How to renovate your office furniture when you are in a budget?
It is one of your responsibilities to ensure that your office looks professional, tidy and organized. As with any other aspect in our daily lives, the office also needs regular maintenance and occasional upgrading or renovation. If the furniture in your office has started creaking and the place is starting to look like a bit of a mess, then that’s a good indication that you need to probably renovate or upgrade the furniture in your office. Furniture is one of the most important pieces of accessories in the office and it plays a vital role in the aesthetics as well as functional operations of the office. This is why you must renovate the furniture in the office if there’s a requirement for it.
Renovating the office furniture in the required budget
Upgrading the office furniture can be quite costly as the new furniture is likely to be very expensive. If you don’t have a huge budget earmarked then you must certainly look at renovating the office furniture for a budget that will meet your financial as well as operational requirements.
There are multiple reasons why your office furniture might need a renovation. The productivity as well as the quality of the company’s communication is reliant on, amongst other things, the furniture as well. If you do regular furniture renovations then cost of the furniture can be evenly spread out through a period of time and you won’t need an extravagant budget for the necessary maintenance. By regular renovation you can also anticipate the cost of investment required for renovation by a better metric and you can do the planning for the medium as well as long term.
If you are looking for an extremely professional renovation job then you must consider getting the furniture appraised by external agency that has the competent team of professionals for that specific task. They will do a comprehensive analysis and provide honest inputs to the necessary requirements as far as the furniture renovations go. Based on your budget and financial requirements this external agency will suggest ways in which you can reduce the cost of renovation and the most effective ways to spice up the office as per your requirements. If you think that paying this team of professionals for providing the necessary framework of the furniture renovation will increase the cost then that thought is misplaced. This is because by hiring the agency you are not only opening the possibilities of cost efficient furniture renovation but you are also pushing the envelope open for productive design that will help you maximize the output of the company.
The evaluation of the cost that you might incur on the renovation project is one of the 1st steps involved in the process. There are professionals that might help you with that but ultimately it’s your budget and you have to take the final decision on it. There should be a comprehensive analysis to determine lifespan of specific components and the time and the potential time frame when they might need replacing. Besides this you must study the cost that may be incurred on materials that are required for the renovation process.
Once you have completed the analysis phase then you must move towards the implementation of the actual furniture renovation in the office. The renovation project that involves the modification of your furniture will be handled by the professional as you get the precise delivery of the idea that was conceived during the planning stage. The professional will find out the best possible steps for the renovation within the budget that you have earmarked for it. Additionally the professional will also keep you updated on all the developments so that you are aware of what exactly is happening and how the office furniture renovation process is shaping up.
If you can’t afford to hire a professional or if you think the cost of hiring the services of a professional is too steep then you can also try a few DIY methods or steps for an effective renovation of the office furniture. Let us have a look at some of these simple yet effective methods that will provide excellent results and do the job for you.
DIY furniture renovation procedures
Wood furniture stripping for the restoration of old wood furniture: This process can be easily done by removing and stripping the finishing of the wood furniture. Adopting this method will give your furniture a good new look, and it will also help in saving money. The steps you need to follow for this process are as follows.
1) Protecting yourself: It is very important for you to protect yourself by wearing the protective eye gear and the suitable working gloves before you start the process of stripping. This is because, if you come in contact with any of the harsh chemicals that you are working with, then it may cause burning and severe irritation.
2) The stripping liquid must be poured into an open container: After wearing the protective gear, you must pour out the stripping liquid into the can of your paint.
3) Allow the stripper to sit for approximately 10 minutes: This means that you must allow the stripping liquid to sit on the surface of wood for 10 minutes. The surface will dissolve or soften depending on the finishing of the furniture.
4) Testing the surface of wood: You can test the surface of the wood by scraping it with the help of metal scraper. If the finish doesn’t come off easily, wait for some time or reapply the stripping liquid and try again.
5) Remove the finishing: Use your metal scraper or other tool to remove the finishing from the wood surface. Ensure that you must not damage the surface
6) To remove the residue, use the Lacquer thinner: You must use a lacquer thinner to remove the remaining of the residue that might left on the surface.
Another DIY procedure that you can use in the renovation process is the refinishing of the furniture by applying a sealer. Let us see how this process works.
The most common mistake that people usually make when implementing this process is that they don’t allow the sealer to dry before they apply another coat. You must remember to apply a sanding sealer after you see that there is a stain on the furniture. The sanding sealer that you apply on the furniture must be a transparent sanding sealer. The advantage of the transparent sanding sealer is that it helps in firming up the fuzz of wood fibers which get stuck up after sanding and stripping.
The purpose of inventing the sanding sealer was to help in solving the problem with shellac and the varnish. It is also much more quicker in drying thus solving the problems of long drying times between the layers of the varnish. This way you can let the sealer to get dry in overnight. The sanding sealer will also enable you to sand the wood in a very smooth way before you apply the final coat for finishing. You must use an orbital sander and different types of sanding shapes along with the 220-grit sandpaper. This is because, the more smooth your finishing is, the longer your finishing will last. This will lead to relatively less friction in cleaning and much fewer places where the dirt is likely to get lodged and accumulate. You must go over your piece, along with the vacuum and the tack cloth before you continue further with your task.
There is one very important thing that must be kept in mind. Sanding sealer is not supposed to be used below the polyurethane finishing as it is not compatible. You must also remember not to use sanding sealer before polyurethane finish.
Benefits of furniture renovation
There are multiple advantages of renovating the furniture in your office. Let us have a look at some of these advantages and the impact it can have on the overall experience of the office.
The renovation of the office furniture allows you to evolve with the changing needs, requirements and dynamics of the modern business. It is quite possible that the old design and setup of the furniture in the office had become outdated and the current requirements needs a different design or setup. The renovation of the furniture allows you to adapt to the current requirements and offer a unique, personalized experience in the office.
The renovation also allows you to choose the exact type of materials, style and colors of the furniture that you need to reflect the theme as well as ethos of the organization or the company. For instance if you are conscious about the environment then you can choose eco-friendly materials for the renovation. In terms of the productivity of the operations in the office, the renovation allows you to tune or adjust the size of the furniture as per the working conditions of the office. These are some of the common benefits of renovating the furniture in your office.