Office Nomads: right-sized

Headline snapshots from a quick search on coworking

It only takes a quick search to find news of coworking spaces expanding at an incredible rate. They're adding specialty services, gobbling up square footage at an alarming rate, and shouting to the rooftops about it. It's seriously hard to miss.

In the fall of last year, Office Nomads decided it was time for us to do some growing too. But instead of growing in size, we opted to grow in our ability to connect. And we just learned a great way to explain exactly what it was that we did – Office Nomads right-sized.

Now with more “aaaah”

We up and did the opposite of most coworking spaces out there – we made ourselves smaller. After six years of being spread out across two floors of our building, we made the decision to shrink our square footage in order to bring our members closer together.

And after nearly six months in our "new" space, we can say with confidence: we're so glad we did it. But don't take our word for it, take the word of our members instead:

When asked what the most noticeable change was after the move, member Bobby said "I get to see everyone! It feels like we're all able to be better connected now that we're all on the same floor."

Josh echos this sentiment with a twist – after joining as a member briefly several years ago, he came back after the move. "One of the reasons I didn't last as a member [before] was that I felt the vibe was pretty quiet and I was looking for something with more buzz/energy. I like it way more this time around; it's more in line with what I was looking for."

Working better, together.

That buzz and energy was mentioned by several other members when we asked. Katherine told us "the most noticeable change is that it's more cozy and lively." Fellow member James concurred: "It's more active and busy!"

When we right-sized, we took the opportunity to completely re-arrange our second floor space with the help of rockstar member and designer Katie Davis-Sayles (and of course the input of all our members along the way). We didn't want the process of shrinking our space to feel anything like a retreat to the way we were – it was an intentional step to create a new space for our members to better connect with each other.

"The new layout makes the place feel well sectioned out yet everyone is still close in proximity," Katherine tells us. "Simple designs that I noticed such as the free-standing cubes used to divide desks with plants placed strategically as decorative barriers makes every seat feel like one's own without cubicle walls all over the place. Overall the second floor feels more spacious than it really is!"

One of the small teams at Office Nomads cozied up in the new space.

The new design was specifically made to help our members remain focused and productive but to have even more opportunity to connect with one another. "I see more conversations and connections happening, while at the same time I can still put on my headphones and focus on work when necessary" says Bobby.

"It allows for the perfect blend of getting things done and socializing. I love that there are different sections, each with their own vibe," says Josh. "The community table near the front was a really great idea – I always feel like I want to be spending more time there!"

The community table is the central gathering area in the newly arranged space.

We want to be spending more time here, too. And if it's been a while since you've been in, we hope you'll come on by. It's better than ever up here and we'd be so glad to catch up and hear how you've been doing.