Storage belongs to the topics planned at the very end and most often poorly estimated. In some offices, cabinets stand empty and take up valuable space, in others, documents and equipment lie on windowsills because there was not enough room. Both cases stem from the same cause: a lack of analysis of what actually needs to be stored.

Start with an inventory

Before you determine the number of cabinets, check what is realistically being stored. It usually turns out that paper documents take up much less space than assumed, while the needs related to equipment, marketing materials, samples, and employees' personal belongings are growing. These are completely different requirements and different furniture.

Three types of needs

• Personal storage: lockers for employees' belongings, particularly important with shared workstations.

• Team storage: materials used collectively, ideally close to the team's workspace.

• Archive: rarely used documents that do not need to take up the prime space.

Where to place cabinets

Items used daily should be within a few steps, while the archive can be located in a poorly lit or less accessible area. A common mistake is placing high cabinets along the windows, which deprives the entire space of light. It is better to use internal walls or areas near pathways for this purpose.

Storage furniture as a layout element

Low cabinets can play a dual role: storing items and simultaneously dividing the space into zones without building walls. Their top surface can serve as a place for short standing work or for putting things down. This solution is cheaper and more flexible than permanent built-ins, and easy to rearrange when the office layout changes.

Summary

Start by checking what and how often is stored, separate personal, team, and archival needs, and arrange cabinets according to the frequency of use. Use low furniture to divide the space, instead of treating storage as a separate element added at the end.