Reception is an important part of offices, bars, hotels and restaurants. Generally reception furniture are different for the above industries with variation in the interiors. And you can easily spot the difference between an office reception and a hotel reception. All of the above businesses obviously receive people from outside and the reception is definitely the first thing they are going to see.

Digital media companies around the UK have absolutely fabulous reception area. I went to one recently based in Birmingham, West Midlands, it had a bar with club furniture surrounding it, it was more like a mini bar. So that was the first impression I had of their business and I have to admit I was very impressed. Everyone gets one chance to make a good impression and this company took their chance.

I decided to do something like that in my office for our reception but with a twist. I wanted cafe furniture with low couch sofas. I also moved the fish tank to my office from the reception and replaced it with a pool table. As we are a law firm we get very tensed and nervous clients and bit of a pool and coffee while they wait certainly helps in building the relationship along with making them feel comfortable. I did ask few clients and they gave very good feedback, they loved the new looking reception. I have to say a big thank you to my receptionists because they helped me with lovely ideas.

Now our reception not only has the basic requirement of desks, chairs and others, it also has a creative and fun side with a pool table. I believed this change will definitely make our clients feel like at home and it certainly has. An office for a legal profession as ours, have to spend a lot of on the reception area as most of the times meeting rooms are occupied and you can deal with your clients outside in the reception.

You might not imagine the humble coffee table arrived after World War One, but it shows that it hasn’t been around that long. Back then, the modern coffee table was often a part of, but never starring in, a housewife’s dream package. It has to be said though that the modern coffee table has been forced to take a back seat with all the other large pieces of furniture available.

Those days are gone though.

The simple coffee table is now very much a desirable item again. You will probably find it very hard to find any reception area that would look right without a coffee table. You need reception furniture that is inviting for visitors to linger for a while. You should remember that shape and style are very important factors in the choosing of reception furniture.

What You Should Know

When choosing modern coffee tables, you consider not only the style of the table itself but the style of a lot of its adjacent furnishings. It must be remembered that the modern coffee table is not meant to stand out but to blend in with the rest of the furnishings to create a harmonious living space in the building.

If you have a much more traditional reception area then something like a modern coffee table might look a bit out of place.

Many people opt for san ottoman which can serve the purpose of a comfortable seat and also a table top.

For that modern feel that only an authentic modern coffee table can give, you have many options: cubes or cylinders made of wood, leather, Plexiglass, or metal; stone, ceramics, woven raffia, shagreen, or nylon.

Get Your Interior Design Up To Scratch

You have two main concerns when it comes to interior designing a modern coffee table with the rest of the reception area: Do you let the modern coffee table stand on its own? Or do you use it as a surface area on which you can display interesting vignettes? Of course, the decision is your manager’s at the end of the day.

Everyone knows that a reception area needs to look impressive. This could be a bed and breakfast or a beauty salon. The problem is, many people still don’t know how to do this and they can end up with a rather ramshackle space that does little to impress. Make the reception furniture you purchase something a bit special, so prospective customers can see that you are a cut above.

A reception area is the first thing people see when they walk in so you need to make it look welcoming, neat and tidy. It doesn’t take long for people to make up their minds about liking someone, and the same can be said about places too, so do your best to make it a professional place. You only need to look at the many hotel renovation shows on TV to see that people often get it wrong and clutter their reception areas, so be sure not to fall into this trap. Keep it simple and stylish and don’t over-complicate things.

Some people believe it is an easy task choosing reception furniture, so why is it that so many get it wrong? However, people do get it wrong and you can end up with multicoloured furniture clashing with everything else in the room, so be careful not to fall victim to this. Reception areas are known to get very busy so you don’t want your place to get difficult to move around in. Try to avoid choosing furniture too large for the space you are in, as this could cause problems when people try and move around. In addition to this, the person manning reception should have enough room to be able to move about. There are potential health and safety hazards with too much clutter behind reception. People often forget the importance of safety in the workplace.

The furniture you choose for reception can say a lot about you, and you need to make the most of this space. If you have a small area then it is better to have more space than big, clumpy furniture which makes it difficult for people to walk past. Any public reception area should be viewed with the customer in mind and one should consider different shapes and sizes of people, as well as additions like prams and bags.

Don’t let space get the better of you; look at your reception area and maximise its potential with the right reception furniture.