Office furniture is an essential requirement in running a business from premises. It really doesn’t matter if you have one or two members of staff or 40 – they will need somewhere to sit, somewhere to work from, such as a desk, and somewhere to keep any items they may need.

This office equipment is an asset to your business – a long-term investment that will depreciate over the ensuing years. The rate at which it depreciates varies greatly, some equipment is built to last longer than others and in some cases . . . well, it simply works out that way!

What is office furniture depreciation?

Everything depreciates and at some point will need replacing. An office chair and a desk reach a stage where they are not fit for purpose and offices come to the stage where they need the benefit of renovation or a refit.

Factoring in a depreciation schedule will allow you to keep track of costs and the profitability of your business year-on-year. Estimate how long your office equipment will last and its likely rate of decline and record the information, remembering to keep it regularly updated.

Some of the UK manufactured furniture ranges we supply, and have supplied over the years, we still see in use, in the correct environment, 20 to 30 years after it was purchased but some products only have a 12-month warranty from new.

Depending on your need or budget tends to dictate how long it lasts. Much of the preloved furniture we sell is between two and 15 years years old so depending on its age depends on its longevity.

Can you claim office furniture on tax?

Depreciation will lower your profit margins but may bring the advantage of reducing your tax bill. Consumables such as your stationery may be deducted from your tax bill – but only during the year in which you bought them and it’s worth remembering that for most companies only fixed assets can be depreciated.

It’s also worth repeating the news we brought you earlier this year concerning the tax changes unveiled by the Government to encourage spending. The introduction of a super-deduction now means benefits and savings for businesses in respect of qualifying “plant and machinery investments” – a category which includes desks and chairs bought for offices.

The changes mean limited companies can claim 130% super-deduction capital allowance on office furniture bought between April 1st this year and March 31st 2023 – effectively reducing their tax bill by 24.7% of the amount they have invested in furniture and other qualifying assets.

Office furniture requirements

Chrisbeon is ready, willing and able to help you meet your office furniture requirements. We are happy to talk through your needs over the phone or would be delighted to welcome you to our Stafford Park showroom – or come and visit you to discuss requirements if it is a large project.

Our expertise has been accumulated over nearly 50 years of serving businesses across the country and we would love to share those benefits with you!

The path to choosing the right furniture for colleges and universities can be a bit of a, well, education! It’s not simply a case of stocking up on equipment – you need to consider available space, colour schemes and the different types of areas you are furnishing.

You also need to take into account the age group you are catering for. Colours and styles of furniture appropriate to a primary school setting aren’t going to cut it when it comes to fitting out higher education facilities.

Chrisbeon has established a great reputation as an elite office furniture and stationery supplier over many years, but we are also heavily involved in the world of education and are ideally situated to meet the demands in this sector – from nursery age through to colleges and universities.

Today we are focusing on higher education, the colours and trends which are popular with students to the point where it can play a major role in attracting them to a certain college or university.

Moving with the times

The pandemic has changed the way we all live, work and learn and schools, colleges and universities have had to adapt their thinking in order to keep students in the classroom.

Safety remains a top priority, dovetailing with comfort and the visual and physical experiences which are so integral to our seats of learning, areas including classrooms, dining areas, refectories and canteens and cafeterias, dormitories, common spaces and libraries.

Fire safety is also an important consideration and fire retardancy is very high on the list of priorities for today’s schools, colleges and universities – probably to an even greater extent than most normal office environments. There is a particular focus on seating and notice boards and we are only too happy to advise and supply the most suitable products to meet those needs.

It’s important to note that not every supplier is able to meet these higher standards of fire retardancy in educational settings and it’s always worth talking things through with us before pressing ahead and making that purchase.

Cleaning is another major consideration, making the choice of fabrics for furniture extremely important. The go-to options need to be easily cleanable fabrics like faux leathers and other bleach cleanable and antimicrobial fabrics. In junior and special needs schools, urine-proof fabrics are also a desired choice.

Smart Fabrics are very popular right now – fabrics that are treated with nanotechnology-based protection offering an invisible barrier which kills viruses and bacteria on contact. Here again, we can help and advise you on the best choices to meet your requirements.

Furniture for college and university classrooms

We supply all types of chairs, desks, tables, storage units, trays and lockers, across a range of designs and colours. Learning area trends now focus on easily moveable furniture where space can be maintained between students. There is a tendency in some establishments to avoid circular desk arrangements and space dividers are being continued in some areas.

Dining areas

Some colleges and universities have adopted a policy of pop-up locations where food is available throughout buildings to avoid pinch-points of too many students gathering in one place at any one time.

Hygiene is particularly paramount here which means tables, chairs and other surfaces again need to be easy to clean and maintain, while the flexibility of being able to have movable furniture remains a distinct advantage.

Libraries and quiet areas

Furniture requirements for these areas are different, places where soft furnishings like sofas are needed. But they should be hard-wearing and you need to ensure that specific furniture is fit for purpose and of a higher quality if heavily used.

A small sofa in a university library will potentially be sat on by hundreds of students each week and therefore gets much more wear than a sofa in a child’s bedroom.

Colourful options

Choosing the right colour scheme to go with each of the separate areas within the higher education setting is extremely important.

Colour is a great addition to liven-up spaces with shades of purple, green and blue viewed as calming – more in keeping with the quiet and residential areas of these establishments, while yellow, red and orange create a feeling of energy.

It’s also worth remembering that too much brightness can be a distraction, so the colour you choose must fit in with the surroundings, colours and branding of the college or university. Many educational settings also use murals, words and mottos in artistic form to convey messages which are instructive, motivational and inspirational.

Whatever the furniture requirements are in your educational setting, Chrisbeon can help. Give us a call on 01952 292606 or call in and see us at our showroom on Stafford Park, Telford.

Different businesses across different industries have very different needs but there is something which ties them all together. Their reception areas and waiting rooms are often the first point of contact with clients and customers and need to create the right impression.

We are all aware of just how important it is to have the right team members manning reception areas but it’s equally vital to have the correct environment in which to convey the image and message you want at this most impressionable stage of what you hope will be the start of a mutually beneficial relationship.

Meeting the need

Our team at Chrisbeon is always ready, willing and able to meet the requirements of our clients – whatever those challenges may be. Our advice, services and expertise have been sought throughout a range of professions and our satisfied client base has included:

The right solution

The look of reception areas and waiting rooms vary from informal to very formal depending on the business. Some of these environments need to cater for a large turnover of people and the focus is more on having sufficient seating available, which can range from simple chairs to soft furnishings, or a combination of both.

Furniture for these areas needs to be hard-wearing and easy to clean.

The nature of some professions requires an area more conducive to privacy where intimate surroundings are essential to conducting their business. A higher standard of finish, look and style of furnishings such as chairs, desks, tables, cabinets and lighting are often the preferred option in such circumstances.

Your reception area and waiting rooms are important places where visitors can gather their thoughts, get a feel for what your company is all about and provide the opportunity to complete any documents and forms in the right surroundings.

You may also want to have refreshments available and provide wi-fi for people to use while they wait. Your furniture needs to be comfortable, aesthetically acceptable and durable. Whatever your needs, we can help – because we know how to help you come up with the right solution.

The workplace environment has changed significantly from the times when uniformity was the order of the day. Staff generally dressed alike and office surroundings looked largely the same from room to room – but that now isn’t the case.

Health and Wellbeing

Employers are paying more attention to staff health and wellbeing and companies are actively encouraging a level of individuality within the team structure. It’s a great way of aiding wellbeing and has the knock-on effect of helping productivity. One way of achieving this is to allow employees to personalise their workspace by:

Companies too can play a major role when it comes to how they lay out offices – which is where our team at Chrisbeon can help. We have vast experience in planning office spaces of all shapes and sizes, so why not take full advantage of our expertise and the very latest technology in the form of our Computer-Aided Design service.

A 3D wonder

CAD is a modern wonder in planning, giving a detailed 3D insight into how your office environment will look – meaning you can iron out any problems in the planning stage before pressing ahead with the refurbishment or installation.

You will also need to consider Display Screen Assessments (DSE), a risk assessment that looks at the health risks of working with display screen equipment such as PCs, laptops, tablets and smartphones. It’s a legal requirement which applies to workers who use DSE daily, for an hour or more at a time and is another area our team here at Chrisbeon can help with as we have a qualified DSE assessor on staff.

Office space can also be personalised in the areas of:

Lighting the way

Depending on the location of a workstation you will need to think about the employee having enough light to work by, with natural light, desk lamps and LED lighting all factored into the equation. There is also a potential problem with too much light becoming at best a distraction and at worse impossible conditions to work in.

You will need to think about the types of blinds best suited to employee needs and your CAD planning again plays a role in deciding where to position workstations within the office for optimum efficiency.

Going for the right equipment

Office desks and chairs need to be personalised to the requirements of the employee. This may include the use of standing desks which can be height adjusted for the individual and sitting desks which help aid good posture.

Chairs are also an important consideration in terms of comfort, practicality and being functional. Office staff probably spend the vast majority of their working day sitting down so need to be able to do that without potentially putting their health at risk.

We stock a wide range of desks and chairs, including ergonomic chairs, which are designed to benefit your employees and minimise the chances of them having to take time off through preventable health problems.

Sounding out the options

The final thing we will look at is the effects of sound on the workplace. Some areas of the office may be too noisy for employees to work effectively while others may be extremely quiet.

Excessive noise affects the ability to interact with colleagues, take phone calls or those live Zoom meetings. Concentration can be easily affected; noise causes unnecessary distraction and mistakes can be made as a result.

Your choice of furniture and where it is placed can help absorb sound and make life a little easier for staff. Upholstered chairs and sofas produce the best results in quietening things down and placing furniture against walls between offices reduces noise levels.

The use of carpets, couches and plants also have the desired effect of reducing sound levels and another good option is the partitioning of areas of the office – particularly between individual staff members.

If you are looking to personalise your offices for employees do get in touch with us about the sorts of ideas and plans that would work for your site – or your employees at home.

We are all looking for ways to save money while maintaining standards – which is why our preloved furniture department attracts so much interest and is as popular as ever.

A cost-effective mindset is equally important for businesses and individuals, particularly in today’s world of spiralling prices, which is why it makes perfect sense to shop around for the best products available at a cost which won’t break your bank.

A great option

Our preloved furniture range is one of the ways we have been able to help people meet their requirements for many years and continues to be extremely popular and beneficial to customers.

It essentially means obtaining quality furniture at affordable prices without the need to splash out on new products. Shopping from our extensive preloved furniture range at our Stafford Park showroom results in:


Whatever your requirements, our comprehensive preloved range includes pretty much anything you are looking for, including:

Pop in and see us

We welcome visitors to our showroom between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday, a great way of ensuring you get the right new or preloved furniture you need. An ongoing increase in demand for our furniture recently necessitated the construction of a new mezzanine floor at our Stafford Park warehouse which is allowing us to store and offer an even greater choice of new and preloved furniture.

All our preloved furniture comes with a 90-day warranty and we also offer a trade-in facility which will help you offset the cost of buying new furniture while meeting your environmental obligations.

Sustainability and the protection of our environment are more important than ever with greater expectations and demands placed on businesses as they and their employees become more aware of the issues and the need to do something about it!

Protecting our planet is no longer a problem that can be swept under the carpet, kicked down the road for another day or left for future generations to sort out. The problem is here and now and businesses need to be taking a lead – a challenge which a great many are rising to, doing their bit to offset the damage we are all doing.

Think about the future

Sustainability in the workplace is key and businesses are discovering that they can instigate more environmentally-friendly measures which not only evoke greener options but meet the needs of long-term solutions, many of which can be achieved within budgetary constraints. Some of these measures include:

In more detail…

Here at Chrisbeon we are committed to and actively encourage environmentally-friendly thinking and are proud of the fact that we are leading by example. We are achieving this by:

The right way forward

We all have an individual responsibility to change the way we live and work for the benefit of our environment and more and more businesses have recognised the problem and are taking the initiative.

Changes can and must be made, there are options available and put plainly, it’s the right thing to do!

All companies strive to be successful and an integral part of this success is their staff. Recruitment is an important process in attracting and retaining top talent but it’s a two-way street and employees also have a big say in where they end up working.

The chance for advancement, good pay, feeling valued and working for a successful company are all factors high on any prospective employee’s wish list but another, which often slips under the employer’s radar, is the office environment and culture – posing the question: Will I be happy there?

Hang on to your assets

Having gone to the trouble of finding the right candidate and deciding to get them on board, it follows that you will want to do your best to keep them! Happy staff are not only proven to be more productive but are also more likely to stay – and the working environment will play a major role in achieving this.

Your offices are also the face of your company and if you are welcoming clients, potential new customers and developing business, you may well rise or fall on the image and impressions your surroundings create.

The right look

So just what should companies be looking for in creating an office environment which will not only be welcoming for staff and keep morale high but also provide them with the essentials they need to carry out their job efficiently while deterring any thoughts of moving elsewhere?

The workplace needs to be a place of:

Millennials are known to favour modern office designs but this general trend is mirrored by many older employees who find functional, well-lit and pleasantly designed workspaces more conducive to good morale and efficiency.

The workplace is very important but there are other areas that require equal consideration in terms of furnishings and decor, including canteens, break-out spaces, reception areas and conference rooms – important areas which offer comfort, support and are pleasing to the eye.

Health and wellbeing

Simple moves like having plants in the office or putting the photocopier further away to encourage walking during the working day can have an effect on the health and wellbeing of staff.

But there are more options for employers when it comes to the furniture – from bespoke fixtures and fittings to ensure comfort and productivity in the right lighting at the right height to sit-stand desks for health and regular tech time outs.

Keeping it fun

Some companies even make provisions for recreational facilities like a games room, ball pit, table football, pool, table tennis and gaming consoles, while furniture needs throughout the business include traditional, and not so traditional, desk and chairs, soft furnishings and even bean bag chairs.

Whatever you opt for, Chrisbeon can help you meet your requirements and if you are unsure about what you need or how it would look within your office environment, why not make use of our 3D Computer Aided Design service – your way to judge in advance if your plans will fit the needs of your staff and the space you have available.

With more and more people working from home or hybrid – staff splitting time between home and office – we feel it’s important to highlight the obligations this places on employers.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has recently updated its guidance on home and hybrid working with a focus on what employers should be considering.

We are particularly keen to raise awareness about risk assessment, specifically Display Screen Equipment (DSE) checks, and make sure companies are complying with the regulations. This is something we can help you achieve and are only too pleased for you to call on the advice and experience of our very own DSE assessors.

What does an assessment involve?

A DSE assessment is a risk assessment that looks at the health risks of working with PCs, laptops, tablets and smartphones and addresses things like poor posture, poor working habits and having the right equipment in place for an employee to do their job safely and efficiently.

DSE rules apply to workers who use this equipment on a daily basis, for an hour or more at a time, and risk assessments need to be conducted if a new user starts employment, a new workstation is set up or if you have changed workstations for any reason. The regulations also include hybrid and home working.

A certified DSE assessor is required to carry out an assessment and our certified DSE assessors are happy to help and advise businesses on what they need to do.

An expert view

Risk assessment is an important part of running a successful business so we asked Aleesha Skett of the HR Dept Shropshire to go into a bit more detail about the obligations faced by employers. We hope you find the information useful. Aleesha said:

“Employee Health and Safety must be maintained as far as is reasonably practicable when staff are working from home under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, whether that is permanently or on a hybrid basis.

“Employers are required to carry out risk assessments on the home workstation to identify any hazards and associated risks with the work the employee undertakes. Failure to carry one out may be deemed a breach of trust and confidence or lead to an employee making a protected disclosure by reporting the health and safety breach to a higher power.

A safe system of work

“An employer’s duty under the 1974 Act is to ensure the health, safety and welfare of all of their employees, providing and maintaining a safe system of work. Therefore, employers should at least be assisting employees to put right any identified hazards, adapting their home workstations as necessary.

“Whilst there is no legal obligation on employers to provide equipment for home and hybrid workers generally, there is where the equipment is needed due to health and safety concerns, and the employer is liable to fund this. Examples of this could be where an employee is hunched over their laptop on the sofa all day, causing them back problems, or where the employee has an existing disability.

“Many issues for ‘office’ workers can be easily fixed by providing them with appropriate seating and any support devices they may benefit from such as footrests. A benefit to the employer here is that where the home working arrangement has been made formal, this equipment is not subject to income tax or national insurance so long as the property remains the employers and the employee isn’t using it regularly for personal matters.”

Contact us

For more information contact our team at Chrisbeon on 01952 292606.

Furniture with Smart functions may sound futuristic and like something from the realms of science fiction – but we now have many everyday items incorporating hi-tech features which can be easily operated via an app, voice control or the lightest of touches!

We already have a range of Smart Furniture options complete with Bluetooth, speakers, USB ports and charging points – as well as sound-blocking video conference units, electric sit-stand height-adjustable desks and of course the stapler that staples by itself!

All very interesting and extremely useful but the thing we want to focus on here is Smart Fabrics – something we work with a lot here at Chrisbeon, fabrics which are keeping our customers, their staff and the general public safe thanks to a very special layer of antibacterial protection.


What are Smart Fabrics?


People may not think too much about the furniture fabrics they buy other than to ensure that it fits in with their office environment, branding and personal taste, but Smart Fabrics should be a serious consideration – specific fabrics which incorporate different properties which help combat:


This has long been important for medical and educational organisations but has taken on increased significance in recent times for other sectors where there is interaction between staff or customer-facing businesses such as the hospitality industry.

Restricting the spread of infection has never been more important and we must do everything we can to minimise the risk of infection. Antibacterial seating solutions, or Smart Fabrics, are one excellent way of achieving this.

Smart Fabrics are treated with nanotechnology-based protection which helps safeguard against a broad spectrum of transmissible dangers. Antimicrobial protection is applied during manufacture – a tried and tested process which creates an invisible protective barrier that kills viruses and bacteria on contact.

In some instances, this protective layer will remain effective during the life of the fabric while in other cases a further light spray may be needed to provide 90-day protection.


The best in protection


There is a range of specially designed fabrics available to cover all types of seating – all of which provide effective protection in the long-term to fend off bacteria and microorganisms. They are top quality, high performance, durable and hard-wearing coverings – long-lasting safeguards against the risk of infection.

Antibacterial protection needs to be on everyone’s mind in today’s world and giving due consideration to the fabrics you use, whether that be in the workplace or at a venue where visitors are met or entertained, is very much the Smart thing to do!

To find out more about Smart Fabrics and how we can help you meet your requirements, call us on 01952 292606 or email sales@chrisbeon.co.uk

Businesses looking to freshen up their office or kit out their employees at home are welcome at our showrooms in Telford next week as we open our doors for a huge sale – with 50 per cent off preloved items.

The sale, at the Chrisbeon showrooms on Stafford Park 4, will run from Monday, January 17th to Friday, January 21st and we welcome both businesses and members of the public to peruse at their leisure between 9am and 5pm.

Desks, chairs, filing cabinets, drawer units, cupboards, storage units and more will be on display in the pre-loved showroom with a range of prices for all budgets – both for home and office – and all come with a 90-day warranty.

Richard Hughes, Chrisbeon partner, said: “We get most of our pre-loved furniture stock when customers buy new furniture for their offices and part exchange their existing desks, chairs and storage – which lowers their costs and is better for the environment as the furniture can be reused.

“Our customers are often changing their office due to changes with space and layout, or with brand colours, so our pre-loved showroom contains many nearly new items and it is all good quality.

“We also buy manufacturer’s seconds so many products are new with slight marks or from a discontinued line.”

Chrisbeon is a leading Telford-based office furniture and stationery supplier which has been serving the community, and employers across the country for almost 50 years.

It’s an exciting time for employers looking to revamp their office space.

With so many new and exciting furniture options coming to the fore as manufacturers look to meet the needs of business owners and managers post-pandemic our planners have a whole host of ideas for client spaces of the future.

And a major one of those is a focus on individual space.

This is a major change following the global lockdown and subsequent fears about the health and safety of a large team, many in open-plan offices, and has resulted in the development of furniture that allows employees to work in their own space while still being within the office.

And as bold colours and funky designs continue to be popular, new and exciting furniture designs are set to appear in offices large and small across the UK.

From individual office space to meeting options for open-plan space and individual space for a video conference call – or just some quiet time!

Home office options

These options work not only in larger offices but also in a home office where workers may be in need of a quiet space or furniture that marks out their working environment from the rest of the home.

We have spotted these designs both in furniture shows laying out new trends and in our manufacturers’ showrooms – and have brought many of them to our Telford showroom to ensure Shropshire businesses can see them in situ.

Planning out the space and options for you

The team cannot wait to incorporate this modern look and theme into their office planning, and to fit out the offices in 2022 and see the finished look.

If you are looking to revamp, or create new, offices in 2022 do get in touch, give us a call on 01952 292606 or pop into the showroom on Stafford Park 4 and have a look at some of the options now on offer!

As we head into the final working week of 2021 for many office teams we thought we would look back at 2021 and share some of the office options our client’s decided on…

It has been a year of ups and downs and many decisions made about office space in 2021 were affected by the happenings around us – the pandemic, the shift to hybrid and homeworking, the increasing influence of employee choices on their workplaces.

So number one – the home office:

Creating office space inside the home was a popular option for many, both for those that were working more flexibly and for those whose employers moved to homeworking as a sustainable, permanent option.

With such a wide range of furniture options in terms of homeworking, our plans and installations ranged hugely – we fitted offices in spare rooms, shepherd huts and sheds in the garden and even under the stairs!

Number two – the COVID-safe office:

As employees began heading back to the office there was a need for employers to take certain steps to ensure that they could keep the team as safe as possible. This meant we worked with many clients on fitting screens and adapting layouts – and some employers moved to have their staff facing away from each other.

Another option was spacing out desks and chairs to ensure more space in the working environment.

Number three – smaller office options:

Recent years have seen many offices moving to open plan, but the events of 2020 and 2021 have seen us move back to all options – with many clients looking at more rooms and different layouts.

As with homeworking, there are lots of options for large employers with a variety of individual offices of various sizes – or businesses with a smaller amount of space overall.

And our 3D planning tool ensures we can plan everything out to fit in a way employers and employees are happy with – before the furniture is even ordered.

Number four – ensuring comfort and space:

Employees are having more say in how they want their working environment to be – and visitors and clients are also expecting a certain level of comfort and space.

This has led to a number of 2021 fits being more relaxed and comfortable, sofas in offices, more comfortable breakout and meeting areas, brighter boardrooms and more.

And as we come to the end of 2021 the options for office design just keep on coming – as an office furniture design team we are looking forward to designing offices in 2022 and being able to use all of the options available to us.