Small office fitout strategies for Sydney businesses

Sydney is home to the largest economy in Australia, generating upwards of $140 billion each year. To keep up, businesses in Sydney need to be agile, innovative and productive. However, with rising commercial rent prices, and an increasingly crowded cityscape, many businesses are fighting harder for smaller spaces. 

Whether you’re a Surry Hills startup, a consultancy in Chippendale, or a booming marketing business in Barangaroo, this article will walk you the key steps to follow to ensure your Sydney small office fitout makes the most of its existing floorplan. 

Let’s dive in.

1. Think vertical

If you’ve lived in a unit before, chances are you already know this rule. When your horizontal space is limited, make full use of your vertical space–this includes wall-mounted shelves, cabinetry and full-height shelving units so that no vertical space goes unutilised. This could also include hanging plants to ensure your storage space is all about the business.

As an added bonus, many of the heritage buildings in Sydney have beautiful high ceilings, which allow you to use this strategy to the utmost degree.

2. Single purpose is out

Anything that takes up space–desks, benches, chairs–look for furniture which contains storage space. You don’t want every wall to be adorned with a cabinet, that will make your already small space feel much more claustrophobic. Utilising furniture which serves multiple purposes will help you to keep your necessary space-consuming items to a minimum. 

3. Go glass

While every office will need meeting spaces and private rooms, you can make spaces feel larger by adding transparency and using glass doors, to visually expand your office’s footprint. Plus, as an added bonus, this helps your staff to know when meeting rooms are occupied. And it doesn’t look so bad, either.

4. Less is more

Minimalist design is your best friend in a small Sydney office fitout. While it can be tempting to add wall shelves, cabinets, and every other space-saving device under the sun, these come at a diminishing return and will eventually lead to clutter.  Avoid over-decorating and choose modular furniture that can adapt as your team grows or shifts between remote and in-office work.

Modular desks, foldable chairs, and mobile partitions let you reconfigure the space without a full renovation.

5. Smart staffing

While this isn’t strictly to do with your office space, you should consider looking at desks with hotdesk functionality, and introducing a hybrid work model for your staff. This will allow you to reduce the number of staff in the office at any one time, so that you don’t need so many desks and meeting rooms. 

6. Outsource to the pros (Yes, even for small fitouts)

Small doesn’t mean simple–in fact, it can often add complexities and necessitate creativity that bigger spaces don’t require. Not only that, but doing your own fitouts can come with risks, including neglecting WHS standards which can come with hefty fines and delays to your project. Equally, a residential builder mightn’t have the specialised skillset for your particular workspace, and they may not understand the latest evolutions in best practices for office fitouts.

Meanwhile, if you choose a fitout specialist in Sydney, with a proven track record, you’ll get someone well-versed in navigating tricky spaces and strict building regulations. In the long run, this could help you avoid costly mistakes and future-proof your layout.

Final Thoughts

A well-planned small office fitout can make your team feel more productive, inspired and proud of where they work. The quality of your office space not only plays into the output of your team, but can even affect how many days they need to take off sick, and whether they stay at your company. This also applies to prospective employees, helping to attract better talent and increase your odds of outcompeting peers in a competitive labour market.

In a city like Sydney where every square metre counts, smart design isn’t a luxury—it’s a necessity.

Need help transforming your small Sydney office? Here at ValUBuild, we bring decades of fitout experience to your small office space to ensure we make every square metre work its hardest. Contact us today to find out how we can help you.