6 Office Furniture Trends to Watch in 2027

Office furniture trends to watch in 2027 include more quiet spaces, meeting rooms sized for smaller groups, warmer finishes, flexible team workstations, easier-to-adjust shared desks, and greater reuse of existing furniture. For businesses planning an office refresh, these trends offer practical ways to make better use of the space and furniture they already have.

Start with a walk through the office on a busy day. If people take calls in the hallway, two coworkers regularly book the largest conference room, or one team always runs out of desks, you already know where to focus.

In Gensler’s 2026 Global Workplace Survey, 40% of respondents said they hoped future workplaces would include quiet spaces where they could focus and recharge. That’s worth considering if calls, video meetings, and individual work all happen within earshot.

Look at where people go when they need privacy. If they routinely step into the hallway, a nearby booth could give them a dedicated place for short calls. When comparing models, check acoustic performance, ventilation, power, and accessibility. If movement around nearby desks is the main distraction, a workstation screen may be enough. Explore our office pods and privacy booths.

Unispace’s 2026 workplace trends report highlights a familiar problem: small meeting rooms are overbooked while larger rooms often have seats to spare. Before changing your floor plan, compare room bookings with typical attendance. If most meetings involve two to four people, a small room with a compact table and a shared screen can free up larger rooms for training and team meetings.

Choose the table with the room in mind. Mark out its footprint and check whether people can pull out chairs, move around the table, and see the screen comfortably. A table can fit on paper and still feel too large once people start using it. Browse Conklin’s office furniture product gallery.

Corgan’s workplace design team saw warmer palettes, tactile finishes, and natural materials across showrooms at NeoCon and Design Days 2026. Reception areas and staff lounges are good places to try this look because a few coordinated pieces can change how the room feels.

Try pairing a walnut-tone table with olive upholstery or a rust-colored guest chair with a neutral sofa. Repeat one finish in an adjacent room to connect the spaces. In high-use areas, check the upholstery’s cleaning instructions before deciding on a fabric. Browse our commercial lounge seating.

Gensler found that more than half of workers with unassigned seating would prefer an assigned seat. If your office uses shared desks, one way to give employees more predictability is to give each team a regular area with workstations and shared storage. Meeting rooms and project tables can still serve multiple departments.

Before changing the desk count, check which teams come in on the same days. Weekly averages can hide the fact that several departments are in together every Tuesday. Size each team area for those overlapping days and choose workstation configurations you can adapt as teams grow. Explore our modular workstations.

A shared desk works best when each person can get comfortable without spending the first few minutes figuring out the furniture. When comparing chairs, look at seat-height range, seat depth, and armrest adjustments. Then ask a few people to try the chair and see whether they can find and use the controls on their own. Browse our office chairs.

For a height-adjustable desk, test both seated and standing positions with the monitor and accessories in place. Check that power and monitor cables have enough slack to move through the full height range. A quick trial with people of different heights can reveal fit issues before you order for an entire floor. Explore our sit-stand desks.

The Furniture Practice identified durable materials and circular design as themes at NeoCon and Design Days 2026. For a facilities team, the practical first step is to inventory what’s already in the building. A structurally sound workstation with a worn surface may be a candidate for refinishing or remanufacturing. A table in good condition may be more useful in a different room.

Group your inventory by what you can reuse as-is, what you can update, and what needs replacing. Once you know where the gaps are, you can decide where Used furniture fits and where the project calls for new pieces. Learn about our eco-remanufacturing services.

Start with the problem employees encounter most often. If calls interrupt people at their desks, look at adding a booth or quiet room. If meeting rooms are always booked, check whether room sizes match the groups using them. If the layout works but the furniture looks worn, assess which pieces are good candidates for refinishing or remanufacturing.

Conklin Office Furniture can help you evaluate your current layout, identify furniture worth keeping, and plan updates around how your teams use the office. Explore our office space planning services.