June 25, 2018

A Curated Approach to Ancillary Workplace Design

RH Contract’s Wyeth split bamboo conference table and Griffith leather desk chairs. Photography courtesy of RH Contract.

Designers have workplaces on their mind. Demand for spaces that enable a technology-driven workforce, collaborative projects and a range of working styles has exploded recently. In 2014, 77% of design firm projects focused on offices, according to Interior Design’s most recent Universe Study. That number jumped to 83% in 2017.

In May, an Interior Design roundtable with leading design firms, manufacturers, and end-users at WeWork Bryant Park provided further insight into the changing nature of the office environment. The theme was “ancillary is the new primary,” and participants offered their thoughts on why ancillary furnishings are now being treated as paramount. Everything from the maturing of the millennial workforce to the pervasiveness of smart devices to the growing popularity of design in the wider culture was posited as a reason for this paradigm shift.

The roundtable was held at WeWork Bryant Park and featured RH Contract’s Parsons reclaimed Russian oak rectangular table and Ellison track arm side chairs. Photography by Matthew Miller.

That roundtable was sponsored by RH Contract, a well-established player in the high-end hospitality and residential development sectors. RH Contract, a division of RH, recently moved into the commercial space in response to the growing need for companies to re-think their office environments. RH Contract leverages the brand’s powerful capabilities in product design, craftsmanship and curation to provide contract-quality, price-competitive ancillary solutions.

RH Contract’s Wren swivel lounge chairs and Lowe round side table sit in the foreground with two Madison sofas behind. A Verrazano coffee table sits in between the two sofas. Photography courtesy of RH Contract.

RH Contract’s thoughtfully curated collection of ancillary seating, tables, lighting, and outdoor products facilitate workplace flexibility and collaboration. The products reflect a unique combination of residential and hospitality scale, comfort, technology, and materials to support the new workplace design thinking and trends highlight during the roundtable. Many RH Contract collaborative chairs, sofas, and tables have been re-designed to accommodate increased power options, relating back to the ubiquitous presence of smart devices that designers pointed out at the roundtable. Taking a second to settle into a well-designed, comfortable chair or sofa to relax and charge one’s device is the perfect representation of what the contemporary personnel needs to maximize productivity and enjoy the spaces where they spend the majority of their time.

Two Milo Baughman Model #1283-113 swivel chairs in a blue upholstery accompany the Reclaimed Russian oak plank rectangular table in a reclaimed brown oak finish. Photography courtesy of RH Contract.

As the practices of the current working world continue to diverge from those that were in place even twenty years ago, designers will continue to search for the best options to accommodate the fluid yet demanding particulars of the contemporary workforce. With an extensive network of factories around the world and a global supply chain platform, RH Contract is poised to be a leading brand for designers looking to reimagine and elevate the workplace.

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