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One of the most important pieces of furniture in any office is going to be the conference table. As its name implies, important for conferences as well as necessary for company meetings. Many times, in the past I have held small meetings with clients or large brainstorming sessions around the conference locker price.
One of the first things we, as a company found out about our table was that we had purchased an item of furniture that was just too small for all the types of meetings that were held upon it. We originally allowed for placing all company staff (we were not a multi-national) and bought accordingly.
But it quite often turned that there was never enough room for all the paper work that got spread out and passed around. Nor was there enough space for more chairs on the occasions we invited someone into the office to give a presentation. And especially if they had brought along support staff. So, make sure that you select the size you want, and then go up to at least the next size. Saves replacing the table if your business gets larger and you pick up more staff.
Type of table and design also makes a difference. If you have a table for 12 or more, consider the benefits of a boat shaped conference table. With the curves on each side, everyone at the table has a good view of proceedings without having to crane forward. A smaller table can comfortably be the racetrack shape table as it allows an extra chair or 2 on its rounded ends.
Then there are Bowtie shaped tables but I have found these tend to cut the people sitting along the ends out of the conversation.
A folding conference table is the go if you’re limited for office space. Capable of turning a storage space, canteen or even a gymnasium into a meeting room at a moment’s notice, a folding conference table allows any room in a company a multipurpose function.
Folding and storing once the meeting is over can be a nuisance and we found it necessary to delegate this to certain staff members prior to the meeting, or otherwise one person was left to this task as usual. But a folding accordion wall partition certainly has its merits if you don’t have a permanent meeting room.
You’ll need a very large room if you want a round conference table for 12 or more people but small round conference tables can look great, use little room and be perfect for 4 to 6 people.
If you entertain clients in your office, you must select a table that looks like quality and success. Appearances tell all and nothing will give a bad impression more than inviting guests to sit around a particularly cheap looking conference table. Go for solid, highly polished rich timber finish. Nothing shows business confidence more than a well-designed, solid timber table.
But if the table is intended to be used for many purposes, have a look at some of the vinyl or polyurethane finishes.
Along with a nice shiny expansive conference table, give a thought to your chairs. You may end up seated at the table for lengthy sessions, so find a style that looks good but doesn’t numb your brain as it slowly numbs your posterior.
