From the 21st to the 23rd May 2019 Clerkenwell will play host to one of the largest and most popular celebrations of design in the UK: Clerkenwell Design Week (CDW). Clerkenwell is home to more creative businesses and architects per square mile than anywhere else on the planet, making it one of the most important design hubs in the world. Here at Milliken, we have been a showroom partner since the event’s inception in 2009 and are taking part again in the event’s tenth year.

Reading Time: 3.5 minutes

Figures published to mark Mental Health Awareness Week show that mental health is the leading cause of sickness absence in the UK, with over half of employees suffering from stress, a third from anxiety and a quarter from depression. It’s no surprise then that it has become a huge priority for employers. A study by Bupa revealed that mental health is a major concern at board level for almost two-thirds (65%) of businesses, rising to 72% among large corporates. Mental health was a bigger issue than physical illness among employees for nearly a third (29 %) of businesses.

As businesses and employees anticipate a return to commercial workplaces, employee’s wellness is a high priority. Design plays a big part in ensuring that a safe haven can be created indoors,  and while it might not be the first thing that comes to mind as you think about improving the air quality in your building, flooring plays a surprisingly important role in creating a healthy building environment.

How do I choose the perfect flooring colour? This question gets asked a lot by people who are renovating their spaces. Interior designers, decorators and architects study long and hard to master the art of colour matching; but not all stakeholders have that advantage. This can sometimes make this quite a daunting task when trying to find the perfect flooring for a renovation project. However, it doesn’t have to be.

Reading Time: 4 mins 

The b-word ‘biophilia’ has become the latest buzzword to enter the vocabulary of architects and designers alike as we’re slowly seeing the transformation of workspaces changing from grey to green with the introduction of plants, foliage and living walls.

Reading Time : 4 mins

It could be said that we explore colour throughout our daily lives. Living with and through colour affects all that we are as individuals. 

Our personalities, our mood, our thoughts, what we eat, how we feel, our choices and sometimes our desires. Colour creates memories, ideas, perceptions, it plays with light, pattern, shape and form.

Reading Time: 3.5 minutes

How did you get to work today? If it involved an over-crowded train or standing on a crammed bus, this could be having a detrimental effect on your health.

Karen Haller FRSA is a leading international authority in the field of behavioural colour and design psychology. Karen specialises in Human-Centred Design and how our relationship with colour, design and nature affects and influences us, as well as how businesses and designers can use it to influence positive behaviour and well-being. She is the author of ‘The Little Book of Colour, How to Use the Power of Colour to Transform Your Life.’

Reading Time: 3 mins 

The surge of interest in well-being and wellness shows no sign of abating. The modern approach adopted by enlightened employers is no longer focused on creating cultures and environments that do no harm, but rather on creating those that foster engagement, improve people’s health, address their stresses and pressures and helps them be more productive.

Reading time: 5 mins

Until recently if you were to describe a green office, it would most likely be the sustainable aspects of the structure. This might incorporate the building’s energy saving features such as lighting and heating, how it is designed to reuse and recycle waste and to reduce water consumption. An increasing body of evidence is now focusing on the wider benefits a sustainable workplace can have on the health and well-being of its occupants. Ways in which the work environment can sustain people as well as place.