If you are a start-up company, chances are, you are operating on a very tight budget. However, this does not necessarily have to be a disadvantage. Being thrifty pays off.
What is important is that you take the time to stop and think before you start. Make sure you invest in the design of your business premises before you go ahead and spend valuable resources on an expensive fit-out.
Where budgets are lean, getting your priorities right is key. Focus on aspects of your premises that will create a positive experience for your customers.
Also, try and think creatively about fittings and materials that you might be able to procure at a low cost, or even for free. For example, using items that are designed to be disposable will help to keep the costs down. Items such as: paper cups.
In this coffee shop in Brisbane, they are used not just as receptacles for hot drinks but also to create the furniture.
Scrumptious Reads Cafe, Brisbane, by Atelier Chen Hung
And just look at those light fittings!
Scrumptious Reads Cafe, Brisbane, by Atelier Chen Hung
You might even be able to use industrial by-products in your interior. This John Lewis shop display uses cardboard tubing of different sizes to form an enclosure. The clothes inside it are displayed in a very traditional fashion on mannequins.
John Lewis Installation, London, by Grimshaw Architects
This particular example is all about the detail: The different apertures of the cardboard tubes are chosen to give enticing glimpses of the display inside and create a beautiful pattern. The majority of the resources have gone into a designing and producing a crisp looking, robust suspension system.
John Lewis Installation, London, by Grimshaw Architects
In some ways, you are designing a stage set, and creating the illusion of solidity can be as good as putting up plaster board partitions.
In this restaurant in Barcelona, old looms are strung with coloured threads to line the interior. The looms are back-lit, creating a warm and inviting interior and saving on light fittings in the process.
Pakta Restaurant, Barcelona, by El Equipo Creativo
There is no reason why innovative, highly effective interiors cannot be created on a limited budget. Get out there and get creative!