Modern Lobby Essentials: 5 Stylish Accent Tables with Wow Factor

When creating a professional guest waiting area for your business, it's important to remember the details. In order to accent your space to perfection, adding unique accent tables is a must. In today's article we'll showcase 5 awesome coffee and end table solutions that are sure to wow your guests while simultaneously enhancing your corporate appeal. Enjoy!

First up, the 7889 Citi Series Glass Top Coffee Table by Global Total Office. Nothing says wow factor more than a stunning glass table with modern appeal and the 7889 model does just that. Available in a wide variety of laminate options, this versatile table can be used to perfection to highlight a variety of wood tones used in your waiting area. Pair this awesome product with your current furniture or with Citi series lounge seating by Global for a super impressive look!

The NTRGCH Golden Cherry Coffee Table from the Mayline Napoli series offers the perfect combination of modern and traditional appeal. The sophisticated lines are highlighted by a silver table surface risers that really make this unit pop. Priced at $392.99, these professional reception area tables are also an excellent value. Matching end table pairs from the Napoli line are also available to compliment your seating.

The third item on the our list of stylish accent tables for modern lobby applications is the VL-865 Verde Series End Table. At first glance you'll notice the impressive brushed silver leg design. The table surface is available in a choice of espresso or latte laminate finish options that coordinate well with Verde series receptionist stations. Rest assured, you'll be hard pressed to find a better value for your space.

The industrial appeal achieved through the use of metal accents in guest waiting areas is trending big time in 2014. Interior design teams and office furniture specialists are recommending cool products like this 3356 Wind series end table from Global Total Office. The simple yet sophisticated design makes an impressive statement without overpowering your focal point furnishings. A choice of charcoal or white table surface is available to blend with the silver metal table legs.

Last on our list of tables is the OFM 2012 Modern Cocktail Table from the popular new Profile series. Always on the forefront of innovative office designs, OFM has really outdone themselves with this cutting edge product collection. The 2012 table features a single laminate side and top complimented by silver post legs. Three cool color options are available that blend well with a wide variety of fabric upholstery and leather options. Use this table and it's counter parts from the Profile series along side OFM beam seating and lounge chairs to take your space over the top.

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7 Easy Steps to Creating A Professional Lobby

Any interior designer will tell you that the decorating business is tough. It's a job filled with measuring, maintenance, colors, considerations, all sorts of furniture, and it's rarely ever a one man show. Paying attention to all of these things at once and trying to haggle with dealers and deliverers can be a handful, which is why, if you want to decorate your office lobby yourself, you're probably going to need some help. But don't worry. With this handy guide, all the tricks of the pros will be at your disposal. We've done our research on this one, so don't be afraid to dive in to that decorating project with confidence. Here are the seven easy steps to creating the perfect professional lobby!

Step 1: Measure Your Space

One of the biggest mistakes newbies make when having a go at interior design is bad measuring. This is perhaps the most important step to making sure your lobby looks the best that it can. Inaccurate measuring can leave you with oversized or undersized furniture, installation hassles, and tons of buyer's remorse. When a lobby looks like it's too big or too small for the furniture, guests will notice because this is the space you have set aside for them. Don't worry though. Even the pros mess this one up from time to time. That's why it's best when decorating to make sure you measure correctly. This is a bit of an undertaking, so don't be afraid to ask a friend or two for help. Just break out the measuring tape, the pencils and the graph paper to map your space out with a quality scale-sketch of your lobby space. Be sure to take note of permanent features that are already a part of the room, like doors, windows, and power outlets so you can furnish your space up smart. When you're done, give your drawing a quick double check to make sure your measurements are all correct. As they say in woodworking, measure twice, cut once, and everything will fit like a puzzle!

Step 2: Identify Your Needs

Now that the hardest part is out of the way, it's time to consider your needs. When decorating a lobby, try to think like a guest. What will they expect? What will they want? How can you as a designer go above and beyond to meet those needs? Think about your guests' responsibilities. In a hotel, medical office, vet clinic, car shop, or service industry lobby, visitors might need a place to fill out information. Comfortable chairs and affordable desks for lobby reception are a must, but that isn't all that's expected. If you want your guests to be happy and content for longer waiting times, providing them with magazines and pamphlets about your company is a good idea. You may even decide your guests deserve refreshments while they wait, but they'll have to have some place to set all those items. That makes coffee tables and stylish end tables for lobby use a must have too. If you decide you want a slideshow for visitors to watch or something even more entertaining than some mags and a few pamphlets, lobby televisions are all the rage now, especially in medical facilities like pediatrics offices and dentistries. Making sure you have everything you need and that you have room enough for all of it is crucial to good interior decorating. It's best to start with the essentials and build your way up from there.

Step 3: Choose a Style

Okay! Here comes the fun part: the "decorating" in interior decorating! This is where you get to pick a color scheme, choose wall artwork, and decide on the style of furniture you want. Most people might think that lobbies are pretty self explanatory, but we can assure you that is not so. There are tons of great themes you may want your lobby to express. It's up to you to decide between urban charm, modern professionalism, kooky fun, or the classic wood furniture look. As far as colors go, try to decide if you want to go with the company colors or something else. Just make sure when decorating that one color isn't too overpowering. One trick designers often use is to pick their dominant color and then add a bit of the colors next to or opposite that color on the color wheel. If you need help, try starting with a piece of accent furniture you'd really like in your lobby, something like a lamp, a rug, or a painting. Pay attention to the colors that are in that piece and then choose your furniture shapes and colors based on that. Finally, when you have an idea of what you want, come up with a furniture layout using your measurement paper. Be sure you know how big the sofas, tables, and  modern lounge chairs for lobby use you want to buy is also, so you know it will fit into the space. If you have lots of room, a big, cushy couch is fine, but if your lobby is tight on space, something like lobby beam seating solutions might be more efficient. The goal is to have a lobby that looks as fashionable as possible, but also reflects your business.

Step 4: Shop For Value

Next on the agenda is the shopping. Hopefully, if you already have your furniture picked out, you're aware of the price. Still, that's no reason not to look for discounts! Most furniture dealers get their product from manufacturers, and they vie with each other to sell at the best prices. Sofas and leather lobby chairs for guests can get expensive. However, if the desired furniture is online, try using tools like shopping engines and price comparisons if the site offers them to see if you can get a deal. Subscribe to newsletters for sales and updates on other cool furniture your lobby could benefit from. Call dealers and see which one is willing to give you the best price. Chances are, the might be willing to go lower than what their asking for over the phone in order to get the sale. Try Google searching for coupons, discounts, clearance, and sales. If you snoop around a bit, there's a good chance you'll get the same furniture or a stylish alternative at a fraction of the cost!

Step 5: Receiving and Installation

Aright, now you're in the final stretch! Receiving and installation can be a big pain, but not if there are a bunch of hands around to help. The first thing you need to know about this process is when the furniture will arrive. If business is already up and running, and this lobby decoration is just an office makeover, knowing when the furniture will come is crucial. An environment where doors are left open because burly furniture installers are carrying sofas in and out isn't fun for anyone, especially clientele. After you purchase the furniture, make sure you get a tracking number to monitor the furniture's progress. Also be sure to go ahead and call the dealer or the transport company to see if the deliverers will actually install the furniture as well. That way, you know when sell the old furniture, create a staging area, prep the lobby, and set up a temporary space for patrons in the meantime where they still have all the necessities they need to stay as comfortable as possible, and you also know if you need to round up some coworkers to help you install everything if the delivery service won't.

Step 6: Be Ready for Debris

This is a given. A surefire way to tell if the dealers you ordered from were working out of their basement is if the furniture arrives and isn't covered by boxes or plastics. Thankfully, this almost never occurs, but you do want to be prepared for the debris the installation process brings about. Guests don't like to look at trash any more than a business owner does, so getting it cleaned up right away is important. Have the brooms and vacuums ready to go once the installers leave, or if you have to unpack and install yourself, go ahead and keep all the unpacked furniture in the corner until your clean up the boxes and plastic coverings. This way, the floors are already cleaned up when you and your cohorts lay the furniture out.

Step 7: Enjoy Your Space!

Ah, finally! This one's pretty self explanatory. The hard work is over, and now you've got a brand new, stylish lobby to show for all your efforts. Take a moment to sit back and enjoy it!

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How to Create the Perfect Lobby

Because lobbies are usually the first impression guests have of your business, its important that any visitors are blown away as soon as they walk in. You want your guests to know that you care about both them and your establishment, and there is no faster way to show them than with a cool, stylish lobby that reflects your business's ideals. It may seem like a daunting task to try and balance a customer's well-being with your company's, but believe us when we say its not as hard as you think! Here's a few great tips to help you design the perfect lobby!

Great Reception

Its important that guests feel welcomed when they come into your establishment. No one likes to be brushed off as just another average Joe. In order to make your visitors feel welcomed, make sure your receptionists are considerate, approachable, helpful, and amiable. Give them every reason to be in good spirits with affordable ergonomic office chairs to sit in and inviting colors to look at. When your receptionists are bright and cheery, chances are the good vibes will rub off on your guests, making them less likely to become frustrated. But while having friendly employees is important, sometimes making sure your guests can find them is crucial. Give your guests the opportunity to reach a receptionist for help or information if they need to by keeping them behind stylish reception desks that are easy to see. Choosing rounded or curved reception desks for sale allows you the stylistic opportunity to face the desk almost any direction. They are elegant and easy to approach from all angles. But if you'd rather go with something a little more traditional such as rectangular desks or modern reception desks, know you'll never lack for class!

Stylish Decor

What many amateur designers don't know about decorating is that its hard to keep spirits high when all you have to look at are drab, whitewashed walls. Its bad enough if your lobby has no windows to let in psychologically uplifting natural sunlight, but if your lobby is seriously lacking in stylish decor, you might as well neglect your guests altogether. Cheerful moods can quickly turn in both your employees and guests alike without a good stylish decor. When decorating, try to use complementary colors and monochromatic colors of varying hues in both your furniture and on your walls. Make sure that strong colors don't overpower one another and that they aren't clustered, but spaced around the room. White walls can look spectacular too as long as there's color in other parts of the room, in the contemporary lobby furniture for example. Be sure to take office lighting into account as any color you choose for your walls will appear different in shadowed and especially bright areas. Remember, if your room is radiant, so is everyone else!

Comfortable Seating

In any lobby, waiting room, or reception area, keeping guests comfortable is an absolute must. Guests that aren't sufficiently cozy in their seats while they wait are prompted to get up and amble around the office. Not only is this scenario awkward for everyone, guests, employees, and managers alike, but this situation is especially embarrassing for the business. If guests feel the urge to walk around the room because the seats are uncomfortable, it shows that the establishment hasn't put all they could into customer satisfaction. Additionally, guests that feel the effects of waiting in uncomfortable seats are likely to complain or give bad reviews. Even if nothing else can be put in, keeping comfortable lounge furniture is the one thing every lobby absolutely cannot be without. If you don't have a lot to spend, the good news is that there are plenty of versatile guest chairs and beam seating solutions that can both save you money and space in the room! For something a little more sumptuous, try checking out lobby seating options in the form of luxury lounge chairs  in both leather and fabric as well as plush sofas for extra comfort. Not too comfortable in your interior designing capabilities? No worries! Considerate furniture manufacturers have already pre-picked optimal furniture for you. Just check out some popular lounge furniture sets and your lobby's furniture can instantly match itself and any existing decor to boot!

Refreshments and Entertainment

To truly show that you care about your guests' experience, the best way to show your compassion is in the way you cater to them. Keep your guests pleased with your workplace by providing light refreshments and plenty of entertainment for them. It doesn't really require much to please a guest in this regard. Oftentimes, nothing more than a simple water cooler is enough for most people to feel cared for by a business. Keeping magazine stands stocked with exciting reading material such as popular magazines or information about your business can help keep guests occupied and less likely to complain about long wait times on especially slow days. When decorating, try to include some cool accents such as fancy pillows on the sofas, artwork, or even a fish tank for people to look at while they wait. One entertainment option that has become all the rage are flatscreen TV mounts to support a television system. These mounts make wonderful additions to modern waiting room furniture and reception area furniture because they hang on the walls, out of the way. They can run popular programming, promote your business, or play DVDs. Dentists and doctors have already found them incredibly useful to occupy patients while they are examined. Who knows? Perhaps including one in your workplace lobby is just the extra touch you need!

The Importance of Tables

So, all is good now! Your guests have their beverages and their TV and their reading materials, everything they need to feel pampered by your lobby, right? Wrong! While entertainment for guests can do wonders for a company's reputation, it can get pretty awkward when visitors don't have any place to set all their stuff. Just think about it, drinks set on floors can be forgotten or kicked over making a huge mess. Pamphlets and magazines set on the ground leave a place looking cluttered and unsanitary. Don't give that impression when you don't have to! The solution is more simple than you might think. Just don't forget to include some cool lobby tables when you're designing! Take your pick of the lot from elegant coffee tables and discount end tables for your rooms. Almost anything that would look great in someone's living room is fair game for a lobby. The familiar furniture adds a certain sense of homey comfort that puts guests instantly at ease!

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