There’s something wonderful about having your own physical premises for your businesses – and after all, for luxury brands, first impressions count, and a beautifully designed space that showcases your products or services in style can go a long way towards building trust and communicating that sense of exclusivity and prestige with which you wish your brand to be associated.
During the global Covid-19 pandemic, reports surfaced stating that more firms were heading online, as ongoing lockdowns and social distancing forced them to go all in on embracing the digital age – and, whilst operating solely via a virtual presence certainly comes with its benefits, the truth is that only one in ten small UK businesses went fully digital early last year, indicating that there’s still a lot of love for a brick-and-mortar approach and that, for many, maintaining a physical presence is worth it.
Of course, if you’re going to splurge on expensive premises for your business, you’ll want to make the most of them to show off your brand in the best possible light. In the luxury world, small details count, and everything from the location to your fixtures and fittings has the power to make or break your carefully crafted brand image.
Building your own business environment gives you more control over that sense of style and allows you to fully tailor it to suit – but how exactly can you go about this challenge? Here are some tips to help you create truly stand-out luxury commercial premises that will impress customers and business contacts and ensure you’re remembered for all the right reasons.
Choose a great location
Choosing a great location is generic advice often used to guide people on building any type of property. Nevertheless, one cannot understate the importance of location, especially when it comes to luxury property.
Building a fancy building in a rundown area will significantly undermine the image your company is trying to present, and failing to choose wisely could potentially see your business exposed to a greater risk of crime, which is something all business owners would rather avoid.
Much of creating a sense of luxury comes down not only to what you’ve built, but how the surrounding environment complements it – or, in some cases, doesn’t. Do you want ocean views or a sprawling metropolis outside? What do surveyors make of the environmental impact of the build? All of these can add a good dose of that all-important ‘wow factor’, and will impress visitors before they even make it to the front door.
There’s also the matters of footfall and the presence of your competitors to consider; your luxury premises should ideally be located in a thriving business hub rather than in the middle of nowhere. Finding a suitable plot of land for those purposes can be immensely challenging, but it’s one you should endeavour to rise to.
Secure a commercial warranty
Building luxury commercial premises can be expensive, but there’s no need to throw money away – and even if you have plenty to burn, securing all you need to bring your vision to life at the best possible price is something every business-savvy owner should strive for.
Warranties are no exceptions to this rule, and prices can range wildly between providers, with costs often mounting up here quite rapidly depending on a few different factors that may impact upon it.
These include:
The methods and materials used in construction – including whether or not sustainable choices have been made. If not, the cost of your warranty may be higher.
The level of experience amongst the professionals you hire for the job. Ideally, the contractors you select will be able to present portfolios of work that demonstrate the high standard to which they have completed previous projects so that you know they are up to the job. Otherwise, insurers may deem them a risk to the project, which may result in a spike in warranty prices.
An unclear plan – 0nce again, insurers deem it risky if a building project has any grey areas. Your luxury commercial building should be well-planned so that quality targets are more easily identified.
You can also work with a leading specialist broker to find the best prices for any building warranty you need, including the commercial kind. Buildsafe provides a great deal of building warranty information, but with over four decades of experience as a trusted broker, they can also assess your needs and quickly find you the most competitive quote on the market.
Hire an amazing architect
Some business owners skip over the input of an architect entirely when they’re building commercial premises – but this is a big mistake for luxury brands as presentation and design are the key to creating just the right image.
A top-tier architect will ensure that your building is not only exquisitely sophisticated from an aesthetic perspective, but also that it’s functional and practical. For instance, they’ll ensure each space in your building can comfortably accommodate your desired equipment, but do so in an aesthetically pleasing way.
Architects can be a steady, reassuring presence throughout the building process and will be with you from conception to completion, advising how to create a luxury space in the most pragmatic ways possible and taking the headache out of the process. They’ll also support the construction crews themselves and ensure they’re doing good work, as well as keeping to schedule. The stronger your partnership with the architect, the better.
Choose high-quality materials
People can easily tell when so-called luxury lacks substance. Even those not versed in top-tier commercial spaces can tell something is off if an important element has been overlooked, and that is the use of high-quality materials.
Elegant hardwood, slick marble, and even granite are all great options for a luxury space and are in alignment with the look and feel you’re hoping to create. And, as an added bonus, they each have a natural feel compared to cheaper options like plastic, plaster, or even just low quality wood that’s been salvaged from a scrapyard.
It’s usually up to the builders and contractors to tap into their supplier network and secure the best goods on your behalf – but as it’s your project, it can be a good idea to be more involved in this process to ensure you have the final say on any decisions that are made. Do some of your own research, and communicate with your builders. They may have excellent standing with some high-quality material suppliers, but others may have caught your attention for better stock, prices, or even greener business methods.
It’s important to be cautious here, too. After all, the more high-end materials you have on your construction site, the more likely the space could be targeted by thieves. Last year, two such criminals were caught and arrested on a construction site, but thieves are less likely to be deterred or caught if the site isn’t secure. Keep everything locked away when contractors are off site, and have a security camera and alarm installed to keep your investments safe.
Pay attention to the lighting
Lighting arrangements might not seem a priority when building luxury commercial premises, but they actually have the power to make or break the final result and thus, there is more at stake here than simply illuminating a space.
The decisions you make around lighting can dramatically affect the ambience and atmosphere of your company premises. On the one hand, it can can create a snug, tucked-away area to work in or make other hazardous work environments safer to operate in – but if your lighting is too harsh in areas where you wish to show off your products and services, then it can quickly detract from the luxurious feel you’ve worked so hard to create.
In essence, the ways in which you utilise lighting can accentuate or detract from just about every other interior design choices – so don’t be tempted to rush your decisions about it.
Lighting can be artful in its own right, too. For example, there are statement pieces in some luxury commercial environments designed to be features that draw the high and make an impression. Get creative with your own solutions, and the results could be something truly special.
