arranging a friendly office (counter, pictures, doors, lighting)
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I want to rearrange my office furniture. It is important to me that the office be very welcoming and friendly as I meet with people all day and help them. Right now I have my desk against a wall and I turn my desk chair around to face two other chairs. I'd like to get rid of the desk if possible and try to create an environment with just chairs, but I would need some sort of table to write on, put my laptop and printer on, etc. It's very important to me to not have a heavy physical barrier between myself and the people I meet with, although when we have to fill paperwork out it's a little annoying to have to pass a clipboard back and forth.
It's a roughly 8' or 10' x 12' office space, no windows. The door is on the shorter side.
I've tried to find pictures of office space layouts online but everything involves sitting with a desk in between myself and the people I work with.
This is not home related but I think the folks in this forum will have better ideas than any other forum. Does anyone have any ideas?
Since you like that picture, what about a small sofa with a coffee table and having a desk facing the wall on the other side of the office so you still have a comfortable workspace when you're alone doing paperwork? By having a sofa and coffee table, you will be sitting side by side and have the coffee table in front of you for your laptop or any papers that need to be filled out.
I've seen some great guidance counselor offices at my children's high school. They have their desks facing the wall that the door is at, so when they are at their desk, they can see out the door. The rest of the room is like a living room with cozy furniture, tables and table lamps, bookcases, etc.----low lighting instead of the bright overhead lights. They literally keep the overhead lights turned off and use their own light fixtures instead. Iif the guidance counselor is sitting at her desk, she turns her chair around to face the people sitting in the comfortable chairs. Nothing is between them and their guests, but the most important thing is that they have created this "safe and cozy" atmosphere.
Since you will be a social worker, you might want to think about how I describe the guidance counselors office. It's sort of the opposite of the picture you showed, which is more of a modern cold look even though the people are interacting in the picture. I think people tend to open up and interact in less steril environments. You can incorporate the concept of the small sofa and coffee table from the picture but have a more cozy, warm, welcoming spin to it.
Even though you're not a therapist, I think the goals of a social worker are the same---to make a person feel comfortable as possible so you can help them.
One thing that a desk helps with is having a privacy guard which offers privacy if you are wearing a skirt that rises above the knee when sitting. Just something to keep in mind if you like wearing skirts. In your example image, there is a picture of a lady with a pencil skirt and she's got her hand strategically positioned. So if you like pencil skirts, stick with a desk.
Do you like sitting in your office chair during appointments? Or do you want to a lounge chair for this purpose? How many people do you accommodate in each session? I don't think you are going to get a coffee table into that size room with a desk and office chair plus other seating. You could do an end table probably.
I'd configure it so that your patients are not facing your desk. Desk clutter, screen savers, etc...can become a distraction during a session.
Here are a couple of thoughts, but I had to make a couple of assumptions about the size of the room (is it 8' or 10'?) and the location of the door (center of the wall or corner). Most doors are in the center, so I went with that. And I gave you a 9x12 office space.
I want to recommend you keep a desk between you and your clients. You will seem more professional, and therefore more trustworthy, with a desk in front of you. As you yourself said, passing a clipboard around is awkward. The desk is there for a purpose. But it doesn't have to be a really big desk, or be intimidating.
I faced the public for many years behind a counter. I was glad the counter separated me from the public some times.
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