Office desks have always been the same for countless decades. The desks, whether they be corner desks or rectangular desks are usually finished in a laminate or veneer wooden desktop. With the advancements in technology and having a multitouch table top computer as a desk was a thing that was only in science fiction films and novels however Samsung have created a table that does just that.
The Samsung SUR40 table that was unveiled during the last 2 CES conventions proves to be a product of the future. The table top features a massive 40 inch 1080p LCD screen that features full HD display and is protected by the world’s largest piece of Gorilla Glass that provides full protection for the computer that it houses. The desk runs Microsoft’s second generation platform that has been named the surface 2.0 and has PixelSense touch screen technology that will make Apples iPad look like a mere toy in comparison.
The SUR40 can be used as a desk that can easily fit an ergonomic office chair underneath or it can be mounted on the wall for use in presentations and boardroom meetings. The wall mountable function is a new feature as the table no longer uses cameras hidden under the table to recognise finger touches. Instead PixelSense allows 50 simultaneous touch points on the surface.
The computer itself is powered by an AMD-based Windows 7 technology that uses a Microsoft Surface 2 platform. The table itself does not come cheap. The price for the desktop only is $8,400 (£5401) or if you require the stand that will enable it to be used as a desk then that will set you back $9,049 (£5817.65) So not a desk for those looking for economy office furniture.

There aren’t that many people who get to work outside anymore, under the clouds. That is because many people opted for working at a computer desk or office desk rather than outside physical graft. There are issues with sitting for too long in an office chair that are becoming apparent in recent years, but ergonomic furniture seems to be saturated with ideas on how to overcome these problems. Fraunhofer researchers have created a prototype virtual sky that has the ability to imitate cloud movements to give the illusion of working outdoors
The prototype has been made using energy efficient LED lights, simulates the clouds moving across a blue sky and has the ability to change at a slow or rapid pace to imitate how sunlight will change the amount of light that comes from above. The idea of this is that it gives the office workers a pleasant feeling of working outside whilst sitting at their desks and office chairs, without feeling cold or the feeling of being in miserable weather.
The prototype that has been created has the ability to light up the ceiling with an intensity of more than 3,000 lumens per square foot (1 square metre) when at full power, which happens to be far greater than the 500-1,000 lumens needed to create a comfortable level of lighting for an office.
The virtual sky has already been tested on volunteers who found that they actually enjoyed working under this form of ceiling. They were tested over the course of three days, the first working under static lighting, the second under slow lighting fluctuations, and the third were rapid lighting fluctuations. After these three days, the volunteers were then allowed to choose which form of lighting they wanted to work under on the fourth day and a remarkable 8 out of 10 chose to work under rapid light fluctuations.
The lab where the volunteers were working was created by using 34,560 LED lights that covered an area of approximately 34 square metres. The virtual sky has already received interest from companies who would prefer to use this in conference rooms while sitting at their boardroom table.

Huge amounts of money are constantly being invested by furniture companies to try and come up with a chair that has an ergonomic design that not only does the job of making sure the user keeps a good posture, but also is aesthetically pleasing. Other countries around Europe do not seem as interested in the way a chair looks, as long as it performs well, however over here, in some cases, looks are everything. Designers Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby appear to have combined the two, to produce their latest invention, the Tip Ton chair.
On first glances, we see that this chair appears to be like most other plastic chairs around. However when looked at in more detail we can see that this chair has a forward tilting action that has only ever been used on mechanical chairs. This simple design allows the chair to tilt at an angle of 6.5 degrees which keeps the user’s spine straight and gives an overall better seated position. Not only this, the chair is designed to increase blood flow around the body which in time will help ailments such as back pain and other work related injuries caused by poor seated positions.
The chair’s design is incredibly simple. It is made using a single mould with no mechanical parts, which means that there are no joints in the chair which further supports the chairs strength leaving it virtually indestructible. Not only this, the chair is made from 100% recyclable products giving it an environmentally friendly quality as well.
This is the first time that a plastic chair has been made to be ergonomic and it is for this reason that the chair is an affordable solution to back care. The chair is also stackable giving it space saving properties, so there for can be used in schools and other public buildings.
This chair is very versatile and can be used as an office chair at an office desk or café chair at a café table. It can also be classed as education furniture as it meets with British Standards.

Office work can be stressful at the best of times. This can be your boss hounding you for work that you haven’t completed yet or clients chasing an important quote. It might be that just the monotony of the workplace and even that office screen that blocks your view of the window that’s giving you grief, or the fact that you’re sitting in an uncomfortable office chair with an office desk that is far too small for you and your work. In any case below are a few tips to try and release stress levels.

1. It may sound quite odd but the sound of running water has been proven to relieve stress. By just listening to it as background music it can evoke peaceful emotions. There are desktop water fountains that you can buy that can be placed on your desk. However this can cause a distraction to others so it may be worth getting permission before buying

2. Making sure you have a good posture at work can have a huge effect on your stress levels. By buying an ergonomic chair, will help you to alleviate back pain problems and help you to sit correctly at your desk.

3. Some people find that a stress ball really helps to relieve tension. This is an obvious one and unlike the water and aromatherapy tips, this can be allowed in a working environment as it does not distract others.

4. The position and tidiness of your desk can have a huge effect on the way that you work, and how you handle it. By keeping an organised desk, it will help you to find everything easier and a tidy space means a tidy mind

Steelcase have been a household name within the office furniture industry for decades. They have been producing well designed, bright and efficient office furniture for some time and have become the world’s largest manufacturer of office furniture. Their recent collaboration with IDEO has helped them to create their latest product, the Node chair.

IDEO are a design company that work with other companies in the commercial and private sectors to help them develop their ideas. Not only this but they also help new businesses realise potential problems and help them to overcome these. It is for this reason that a collaboration with Steelcase was not a surprise.

The Node chair has been designed with students in mind. As far as education furniture and education seating, this product is unique in a number of ways. The chair has a unique look and has a 360 degree rotating seat that helps students to collaborate and work together easier. This also helps any class set up as the chair, due to the rotating function can adapt to any desk configuration.

As well as this the chair also has a small tablet that can be used for both left handed or right handed people. The small adjustable table is also big enough for books, notepads and even a laptop depending on the user’s preference.

Another unique feature about the chair is that it has a storage compartment in the base. This space is large enough to store bags, books, papers and laptop cases so clutter around the classroom is kept to a minimum. Mounted on 5 castors for easiy mobility around the room, this chair has a plastic seat making it durable and tamperproof so even young children can use it. This chair also comes in a range of vibrant colours which is designed to suit any classrooms décor.

When you think about it, a coffee table can be and is used in almost all of life. OK maybe that is is a little over exaggeration, but what I mean by this is that whether you are sitting in a coffee shop, waiting in a reception or waiting room, or even sitting in your front room, there is probably a coffee table somewhere in sight. Used for purely for convenience, they are not a necessity but still, why do people sometimes spend a small fortune on them? The main answer to this is that they can add subtle character to the room.

Coffee tables aren’t like home office desks, office desks, café tables etc… they can come in all shapes and sizes from basic tables to the more ellaborate and there are some extraordinary designs that can be thought provoking or just aesthetically pleasing. The reason that office desks and dining tables differ is that you use them in a different way to a coffee table. You use a desk to work on, you use a dining table or café table to eat on, but with a coffee table you just put things on so therefore are not using it intensely which is why the design can take a more interesting shape. Below are some examples of coffee tables.

Designed by Kino Guerin, this table has taken its design from the sled and has been aptly named The Small Toboggan Table. Made entirely from wood, this table features Blood Wood and Amazaque veneers over laminated birch plywood to give the overall effect a stunning look.

This second table has been inspired by the atrocities that occurred from 2004 in the Abu Gharib prison. Designed by Mr Toledano, this coffee table has been made to shock an provoke your thoughts on the subject of the abuse that occurred in the prison.

A Isamu Noguchi designed coffee table that is simple in structure yet has a beautiful overall look. Topped in glass, this design has been replicated and looks great in all different commercial and domestic areas.

Noise is one of the biggest causes of work related stress, particularly in the office. There are a few different types of noises that occur, usually at the same time. Below are some examples of these:

• Steady noise – This type of sound is continuous and is background noise. This can be noise from an air conditioning unit or something similar, such as background chatter.
• Impact noise – These are short bursts of loud sounds. This can be from something such as a stapler or other forms of stationary to noises made by a computer.
• Intermittent – This type of sound is always irregular or sounds that come and go. Examples of these are phone rings, fax machines or printers.

Noise pollution in the office is on the increase. This trend is mainly due to the fact that more and more businesses are choosing to optimise space that they have available by having an open plan office. This is where instead of having individual offices with a few or individual office desks inside them, they are knocking down the partitions and making way for large bench systems or clusters of desks. Another reason why open plan offices seem like a more beneficial option is that it can increase productivity and communication among staff members. One way to help reduce noise pollution, apart from the traditional ways, is the introduction of active noise reduction.

You may have heard of this technology in head phones or otherwise called noise cancelling headphones, but now people are using this technology in the office. The idea is that the speakers replicate the sound of the office but invert it. The two waves (one being the original noise and the other being the inverted one) combine to form a new wave that is out of phase and there for you are not able to hear it. This technology is proving useful, particularly in board room or conference rooms when people who are seated around the boardroom table need to be heard and are free of distractions from outside the room. The speakers are placed in either the walls or the ceiling and can cover vast areas of the office and severely reduce the amount of noise that can be heard. As the rate of technology increases we may see this type of technology being used on a global scale.

When planning the layout for a new office or perhaps even refurbishing an old office, the last thing that people seem to think about are the office screens. Today offices tend to lean towards having an open plan office, where as some people feel that this is not the best solution for a productive office. In order to keep your staff productive and efficient, one of the most important things to do is to make sure that your staff are happy, so having said this, it is worth thinking about how you are going to separate your office and how you are going to make the best use of your office screens.

Desktop screens are a great way to divide your desks. They are low enough, that people can communicate if they wish or need to, but high enough that people’s privacy is maintained. As well as this you can use free standing screens to separate the office into sections. The reason for this is that you can place employees together to help them work as a team if they need to and also separate areas so there are fewer distractions.

You need to think about where your business is going to be in the next 5 years. Like most people, you are going to want your business to grow and change. Thinking about the type of office screen is important as you are, the same with office desks and workstations, likely to want to move them round to create different configurations. By buying freestanding screens instead of built in partitions, the cost of changing the office is reduced considerably.

Even though there is usually no acoustic treatment in office screens, they can still reduce noise in an office. Noise is one of the most distracting things in an office and can also lead to stress among some employees, which is worth thinking about. So to conclude next time you start planning your office, take the time to consider office screens and partitioning.

Time and time again I talk about ergonomics in these blogs and for good reason. The problem of back pain and chair related injuries is on the rise, but it may not be just the office world that needs to wake up and take note.

The average driver in America apparently spends 101 minutes driving a daily, with 50% of those claiming that they suffer from back pain. These startling figures have made Ford wake up and start thinking about how they can do their part in the fight for ergonomics and in particular ergonomic chairs. By basing the new design for their seats in the Ford Escape, on ergonomic office chairs, the team think that this is a positive step forward in the automotive industry.

“The office chair industry is one of the major industries we’re looking at in terms of construction, materials and durability,” spoke seat comfort engineer Mike Kolich. “If you look at the advancements in office chairs from the 1960s — when luxury meant big, puffy cushions — to where they are now, with thin, ergonomic chairs that still feel luxurious, it’s definitely a major change in the way seats are designed.”

Having said this, Ford hasn’t used the typical U shape that we most commonly use in office chairs, but have made the back support into a V shape. The reason for this is that Ford claim that this shape will help support a larger number of body sizes and with Ford’s new feature of “DNA seat” is tailored to conform to customers in multiple markets.

Mike Kolich also explained that it was once thought that Europeans preferred the ergonomics over comfort and the Americans preferred comfort. However recent research has discovered that actually the both groups of people are looking for the same characteristics and that is the reason for the new seat that claims that it is 10% lighter than its predecessor in the older Ford Escape models.

It is now surprise that this year the word on the street (the office furniture street) is space planning. Well maybe not just the office furniture world, but a lot of companies are looking in depth into space planning according to an Ethosource press release. The reason is obvious, that in this financial climate it’s time to start saving money and make the most of the space that they have.

It used to be that office space was driven by authority, with the higher powers having more space, the biggest executive desk and black leather chair, with executive storage to match, but now it’s all set to change with efficiency being the keyword, not authority.

Another reason for this change is that more and more people are finding that working from home in their home office is more beneficial, than working at a workstation in the office. They can save money on travel and can have the comfort of their own home. It is for this reason that careful planning must take place as the workstations that these “home-workers” may have had originally cannot just be taken away, as they may still need to return to the office from time to time.

Collaborating is essential to the modern office with more and more people not just needing to talk to each other, but to share screens and in some cases even desks from time to time. Modern office furniture has to change with this. More and more people are making use of bench systems, open plan offices and call centre configurations in their work place because they promote this.

It is for the reasons labelled above, that office design has become essential and more popular in the recent years. In order to maximise the space available office furniture dealers are required, more than ever, to create design plans that accommodate these needs. Office Reality and Online Reality are able to provide all of these services for free, so if you are looking to maximise space in your office and replace your large desks with aesthetically pleasing bench systems, then look no further.