Waiting rooms are often the first interaction your brand has with its customers, clients, or patients, so making a favorable impression is key! Welcoming customers with a comfortable, convenient space sets the tone for a positive experience.

Updating furniture, along with approachable receptions desks, technological amenities such as wifi, a suitable color scheme and custom designed space, all play into creating a waiting room where people will actually enjoy waiting.

Follow these guidelines to create a truly exceptional waiting room!

Custom Design Your Waiting Room

Customize your waiting room design based on your type of business. A pediatrician’s office needs comfortable chairs for parents and crying babies, a play area for busy toddlers and book shelves for kids to entertain themselves. At a car dealership where people may wait for hours, create work stations where customers can use laptops to maximize their time away from the office. Free wifi is a staple for all businesses. Charging stations ensure devices won’t run out of power.

For potential clients you’re wooing, a waiting room is like a first impression. Comfort, style and décor need to reflect your business image. For a cutting edge advertising agency, modern furniture with vivid art work and impressive accessories will send a message before you even meet. An antiques dealer may design a space with vintage furniture, luxe colors and unique flourishes to showcase offerings and create an atmosphere that projects the right look.

Choose the Right Layout

How long will your guests be waiting? Will the room be crowded at peak times? Do customers enter and exit through the same doors? Avoid a traffic jam-type atmosphere by designing a layout that’s ergonomic and contains easily accessible amenities like seats with hideaway desktops. Welcoming reception desks can help calm frustrated or impatient customers.  Some businesses, like a car dealership, may want to offer a variety of spaces; one specially designed for parents with children, another for those needing to get some work done while their paperwork is being processed.

Choose Professional Furniture and Office Accessories

Comfy chairs and couches, impressive coffee tables, and well-placed lighting are the cornerstone of your waiting space! A shabby waiting room put together with mismatched furniture and garage sale leftovers makes a super bad impression.

Consider updating furniture at least every five years for style and comfort. Choose a reliable vendor that provides quality furniture, proven design expertise, and no-mess, no-fuss delivery.

Think Through Style and Color Scheme

Are you going for a calm and tranquil waiting room experience or do you prefer something more thought-provoking or exciting? Is your waiting room furniture modern, classic or antique? Choose colors and styles that mesh well with your overall waiting room theme. Soothing pastels or neutrals work well in doctors’ offices; dark, rich tones compliment leather seating for law offices; bold, vibrant colors make a statement. Design a space that impresses, comforts, or inspires your customers while they wait with the right color scheme and style!

Details Matter!

It’s the little touches and flourishes that complete a look. Details such as light switch covers, decorative tissue boxes, and inviting coffee stations all contribute to the overall vibe of your space. Mismatched throw rugs or random accent pieces don’t send a professional message. An exceptional waiting room that looks like a showroom specific to your industry will impress clients and customers!

Nolt’s design experts will help you create a fabulous waiting room your customers will want to wait in! Stop by our showroom today for a free consultation.