Last updated: January 8th, 2026
Business owners and executives are often guilty of neglecting office design. We focus on sales, marketing, HR and technology, but we often forget that office layout has an indirect impact on all of these – because it affects employee well-being.
While tinkering with office layout ideas won’t save a poorly run company, a well-run company will benefit from upgrading its office aesthetic.
Modern office design also helps entice talent back into the office.
Expert Tip.
If hybrid work is incompatible with your company culture, an improved office layout could help accelerate your return-to-office plans.
1. The Cellular Office Space.
Heaven for introverts, the Cellular office layout places employees in small, private workstations.
This layout features:
- A cubicle office layout that promotes productivity.
- Individual spaces for employees to reduce interruptions.
- Task-focused spaces.
The cellular layout promotes individual work. It’s ideal for law firms, accounting practices and sales teams that want to boost individual employee performance by reducing distractions.
✔ Great for established professional services organisations.
✔ Provides privacy to sales teams.
✘ Poor choice for new startups.
(Related: Best Small Business Accounting Software).
2. The Newsroom.
The Newsroom layout is characterised by ample open space and free-floating desks. A polar opposite to the Cellular office, this open-plan layout allows employees easy access to all parts of the office environment.
This layout:
- Encourages communication between departments.
- Fosters collaboration and information sharing.
- Opens up floor space for people to move around the office.
Your company will benefit from a Newsroom office layout if you want to encourage spontaneous employee interaction.
We recommend implementing designated ‘quiet hours’ daily and adding private areas for concentrated individual work (see “the Library” below).
✔ Facilitates camaraderie and office friendships.
✔ Improves your organisation’s brand.
✘ Introverted team members struggle to be “always social”.
(Related: Best Ergonomic Chairs For Your Office).
3. The Library.
The Library layout uses sheltered cubes or privacy screens throughout the office to create breakout areas or offer spaces dedicated to quiet productivity.
This layout:
- Splits work groups into 1-5 person workstations.
- Encourages employees to work with uninterrupted focus.
- Balances private and public spaces for employees.
Employees are encouraged to work autonomously or sprint in small teams.
✔ Ideal for individual productivity sessions.
✔ Compliments the Library office area.
✘ Gets very expensive very quickly.
(Related: Best Standing Desks For Your Office).
4. The Co-Working Office Layout.
The Co-Working layout is our favourite. Like the Library, it’s an open, flexible space, usually with large windows and multiple zones.
It differs from the Library by adding more amenities, like:
- Kitchen area.
- Bar with beer and cider taps.
- Barista who serves on-demand coffee.
- Multiple soft areas with couches, armchairs or beanbags.
If you want your team to enjoy this type of environment, you’re better off renting a space in a real co-working space.
(Related: Best Coworking Spaces In Australia).
✔ Your employees will love the perks.
✔ Huge amount of flexibility.
✘ Expensive to self-manage.
5. The Innovation Lab.
The Innovation Lab places all team members in a relatively small, private space. The idea is to concentrate focus, brainstorm ideas and stir up – you guessed it – innovation.
This layout:
- Includes inspiration boards, idea banks, screens or projectors.
- Encourages robust discussion among employees.
- Promotes both creative and tech-supported thinking.
- Helps employees communicate, mindmap, and brainstorm strategies.
The Innovation Lab layout is ideal for companies that want their employees to work closely with one another in a collaborative environment.
✔ Perfect for young, innovative teams.
✔ Puts individual team members’ strengths and weaknesses under the microscope.
✘ Not conducive to individual work.
6. The Artist Loft.
The artist’s loft layout is the perfect option for creative agencies, architecture firms and small magazine publishers.
This layout:
- Leverages high-ceiling areas to create multiple floors.
- Features a mix of open-plan spaces and private rooms.
Companies that want to communicate their creative chops to clients and other stakeholders love this office layout.
✔ Screams “creativity” and “understated chic”
✔ Can be moulded to your organisation’s needs.
✘ You may need to buy and convert a terrace in Paddington.
(Related: Best Web Hosting Providers In Australia).
7. The Tech Zone.
The tech zone is an excellent layout for housing dozens of developers, journalists or financial analysts.
This layout:
The tech zone is perfect for established technology-centric businesses that require people to get down to business and ship code.
✔ Very cost-effective.
✔ Easy to design, build and maintain.
✘ The least inspiring office layout on this list.
3 Laws To Follow When Designing An Office Layout.
Break these rules at your own peril.
1. Assess Your People.
Start by doing a sober assessment of your people’s personalities:
- What is the ratio of extroverts to introverts? These groups have very different workplace needs, and your workplace design must satisfy their core needs while encouraging them to step outside of their comfort zone.
- Introverts, for example, will be happiest working in Cellular style offices without ever talking to anyone.
- If that’s your team, create a Cellular office space, but place all amenities, kitchen and toilets near a Co-Working style area, located at the opposite end of the floor. This will encourage movement and spontaneous interactions.
2. Don’t Overspend.
You may feel the pressure to have a funky office to keep up with that funded startup across the road. I get it.
But blowing money on Aeron chairs before you’ve nailed product-to-market fit is a classic mistake that has sunk many budding business owners.
Expert Tip.
If you’re in your first few years, stick to cheap and/or recycled office furniture. Spend all your money on product development and hiring people who don’t care about fancy office furniture.
3. Future-Proof.
Your office space must flex, expand (and possibly shrink) with your business.
Review your 5-10 year business roadmap and aim to create alignment between your office design plans and wider business goals.
When planning, you ask the following:
- Are we planning to make any new hires? In which teams? How many people?
- Will our remote working teams expand or decrease?
- What have our employees asked for?
Find The Right Office Layout For Your Organisation.
Your office layout is often part of your company’s employer brand. Getting it right requires balancing employee needs with business needs – both in the short and the medium term.
Early-stage startup employees pay the least attention to office layouts. They will (and should) work anywhere, any time. Scale-ups and established businesses, however, need to use office layout ideas like these to create welcoming work environments.
Steven
Cody says:
Hi,
Do you know 9am HOME standing desks?
I want to know how about their desk.
Steven McConnell says:
Hi Cody, I’ve never seen them before but I took a quick look for you and I’m 90% certain it’s another Jiecang desk. You can tell by the design of the feet and the lowest height (60cm). Desky, Omnidesk, Stand Desk are all pretty much the same.
Cody says:
Which one do you mean? Pesk or Robin series? I am interested in their Robin series, it looks unique and beautiful. I can’t find anyone like it in Desky.
Steven McConnell says:
I was talking about the Pesk Series. Robin series does look attractive and unusual, but I’m usually not a fan of tubular legs as they tend to be more prone to wobble. I can’t say whether this is the case in this instance, as I haven’t physically tested the desk myself. The 10 year warranty is reassuring, however. I wish they offered a risk-free trial to let you test out the legs!
Cody says:
Thank you very much, Steven; I will take your comments into consideration.
Erin says:
Do you know much about Kangadesks? There are Australian as well.
Steven McConnell says:
Hi Erin, its another Jiecang standing desk. Same as Desky, Omni, Stand Desk etc. The design of the feet and 60-125cm height range gives it away. The desk appears to currently be currently on sale for $299, which is an absolute steal and I’m wondering why they’re selling their stock at 1/3 of RRP. Regardless, even if they’re about to go bust, I’d still buy one at that price.
EDIT: Be careful. Fakespot showed these warnings while browsing their website: “Multiple eCommerce scam experiences detected, Poor customer service”
Suzy says:
Hi – given all the desks are so similar, is it possible to mix a desk from one brand with a drawer accessory from another? I don’t like the UpDown desk metal drawer (hangs very low so likely to impede leg space) but don’t mind the Desky one – can these be mixed and matched?
Thank you for the reviews! Super helpful.
Steven McConnell says:
Yes, it’s possible to play switcheroo. But you may want to consider that UpDown design is curved, so it will hurt less if you do jam your thighs into it. Desky’s meanwhile, is quite angular. Pro tip: you can also find a bunch of inexpensive slimline desk drawers on Amazon.
jason says:
I’ve spent far, far too much time agonising over which desk to get haha, definitely more than a week. Very happy that you’ve added the omni-desk to your catalogue. That was the one I was considering the most untill you came you with a review saying that it was more wobbly!
Anyways, do you have an opinion on the new updown desk KLIK Series? Its advertises to be significanlty ligher while having better (on paper) specs
Thanks!
Evelyn says:
Hi Steven, great blog post – thank you! I’m also wondering whether you have any opinion or insights on the new UpDown Desk KLIK series…they come at $100 more expensive (for the same size/table top) but seem to be ‘better’ according to the UpDown website.
Cheers!
Steven McConnell says:
Hi Evelyn, thanks! I will have a full review of the KLIK up around February 2025. It’s not necessarily a better standing desk – but it is lighter, less bulky and promises easier assembly.
Ben Clements says:
Hi. I’m interested to know more about whether I actually could fit the Desky cable management system in the Omnidesk? I’ve had a look at the omnidesks in person at the showroom and it looks like their cable management trays screw on (vs the clip in at the edges of the desk with the Desky tray). The desky system also has the power plugs that snap into place in the tray.
So I’m curious to know if you have you tried it, and if so how did you do it please? Or is your thinking that you’d just buy the power boards and plugs from Desky and rest them in the Omnidesk tray?
I’m stuck, because I prefer the Omnidesks but I really love the idea of a single power lead!
Thanks
Steven McConnell says:
I just had a new Omnidesk delivered to my house. Give me about two weeks to assemble it, test it out and report back.
Sunni says:
Thanks for your very helpful (and funny) review. I used the information to to buy a Desky standing desk in record time – no consumer agonising for weeks, as is my usual practice. It has a pneumatic up/down mechanism, so lets see how that goes.
Steven McConnell says:
Ha! You’re welcome, Sunni. Glad I helped you cut down on the agonising. The pneumatic mechanism is an interest choice – let me know what you think of it?
Amber says:
Hi Steven,
Really great and insightful review. It was refreshing to see something that wasn’t filled with ChatGPT affiliate link garbage!
I’m curious about your opinion on L-shaped standing desks? I know that Desky, UpDown and a few other retailers offer these types of desks and I would assume they are more strong and stable, but I’m not an expert and I can also imagine the opposite being true due to the irregular shape. I’ve been looking at these types of desks because I think their shape suits my space the best. Do you have any knowledge on this or do you only have experience with regular rectangular shaped desks?
Steven McConnell says:
Thanks, Amber. Did you know that I have a L-shaped standing desk review? Search for “arielle best corner standing desks” and you’ll find it.
Melissa says:
Hi Steven great article thank you!
I’ve spent way to much time on this, and I’m now leaning towards the Artiss thanks to your review.
I’m wondering if you have any insight into ergonomic chairs for the home office also?
Steven McConnell says:
Hi Melissa, thanks! The Artiss is a great budget pick. I’ve written numerous ergonomic chair reviews – Google “arielle best ergonomic office chairs” to find them 🙂
tania says:
hey are there any other manual desks apart from the ikea ones you don’t recommend, that you would recommend? I prefer the idea of not needing electricity to move between stand up and sit down but maybe that doesn’t really exist?
Steven McConnell says:
Hey Tania, all of the premium brands (UpDown, Desky, etc) offer a manual crank model. Definitely the way to go if you want to avoid electronics. But TBH I suggest you reconsider. Electronics are very reliable these days – and hand-cranking your standing desk is more annoying than you’d expect.
Adam says:
Hi, do you know much about the UpDown Klik vs Pro system?
Steven McConnell says:
The company has shipped their new Klik standing desk to me yesterday. Stay tuned!
Scott Long says:
You mention in your review of the Up Down Pro that you would get the cable holes and grommets done, but it looks like your (very pretty) Messmate desk doesn’t have them. Is your recommendation a hindsight reflection, or did you choose not to spoil the look of the desk with the grommets? Without the grommets can you can still run the cables behind the desk and into the cable management tray? Cheers!
Steven McConnell says:
Scott, I said in the review that grommets and holes are a great idea, not that I have them. They’re less important if your standing desk faces a wall. But if you have an open-plan style home office like mine, they’ll make your workspace look much cleaner. PS You can still run cables into the tray without the holes and grommets – the cables will simply run behind the desk.
Isaac Jenkinson says:
Hello,
Have you had a chance to try the new UpDown Lyft model? Curious about its stability vs the pro.
Steven McConnell says:
Isaac,
Not yet. On first glance, it looks like a budget alternative to the “big brothers”. It’s probably pretty good (UpDown has a reputation to maintain), but I’m of the opinion that buying cheap means you pay more in the long term. I’d save up another few hundred bucks and get the Pro. You can often get a melamine or bamboo-topped model on sale for around $900.
David says:
This is a great site and will help me decide on which desk to buy. Have you heard any good/bad reviews about the Blacklyte Atlas Lite or Ergo-Rise II from BDO furniture?
Steven McConnell says:
David, thanks for the kind words. Never heard of the Atlas Lite until you mentioned it. Looks like a decent gaming desk that borrows heavily from Secretlab Magnus – but why not just buy a real Magnus instead?
As for the Ergo-Rise – looks like a decent desk, but its height controller is outdated. The best standing desk brands have upgraded to OLED controllers.
Ben says:
Thank you for writing this review Steven; really helpful to break through the BS.
By any chance have you used or hold an opinion on Vertilift desks?
Steven McConnell says:
You’re welcome. God, I haven’t even heard of them – but thanks for the heads-up. There are too many standing desks on the Australian market. Obviously I haven’t used these in person, but I’m almost certain they’re yet another Jiecang variant (i.e., frames are identical to Desky). You can tell by the identical max and min heights, as well as the design of the foot.
Eloise says:
Hey Steven, I was recommended the Alwyn or Octavia (Living Fusion) 140cm sit and stand desks from Temple and Webster which don’t even get a mention in your review. Would you bother with any of their brands ? (I may have dodged a bullet by finding your review!)
Steven McConnell says:
Hi Louise, I haven’t had first-hand experience with the T&W standing desk (must add one to my list!).
However, I had a look through the specs for you.
It doesn’t look too bad, actually – considering the price. If you can’t stretch your budget to ~$950 for an entry-level UpDown or Desky, this could be a good option.
Jordan says:
Hi Steven, Thanks for the review! I am starting out with a home office set up and need a new chair and sit stand desk. I’m a student but I prefer to buy things I know will last, but I don’t have too much experience with sit stand desks. I initially thought to buy the Artiss but have considered buying the Acacia UpDown Pro+ so I know it lasts and I don’t have to buy another desk in a couple of years. Is it worth the price jump for me? Thanks!
Steven McConnell says:
Hi Jordan, the Artiss and the UpDown desks sell at two very different price points. If you have the budget, I suggest you stretch to the UpDown standing desk – you won’t regret it.
jason says:
I know you’ve disqualified the flexispot e7 pro so the e7 max plus would probably also be disqualified, but a quad motor 4 column desk frame at a prices competitive with UpDown desk is incredibly tempting. Plus 15 year warrenty (if the company lasts that long)
Have you had a chance to take a look? Its like half the price of the desky quad!
Steven McConnell says:
Hey Jason, great observation. I haven’t included quad standing desks here because they’ve traditionally attracted a niche consumer – someone who needs to place a tonne of gear on the desktop and doesn’t mind paying 2X the usual price. But Flexispot’s sharp pricing on their quad desk certainly changes things. I haven’t seen one in the wild yet – but the specs look promising.
Steven