Author Archives: Bellia Office Furniture

Photo Credit: Halkin Mason. Interior Architect: Gensler Philadelphia

1 Water Street, Camden NJ 08102

American Water is the largest investor-owned water and wastewater utility company in the US, providing safe, clean, reliable water services to 14 million customers.

Experts in water quality, testing, compliance, and treatment, they develop and implement innovative solutions for communities throughout the United States. Committed to excellence in everything they do, American Water keeps their customers’ lives flowing, engaging with community partners and empowering their employees to make a difference in the communities where they live and work.

When American Water decided to move their 700 employees to the Camden Waterfront for their New Jersey Headquarters, they wanted to:

• Create a space that would represent their commitment to the community
• Publicize the importance in preserving the world’s greatest resource…water. 

The new five-story, 220,000 square foot, LEED Platinum building features a water reuse system,  four-story water walls, LED lighting and solar shades and 18 water-filling stations. It also contains social spaces, an employee cafeteria, outdoor spaces, conference rooms, and a fitness center. The office was designed to embrace employee collaboration, productivity, and the landscape of the community. This was achieved by embracing the breathtaking views of the Delaware River and the Philadelphia skyline by creating an office that is nearly transparent. With glass-enclosed offices, the new headquarters allow both employees and residents of Camden to view the Philadelphia cityscape. 

 

“The workforce is changing. Their needs are changing, and they want to have access to public transportation. They want to be in areas where they can work, play, and stay and we weren’t seeing that as much in the suburbs as we are here in Camden.”  – YIMI KIERMAN SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER, AMERICAN WATER

Click below to Tour American Water’s Space Virtually

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Bellia Office Furniture is pleased to announce that Maddie Carver has joined the company as the A&D Relationship Manager.

Bringing over 10 years of business experience to the position, Maddie is new to the Philadelphia area.  Maddie brings a broad range of experience to the position through living and working in New York City. She has worked at the Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library at Columbia University, New York University School of Law Student Bar Association and as the General Manager of Marina Rinaldi on Madison Avenue.  After her time spent in NYC, Maddie moved to Pittsburgh, where she worked as a Personal Assistant to busy executives and their families. Maddie is one of the founding members of Proactive Pittsburgh Women, a group committed to philanthropy, activism, Women’s advocacy, and social justice in the Pittsburgh area. She also served on their Executive Board. Maddie is a graduate of Marymount Manhattan College. She currently lives with her husband Ryan in Manayunk.

About 70 percent of US companies have adopted an open office. One of the biggest benefits of having an open office is that it maximizes space while keeping down costs. Keeping down costs is important, distractions could cause decreases in productivity. In order to eliminate distractions during the workday, check out these four tips.

1. Optimize your workspace.  Sometimes your open office can be plagued with disorganization and clutter causing frustration and decreases in productivity.  In order to eliminate distraction, many companies have incorporated designated quiet zones and use portable partitions and walls to create privacy.
2. Add plants and greenery to your workspace.  Adding plants and shrubs is an easy way to reduce noise levels in an open office.  Plants naturally absorb noise, which will reduce background noise and distractions.
3. Turn off email notifications.  Turning off notifications, whether they are from your phone or your laptop, can eliminate a major source of interruption throughout the workday.  If you can commit to checking your email or your phone, only once or twice an hour, your productivity will increase.
4. Noise canceling headphones.  If you want to shut out the world, noise-canceling headphones are the perfect solution. Noise canceling headphones not only send the message to your coworkers that you don’t want to be interrupted, they will also get rid of the background noise to help you stay focused.

If you are ready to increase productivity and reduce distractions in your workspace, let Bellia help.  We can offer creative solutions to help you achieve a productive, positive office environment. Give us a call today for a free 30-minute consultation!

Recently, Teresa Bellingar, Senior Corporate Ergonomist for Haworth, remarked that “people need to understand that static posture is bad. You shouldn’t stand all day. You shouldn’t sit all day. “ How can your employees promote back health in an office? What exactly is the “Office Ouch Factor?”

Employees often complain about lower back and neck pain. In fact, a recent study indicated that 55% of office workers suffer from neck pain.  As Haworth reported, there is an “ouch factor” in the office and it is mainly because of the many hours spent sitting. Recently, there have been numerous news stories calling sitting, the new smoking, that is how detrimental sitting for long periods of time can be to your health.  But standing all day isn’t the answer either. The bottom line is their needs to be a healthy combination of sitting, standing and movement throughout the course of a work day.

Here are a few ways to promote healthy back and neck health at your office:

Sit to stand desks

Studies have indicated that by 2022,  90 percent of offices will have adopted the sit-to-stand desk model.  With sit to stand desks, employees have the option to stand for a portion of their day, or sit when they need to as well.  Sit to stand desks bring a number of health benefits, but also have positive impacts on productivity and employee morale.

Using External Monitors, Keyboards, and Mice

As technology becomes smaller and more compact, your employees have a tendency to hunch over their devices.  Laptops, smartphones and tablets has worsened posture leading to neck and back pain. It is important to use external monitors, keyboard, and mice with laptops and tablets to minimize the effects of poor posture on neck and back health.

Ergonomically Designed furniture

Throughout the course of a workday, there are just times that being seated cannot be avoided. Office furniture should be from a reputable manufacturer and should promote back health through customized support with the flexibility to meet each employee’s needs.  

At Bellia, we have been leaders in the office design and furniture industry for over 40+ years.  We work with a large network of furniture manufacturers, so we can help you choose the furniture you need, that compliments your aesthetic, all while promoting back health.  Are you ready to make some changes? Give us a call today!

Because a majority of our employees will spend a large portion of their time working, the comfort and design of your office and the furniture that goes in the space is crucial to an employees overall engagement, happiness and productivity. Before purchasing furniture on your own, you will want to contact a professional. Not only will a professional answer these questions, but they will also consider other important factors that you might not think of.  Here are five questions to ask a professional furniture provider:

1. Can you work with my long-term goals?

When choosing a furniture provider, it is important that they want to support your long term goals and vision. Furniture is an investment in your future, it should be durable and last you for many years.  A furniture provider should understand that.

2. Can you help me to furnish a variety of spaces?

An experienced furniture provider can furnish any space and create drawings and plans to help you visualize the space.  A trained eye can help you optimize your space planning making sure that your brand, culture and style are consistent throughout the space.

3. Can you help me stay within my budget?

It is important to work with a furniture provider that takes your budget into consideration.  A professional knows where you can cut corners, and where you need to spend money. Remener, furniture is an investment in your future, so it is important to sometimes pay a little more on the front end. Furniture often comes with lifetime warranties and your professional furniture provider can offer insight and advice so that you get the best ROI.

4.  Will my furniture be delivered and installed on time?

When dealing with a professional furniture provider, they should handle everything during the delivery and installation phase.  They will handle all aspects so that your furniture will meet your timeframe and needs. Make sure that your professional provider is using certified installers who will install your furniture according to installation guidelines.

5.  Do you have project management services?

Project managers will help you communicate and assist you with the logistics, scheduling and all other aspects of your furniture purchase and installation,  They can work directly with everyone involved in your project and take the burden off of you. Instead of worrying about schedules, budgets and warranties, you can focus on continuing to run your business.

Are you ready to choose to invest in new office furniture?   With over 45 years in the furniture and design industry, the Bellia experts have the knowledge and resources to create a space that will help you reach your business goals.  Give us a call today to get started!

The reception area of a law firm is where your clients, prospective talent and opposing counsel will make their first impression. When they enter, will they get a professional, successful and positive feeling? As first impressions are very important, your reception area is a critical component to your success.

Design and Comfort
Many firms are bound by tradition and precedent, choosing to have a more traditional layout. Consider that often when people enter a law office, they may feel nervous, uncomfortable and anxious about their meetings. So creating a professional and comfortable environment using an upholstered sofa and chairs, beautiful art on the walls, and relaxing colors will make visitors feel at ease.

Sophisticated Branding
The reception area should also reflect your brand and the core values of your firm. Because it is the first area your visitors will see, it is important to include your firm’s colors, logo and installing televisions on the wall that can tell your firm’s story and relevant news. This can play a significant role in the overall message your visitors receive.

Easy to Navigate
It is important to consider the layout of your reception area, considering the flow of traffic. Reception areas are often areas of high traffic, visitors coming in and attorneys and staff moving in and out, the area should allow for ease of movement.

Bellia has extensive experience in rebranding and redesigning law firms. Take a look at one of the spaces we recently designed:

Anapol Weiss–When this firm moved to a new location in the heart of Logan Square, we worked closely with CBRE and NELSON to design a modern workspace that not only has integrated technology and increased efficiency but reflects the contemporary culture of the firm. 

Ready to make a change at your firm? Give us a call today!

(CAMDEN, NJ, February 21st) Bellia, a leading business interiors solution provider within the South Jersey and the Greater Philadelphia Area, is pleased to announce the official opening of its Camden office.  

Supporting Bellia’s growth strategy, the Camden office will cater to the continued expansion and revitalization of the city.  

Bellia’s mission is to increase the magnetism within the Tri-state area by creating modern, inspiring workspaces and the Camden expansion will support this mission. Bellia is thrilled to be involved in the transformation of the city of Camden by helping businesses achieve their goals through strategic office design solutions.

If you would like more information about this topic, please email Deanna Robinson at marketing@bellia.net.  

We are pleased to announce the promotion of Luciana DiMattia from Workplace Consultant to Director of Operations.

In this new role, Luciana will provide growth in operating profitability through management of people, develop processes to enhance the customer experience including client orders and supporting company policies and procedures to drive Bellia’s continued growth and success.

With over 20 years of experience, Luciana has worked in architectural firms in Brazil, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey.  Born and raised in Brazil, Luciana moved to the United States in 1999 to pursue her degree in architecture. She received her degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder and later received her Masters of Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania in 2005.  In 2006, she earned her LEED AP accreditation. She also has taught Interior Design studio courses at Thomas Jefferson University (formerly Philadelphia University). During her time at Thomas Jefferson University, she taught courses related to Energy Conservation and Environmental Sustainability and was a key participant in several projects in the US and abroad while pursuing her LEED certification.

When you are thinking about purchasing furniture for your medium to large size business, you may have considered buying used furniture.  Cost is usually a big factor when making the decision to buy used furniture, because everyone loves a good bargain. While buying used furniture appears to save you money in the short-term, there are some definite drawbacks.  Here are a few of the downsides to consider before you buy used office furniture.

No guarantees, service plan or warranties

When you buy a used car, you receive valuable information that is often easy to verify, like mileage, or whether or not the car has been in an accident.  It is easy to check these things out by doing a little research. When you buy used office furniture, you have to have full faith in what the seller is telling you about the furniture. The used chair that you purchased may have been rarely used, or it could have been used by 20 people. There is no way to tell and there are absolutely no guarantees.  When you purchase new furniture by a reputable furniture dealer, you will be offered a service plan and warranty on the product, the risk is very minimal, you know what you are getting and if the product isn’t what you expected, the manufacturer will make sure that you are satisfied.

Price savings at first, but future costs

Why by used? Because its cheaper, at least in the upfront costs. But as discussed above, you don’t always know what you are getting. Experts agree that when businesses by used furniture, most will have had to replace it within two years of the purchase.  This can be quite costly over the course of time. A high quality manufacturer will cost more initially, but most guarantee their product for at least decade, some even offering a lifetime guarantee. Try to keep in mind, up-front savings often lead to long term expense.

Aesthetics

When you purchase used furniture, you might be left to choose from whatever is out there resulting in a hodgepodge of mismatched furniture.  When quality manufacturers design furniture lines, they are designed to seamlessly work together and look aesthetically pleasing. If the look of your workspace is important to you, it may be difficult to create a space that you love and reflects your brand when you only have limited options from which to choose. When you buy used furniture can be updated, you are often left to purchase slightly dated styles that don’t entirely match the decor and style you want.

With over 45+ years of experience in the furniture and design industry, Bellia can help you find high quality furniture within your budget.  We work with a large network of furniture manufacturers, we stay on top of trends and are aware of the latest innovations, so as we are sourcing products for your space we are not just taking into account the overall design and aesthetics, but also your needs to help you achieve your business goals.  Give us a call today and let us help you love the space your in!

Because your reception area is the first point of contact clients and receives the most foot traffic from clients and employees alike, it is important that it’s design is welcoming, tells your story and immediately conveys who you are as a brand and a company.  A great place to start when creating a positive feeling for all who walk through your doors is through color.

When considering a shade of color for your reception area, it really is important to consider the way you want people to feel.  If it is welcoming and cheerful, a muted shade of orange, such as peach or another warm color is perfect. Yellows create a feeling of cheerfulness.  Calming colors are blues/greens. Here is a little bit more information about colors and the feelings they evoke:

Blue/Green

Because these colors are found in nature, blue and green hues have a calming effect. Not only do blues and green create a calmer atmosphere, but they also improve efficiency, focus and create a sense of wellbeing for employees.  Adding plants to your space is a great way to incorporate green into your space. Research has shown that there is a definitive link between the color green and increases in creativity.

Red/Orange

While most businesses are not going to choose to paint their entire office red (or orange), using these colors as accents can be highly impactful. Because these colors are active and intense, they increase energy.  It is important to use to use them sparingly, because too much of an intense color can create stress and aggression in employees. Experts suggest using splashes of these colors in areas where employees which are not primary work areas like kitchens, hallways and even bathrooms.

Yellow

Yellow has long been associated with optimism, happiness and cheerfulness.  But like red/orange, it is best to use yellow sparingly because of its intensity. Painting an entire room yellow can actually induce stress and agitation. By using yellow on accents walls or furniture, you can trigger innovation, creativity and energy in your employees.  Bold colors, such as yellow, are often good colors to include with other muted shades in your logo, because they tend to draw the eye towards them.

Neutral Colors

Neutral colors have their place alongside brighter colors, they will often compliment other colors in your design scheme.  Alone they are not particularly energizing or stimulating, but alongside bold colors they can create depth in your workplace design.

Ready to make a change to your reception area? Give Bellia a call today and let our experts help!