I'd say it all just really depends on what you're doing and how much you want to spend. I don't spend a whole lot on my home office, which is more of a recording studio nowadays, but I've spent a ton on my work office.
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Originally Posted by Ella`Ella
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My question is when you are considering furnishing an office, home-office or just your game-station, what stores do you look for furniture in? Do you go to office supply stores? Walmart? Ikea?
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If you're okay with medium quality veneer style particleboard/wood and cheap aluminum, meaning you don't mind the look and realize it won't hold up forever, then the office supply stores are sufficient. That is what I have used for my office admins and it has worked out okay, but I've come to find that it's hit or miss on build quality with that stuff and have had to replace pieces after only a few years (the veneer will peel or edging pieces will come loose/off). You can get some great chairs from the office supply stores for prices that won't break the bank, though. I tend to stay away from Walmart at all costs so I can't say much for their furniture and about the same with Ikea because I'm not impressed with the build quality I've seen of my friends' home purchases.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ella`Ella
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If it's an actual office, would you pick out and set up cubicles, offices, desks and all that stuff on your own or find a service that designs the layout and furnishes it for you?
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I wouldn't hire a service company to provide cubicles and office equipment as it seems any real discounts they can provide are offset by the service charges unless maybe you're doing multiple floors with hundreds of people. On a larger scale you'll just work with a supplier's inside sales rep to get a bunch of cubicles, desks, chairs, filing cabinets, and it usually doesn't cost anything extra. On a smaller scale just purchase it yourself. Spend some time checking out local office supply stores and compare them to stores online, just make sure to expect freight charges on anything ordered that could also offset any potential savings and that it will most likely require assembly which has a time cost associated with it. As far as figuring out space usage and cubicle setup, that can usually be included by the engineer during a tenant build-out if you're going that direction. You tell them how many people you need to put in the space and they'll help figure out placement. Not all engineers do this, though. On the small scale, if you can use a tape measure, put your skills to use.
Personally, I've bought my desk, bookshelves, and chairs from Ethan Allen for my work office, and I've made sure that any work areas that a customer may go through on the way to my office has higher quality furnishings despite their role for the company. I get tons of compliments on my leather-top desk. For most of the offices/employees outside of my customer's line of sight I've gone with the less expensive office supply store furnishings. Be prepared to look into the sit-stand desks if you're doing a furnishing project. Those are all the rage right now.