7 Mistakes You’re Making with Office Furniture Specs

(and How to Fix Them)

Look, we’ve all been there. You finally get the budget approved for new office furniture, you’re excited to transform that dated workspace, and then… the chairs don’t fit through the door. Or half your team is hunched over like question marks because nobody thought about lumbar support. Or, my personal favorite, the furniture shows up three months late, right when you needed it yesterday.

After 25+ years helping businesses across Atlanta and Texas furnish their offices, we’ve seen every furniture spec disaster imaginable. The good news? Most of these mistakes are totally fixable (and preventable). Let’s dive into the seven biggest blunders we see, and how to dodge them like a pro.

Mistake #1: Treating Ergonomics Like an Afterthought

Here’s a fun fact that’s not actually fun: poor ergonomics cost U.S. businesses over $50 billion annually in workers’ comp claims. That Herman Miller Aeron might look like overkill in the budget meeting, but you know what’s more expensive? Replacing an entire marketing team because everyone’s back gave out.

The Fix: Make ergonomic office chairs non-negotiable. We’re talking adjustable seat height, proper lumbar support, armrests that actually adjust, and seats deep enough that your employees aren’t perching like anxious parakeets. And desks? They need to accommodate sit-stand options or at least provide enough surface area for monitors at proper eye level.

At Solaris, we help clients spec furniture that their employees will actually want to use for eight hours straight. Because let’s be honest, if Sharon from accounting is wincing every time she sits down, she’s not exactly crushing those quarterly reports.

Mistake #2: Forgetting to Measure… Everything

You’d think this one would be obvious, but here we are. We’ve watched businesses order $50,000 worth of modular office furniture only to discover their freight elevator maxes out at 36 inches wide. Spoiler alert: that conference table is 48 inches.

The Fix: Measure twice, order once. And we’re not just talking about floor space. You need:

• Door widths (including the building entrance, elevator, and office doors)
• Ceiling heights (especially for high-panel cubicles)
• Electrical outlet locations
• Window placements
• Column positions
• Even the turning radius in your hallways

This is where working with a pro makes life easier. Our team at Solaris does full site assessments before we spec a single chair. We’ve navigated enough tight Texas office buildings to know that “it’ll fit” and “it actually fits” are two very different things.

Mistake #3: Ignoring Lead Times (Then Panicking)

“We need 40 workstations by next Monday.”

“Sir, this is February 2026, not 2019. Supply chains are still weird.”

Commercial office furniture isn’t sitting in a warehouse waiting for your impulse purchase. Custom fabrics? Add 8-12 weeks. Specific finishes? Another 6-8 weeks. Oh, and if there’s a labor strike in Malaysia where your chair mechanisms are made, well… grab a folding chair and get comfortable.

The Fix: Plan ahead, like, way ahead. When you’re budgeting for office furniture, work backward from your move-in date and add a buffer. A good rule of thumb: 12-16 weeks for standard orders, 20+ weeks for anything custom.

And this is where our turnkey service saves the day. We track your order from factory to installation, flag delays before they become disasters, and have backup options ready when Plan A hits a snag.

Mistake #4: Choosing Style Over Substance

Pinterest makes everything look amazing. That trendy café-style seating with the velvet poufs? Super cute. Also super impractical when your CFO needs to review spreadsheets for four hours and her laptop keeps sliding off the marble side table.

The Fix: Function first, aesthetics second. (Okay, fine: they can tie for first, but functionality gets the tiebreaker vote.)

Ask the hard questions: Will people actually work here, or just Instagram it? Does that open-concept bench seating look collaborative, or will it just create a noise nightmare? Is that glass desk easy to clean, or will it show every fingerprint from here to Houston?

Your office design should reflect your brand, absolutely. But it also needs to support how your team actually works. We help clients find that sweet spot where form meets function: furniture that looks sharp and helps people get stuff done.

Mistake #5: Forgetting About Power and Data Access

Nothing says “we didn’t think this through” quite like watching employees crawl under desks to plug in their laptops. Or daisy-chaining power strips until your office looks like a fire marshal’s nightmare.

The Fix: Plan your office layout with power and data access in mind from day one. Where are your floor boxes? Do you need power poles for center desks? Are there enough outlets, or do you need to add them before furniture arrives?

Modern modular office furniture often includes integrated power and data management. Those sleek desks with built-in charging ports and cable trays? Not just fancy: actually useful. We spec furniture that works with your building’s infrastructure, not against it.

Mistake #6: Buying for Right Now, Not Two Years from Now

Let’s say you furnish for 30 employees. Great! Except your business plan shows you’ll have 50 employees in 18 months. Now you’re either cramming people into spaces designed for fewer bodies, or you’re buying furniture again (and trying to match the old stuff that’s already discontinued).

The Fix: Think modular and scalable. Modular office furniture is your best friend because it grows with you. Need another workstation? Add a panel and a desk surface. Expanding a team? Reconfigure without buying everything new.

When we design office layouts, we always ask about growth plans. Where will you add seats? How flexible does this space need to be? Can panels be repositioned without calling in a construction crew?

This forward-thinking approach saves businesses thousands in re-furniture costs. Plus, when you work with Solaris, we keep your specs on file: so when you do need to add stations, we match everything perfectly.

Mistake #7: Going Solo Instead of Using a Professional Partner

Here’s the thing: you’re great at running your business. You might not be great at deciphering furniture spec sheets, coordinating deliveries across three buildings, or managing professional installation teams.

The Fix: Partner with someone who does this every single day. (Hint: that’s us.)

At Solaris Commercial Accessories, we’ve spent over 25 years turning office furniture chaos into streamlined projects. Our turnkey service means we handle everything:

• Space planning and office layout design
• Furniture selection and specification
• Project management and timeline coordination
• Professional installation with zero disruption to your business
• Post-installation support because we’re not just going to ghost you

We work with businesses across Atlanta and Texas who need someone to sweat the details so they don’t have to. From your first consultation to the day your team sits down in those perfectly spec’d ergonomic office chairs, we’re managing every single piece.

The Bottom Line

Office furniture specs aren’t glamorous. Nobody gets excited about seat depth measurements or lead time projections. But getting them right makes the difference between an office that works and one that… doesn’t.

The mistakes we’ve covered here are totally avoidable. You just need a partner who knows what questions to ask, what details matter, and how to execute without drama.

Ready to furnish (or refurnish) your office without the headaches? Let’s talk. We’ll walk you through the process, handle the complicated parts, and make sure your next furniture project is the one you actually want to brag about.

Because after 25+ years in this business, we’ve learned one thing: good office furniture specs might not be sexy, but they sure make life easier.