste it on the wall. There are definitely some that come close to a white board…
Good point, Gowri. Reynolds (the pen company) has wonderful white sheets (that work just like a white board). The only difference is that it can be stuck to any surface, just like a post-it note. Yes, will get a couple of them for the new office. Thanks for pointing this idea out for me.
Shrinidhi: Hope we all will be invited for the launch party of your new office once it is ready…?
Oh absolutely. Will definitely organize a get-together. Cheers!
Anitha: The water fountain need not be a mega one.
Yup, will check out for them in Chennai. Cheers!
Anish : I bought a couple of bean bags from City Bean Bags too under that buy-one-get-one scheme. Would you like to buy it? It’s black and has not been used yet. I bought it two weeks back.
Hey Anish, I prefer having coloured ones and hence will have to turn down your offer.
However, if you can drop in your mobile number or email id, I’m sure someone here from Chennai might be interested in picking it off you.
Wilson: Fish tank is missing !!
Yup, did think about the fish tank first. But its high maintenance and wondering if I can allocate the time to maintain it.
There is an aquarium exhibition coming up in Chennai. Maybe, I’ll loiter around and check if anything captures my fancy. Heard about low maintenance fish tanks (which unfortunately are expensive).
Anbusivam : Kiruba, Wonderful reading all your plans and I am eager to experience co-working in your office. Hope I’ll get a chance when I visit Chennai…
Hi Anbu, you are most welcome. It would great to have you over. The place will be ready by the end of October for certain.
after all that, you really expect ppl to get any work done over there?
Guess there’s a reason why most offices look drab.
p.s.
I don’t know how I found your blog but its pretty cool.
after all that, you really expect ppl to get any work done over there?
Play hard. Work hard.
We are working hard. But not playing enough. So, catching up!
Nattu nelavaram padinga Baas. IT world people are ostriches with head in sand.
http://karunanidhi-aatchi.blogspot.com/
Kiruba,
I have some paper that I would like to sell. I can also paint smileys free-of-cost if you provide your balls.
And how about a big touchscreen display that show your latest twitter updates and blog feeds… At the reception let visitors read your blog posts than some newspaper/magazine on the desk…
Also you can print business card for the employees with their blog url, twitter id, flickr id, linked-in id etc behind the official card
)
Btw where did you print the posters, any website or any local vendor.
Writable walls and paint up the ceiling ..good idea..a small suggestion..select the lightest contrasting color (that is part of the color scheme in the four walls) to apply to the ceiling, this may help to fool the eye into perceiving a greater sense of space and visually heighten the space. Wishes sent for your wish list to be fulfilled
.
Good Luck for ur new Office Kiruba. Wish my office could also take up some suggestion from you!!
People online are real people.
If you send a nasty email, there’s a real human being on the other end who gets it.
If you flame in a forum, you’re wasting real people’s time.
If you spam someone, you’re really only making yourself look bad.
If you write IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS it sounds like shouting.
If you want something to happen your way, try asking instead of demanding.
If you give, you’ll probably wind up getting, too.
If you blog just to pick fights, don’t be surprised when people don’t trust you.
If you collaborate, say thanks.
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If you goof, apologize.
If you apologize, mean it.
If you smile, mean that too.
If you don’t like something, don’t do it.
If you do like something, spread it.
But far far more important:
Give people a break.
The break you probably deserve yourself.
People are out to do good, 99% of the time.
You probably are too.
Say thanks out loud and a lot.
Try making someone’s day.
Chances are they’ll make yours in return.
Thanks for provoking my thought. After reading your post, my office looks bare. Will definitely try out things like plants, white paper on wall, Wind Chime (Clinklers!).
Also, the co-working option looks useful. Hope I will be able to use it when I visit Chennai.
Cheers!
A picture board would accentuate the place, wouldn it? As in putting up pictures from recent office get-togethers, fun days and all of that. Somehow it leaves everyone who works there with a sense of bonding – plus you get to change the pictures everytime you have a new event.
You must let me know if my suggestion does prove good
jeez!
Do you have any vacancy?
Hey Kiruba! congrats on the new office & great list there, thinking of something to add to that list..
Put a fish aquarium! It’s a totally amazing tranquilizer to just look at them playing around for sometime!
Once done, you should definitely post pictures of the whole thing!
serious worker don’t spend time on walls…
Anonymous said…
Kiruba,
I have some paper that I would like to sell. I can also paint smileys free-of-cost if you provide your balls
Hey anonymous,
don’t be suprised if this ar**h*le tells you that’s a kick arse idea and would n’t mind trying COLOURFUL modern art on his balls than just a simple smiley :LOL
hey shirker, decorations and dual (or even 3) monitors wont make your office like google’s office. Doing the work is important..
cheap ah theru la naal anju naai pudichu katti veiyein! Corporation kum naai pudikira selavu michcham, area makkalluku naai thollai illai, cheap ku cheap aachu, decoration num achu, security selavu micham! epdi idea? kickarse ah? :LOL
vutta mini vandaloor zoo vey veppe pola iruku
epdi ya house owner ithellam allow panraaru, yaaru antha punyavaan? illa as usual “nee enna venumnaalum sollu naan seiyaratha seiyrein” policy ah??