How well do you know your furniture and how it works for your environment? Nurses’ stations, patient rooms, lounge areas, family centers, emergency departments, physician office, medical office buildings—What type of furniture is best for specialized care?

I’ve developed a quick check list to bring into your next design meeting to help streamline your process and get to the heart of the matter:

1. How do you need this space to function?
2. Who will be using the space and at what time will they be using it?
3. Is the space private or public? 24/7 use or low traffic?
4. Metal or laminate? Wood or Bamboo?
5. Are customs necessary? Built-ins or modular?
6. Will the space be re-arranged? If so, when and how frequently?
7. Are private or semi-private areas necessary?
8. Is the space for consulting with patients or family members?
9. Do you need to collaborate with technology?
10. Will there be presentations in the space?
11. What type of specialty lighting will you need?
12. Who are the end users and are there different shifts? If so, how many?
13. Do you need adjustable work surfaces?
14. What type of storage do you need?
15. What color or theme do you envision?

So often, projects take on a shape of their own, but managing the project with checks and balances helps keep it under control. I’m positive you have spreadsheets among spreadsheets to help organize your meetings. But I promise that if you take this list and add to it with some of the questions that often get forgotten, then this checklist will help you and your client to move in the right direction.

For more information, feel free to comment and ask us for support. We’ll help you or give you advice for your next design challenge.