A 5.3m² sample cupboard, refurbished into a one-to-one meeting room to improve the workplace experience. Here’s how we reworked this small, under-utilised space to create a people-focused environment centred on privacy, employee comfort and progressive conversations.
The Brief
Not every conversation is suited to the conventional meeting room, particularly one-to-one discussions. Often, these require a less formal setting. Having identified a friction point between the types of meetings and the space available, we looked at the existing office plan to understand how we could maximise the layout. The external finish needed to be consistent with the wider office, but internally the room had to feel different – less corporate, more informal – reflecting its specific use for more intimate, one-to-one conversations.
We didn’t expect to find the answer in an underused samples cupboard. Tucked away and largely redundant, it offered the potential to create a new environment with a huge impact on our people.
The Solution
With a limited footprint, every interior decision had to impact how the room supported the team. We approached it as an opportunity to maximise the investment of an existing asset, ensuring the room delivered more value from the same square footage.
Re-Optimising Space
This small office fit out goes on record as one of the most compact spaces we’ve worked on. We re-evaluated its use to better support the team’s performance, creating an impact that far exceeds what the footprint suggests. This was achieved by closely understanding what employees needed from a space like this, alongside the constraints of the existing layout.
From this, we plotted a plan for how the room should function and considered interior design features that kept the small room spacious.
Creating Confidentiality
As a private meeting room, acoustic performance was critical to how effectively the room could be used by employees. Sound leakage or external distractions directly impact how people feel, how clearly they communicate and the quality of the interaction itself. To address this, we assessed the acoustic solutions.
We built partitions and introduced a layered acoustic approach throughout, including hidden polypads above the drop ceiling. Acoustic ceiling tiles were then integrated for targeted sound control – they have a decorative design that shifts the space from a corporate meeting room to a softer environment. By absorbing excess noise, they improve speech clarity to reduce the risk of inefficiency from miscommunication.
Decorative timber acoustic panels were added to further soften the room visually whilst improving sound absorption. Thick carpet tiles and upholstered finishes further reduce reverberation, helping eliminate echo and create a more controlled environment.
The Human Experience
Alongside performance requirements, we focused on how the space feels to use. Soft, decorative lighting was introduced to create an ambient and relaxed tone. With no overhead lighting, dimmable lamps give employees control over the environment, allowing them to adjust it to suit their individual comfort.
Furniture also plays an important role. A sofa and armchair replace traditional meeting chairs, introducing lower seating, softer surfaces and a more relaxed posture. This subtle shift naturally encourages a less formal and more open style of conversation that’s suitable for HR and internal discussions.
Nature-driven design is woven throughout the space. Earthy shades, such as terracotta and greige, bring warmth to move the room away from the corporate aesthetic towards something more grounded. Planting is introduced to soften edges and improve wellbeing through a strong connection with nature. Together, these elements create an emotive workplace that improves how the team feel in the space and, in turn, how effectively they communicate within it.
If your workplace has underused space, it may be doing far less than it could. Explore how we help businesses unlock more from the space they already have – get in touch.
