When it comes to knowledge, sometimes we think we know, and we nail it! At other times, we think we have it all sewn up, and we wind up paying twice the price, embarrassing ourselves, or wishing we had never started in the first place. Then there are times when we don’t know that we don’t know, and we move forward anyway. These are the times for which we often pay dearly.
No one can attest to this fact more than me. When it came to building modern receptions desks, I thought I knew, and I thought it would be easy. What could be so difficult…right? Boy, was I wrong! I couldn’t have imagined all the things I didn’t know.
It was only after building a thousand of them and suffering through all the mistakes along the way, listening to well-intentioned professional builders who thought they knew (but didn’t), studying everything I could find (as an ongoing process) about design, interviewing users, and learning about materials and their applications that I began to understand that what I knew was enough to get me in first-class trouble. What I learned from those experiences now gives me comfort—and I can offer you advice about how to build a modern reception desk and avoid all the pitfalls most people encounter. Here are a few tips…
Finding the Right Builder for Your Modern Reception Desk
Whatever you don’t know, finding the right builder will take away much of the worry of not knowing. The right builder will be able to ask you the right questions, and supply you with the answers you need to make the best choice for you.
The right builder will want to know about your company, what you do, and how you do it. He will be able to recommend designs and materials best suited to all the information he has collected. He might ask you for pictures of your space, so he can look for things you might not know and/or make suggestions that could work better than your current vision. If your builder is merely copying the work of others, there is a good chance he will have no idea about the design application the designer intended, or how or why the design works or doesn’t work. Make sure your provider is actually the builder; otherwise, he will have no control over the finished product.
A good builder for your custom-made reception desk will have two things going for him: good construction quality and design skills. Rarely are these two qualities present in the same provider. Having a good craftsman without the vision to know what looks great and works well will net you a good-quality piece that lacks visual pop.
Your reception desk is a very important piece of furniture. It sets a mental image as to what to expect from your company. You will want your first step forward to be the most impressive one. Spend some time reviewing the builder’s résumé of completed reception desks and the feedback of recipients.
Don’t Choose Your Modern Reception Desk Just Because You Like It
Many people will select a modern reception desk just because they like the style. While style is a good thing to have, we at 90 Degree Office Concepts feel your reception desk should complement the ideals behind your company. The presence of your reception desk should speak to your company image. Its materials, shape, and color all have something to say about your company.
When Pegasus Elite Aviation approached us to help them design a reception desk for their company, we interviewed them about their business and helped them decide on a style and an all-aluminum material that suggested air travel. We designed this desk in Maple wood finished in Cinnamon to capture the earthy nature of the business. Now they have a reception desk they love—and that works perfectly with their business concepts.
Don’t Forget Reception-Desk Function
For some reason, most people totally forget to consider the function of their reception desk. Who’s going to be using it? What jobs do they have to do? How much space do they need? What, if any, kinds of storage do they need? What kind of interaction do they need with clients? These are just a few of the questions (along with a litany of others) you’ll need to answer for your builder. If you are not sure what to ask, your builder should make sure you don’t leave anything out. One mistake will disrupt your entire business.
At 90 Degree Office Concepts, we ask a lot of questions, because the modern reception desk is a crucial piece of furniture. If you overlook one small detail, you could have problems.
Alexandria Modern Reception Desk
Getting Your Modern Reception-Desk Size Right
Your reception-desk size is important for two main reasons: having it suit your planned reception space, and making it fit your function. The first thing about your reception desk size that needs be addressed before all else is getting your new piece into your reception area. Often, there are issues no one ever thinks about: elevator size, doorways, and hallway turns to consider. If your desk is too big to fit, and your reception-desk builder doesn’t think to ask, get yourself another builder—because trust me, you will have a lot more things that will leave you asking, why didn’t someone think about this beforehand?
Separately, your desk needs to accommodate all of your intended users. If you get the size wrong, or don’t plan for growth, you have just wasted a bunch of money. There are common mistakes almost everyone makes. Your builder needs to know what they are, and discuss with you the details of your usage so you don’t make them.
Making the Choice to Give Your Reception Area the Strongest Visual Impact
Modern Reception Desk with Cool Lines
The visual impact of reception-desk design is something important to any business that cares about the image they project. After all, you have choices. If you have a choice between pretty and ugly, why would you choose ugly? Many custom reception desk builders may, in fact, be good builders, but that’s not enough. Being able to understand design and visually see how all the parts, colors, and materials fit together as one unique reception desk is quite another story. For this reason, many builders find themselves either producing ugly as #@%* pieces or copying cool designs.
The problem with not being a good designer is vision. If you don’t know or can’t envision what the designer has in mind, the result is often doing it the ugly way.
Modern Reception Area with Visual Impact
Pulling All the Details Together into One Workable Plan
I could go on for hours recounting the colossal pitfalls you’ll need to recognize and navigate in order to have a reception desk custom-made—one you’ll be proud to have represent your company. There is a faster, more efficient way to get great results. I assure you, I have only scratched the surface of what you’ll need to know to get a custom-made modern reception desk that is worth putting your name on—and that’s important. Here’s why…
Like packaging, your reception-area design speaks volumes about your company, and gives your visitors a clue about what’s inside. I don’t know any company that is doing so well they can afford to ignore the importance of the way their visitors think about them.
While we are not your least-costly solution, in the end, we will make sure you have all your bases well thought-out, planned, and covered.
