Commercial Interiors
Designing a Boardroom That Works: Lessons from a Worsley Fit-Out
A good boardroom does more than seat people around a table. It makes meetings easier, hides the clutter and quietly tells visitors who you are. Here is how we approach it, using our boardroom for Collinson Grant as a worked example.
Most meeting rooms are put together from a catalogue: a table, some chairs, a screen on a bracket and a tangle of cables underneath. They work, but they rarely feel like they belong to the business that uses them.
A bespoke boardroom starts the other way round. We look at how the room will actually be used, who will sit in it and what it needs to say about the company. Then we design the joinery to fit, to the millimetre.
Collinson Grant is a management consultancy that has advised organisations for more than fifty years. They asked us for a boardroom at their Worsley offices that felt as established and trustworthy as the firm itself. These are the decisions that shaped it, and what they mean for your own space.
1. Start with the table
The table is the one piece everyone touches, so it sets the tone for the whole room. For Collinson Grant we made a full-width table in solid oak, with a strong visible grain and substantial turned legs. It looks permanent because it is.
Size matters more than people expect. Before drawing anything, we work out how many people need to sit comfortably, how much elbow room each person needs, and how much space must be left to walk around behind the chairs. A table that is too big for the room makes every meeting feel cramped.
Power is the other early decision. Here, the data and power points sit flush within the table surface. Laptops plug in at the table, and there are no trailing leads across the floor.
2. Make the technology disappear
A screen bolted to a bare wall always looks like an afterthought. In this boardroom the large-format screen is built into the full-width wall unit, with open shelving on either side and closed cupboards below for equipment and cables.
If you are planning a meeting room, decide on your screen, speakers and video-call camera before the joinery is designed. That way we can leave the right openings, ventilation and cable routes, and nothing has to be cut in afterwards.
3. Use light and outlook
This room has full-height glazed doors on two sides, looking out onto a mature garden. We kept the design light so the view stays the focus. The result feels calm and open rather than closed in, which suits long, thoughtful conversations.
Not every office has a garden, but most have a window. Placing the table so people face the light, rather than sitting with it behind them, makes video calls clearer and the room more pleasant to spend time in.
4. Let your storage tell your story
A boardroom is often the first room a new client sees. The shelving is a chance to show your work without saying a word.
At Collinson Grant, the wall unit and a standalone bookcase have warm walnut-toned back panels behind cream frames, so the shelves read clearly against the wall. They hold the firm's publications and, most tellingly, the original Collinson Grant Associates founding plaque, dated 1970 to 1985.
One plaque on a shelf says more about a firm's history than any amount of branding on the walls.
Think about what you would want on show: awards, products, books, project models or company history. We then size the shelves around those objects, rather than leaving you to fill standard shelves afterwards.
5. Choose finishes that will age well
Boardrooms get heavy daily use, so finishes need to be durable as well as attractive. The cabinetry here is painted in a warm cream, a classic choice that sits easily with the oak table and stays smart for years.
The hardware is knurled antique brass: bar handles with a fine textured grip on every door and drawer. It is a small detail, but handles are touched hundreds of times a week, and good ones make the whole room feel better made.
6. Carry the design through the building
The boardroom shares its design language with the entrance reception we built for Collinson Grant: painted joinery, warm wood grain and brass details. When visitors walk from reception into a meeting, the building feels like one considered space rather than a series of separate rooms.
What about a meeting room at home?
The same thinking works on a smaller scale. If you run your business from home and meet clients there or on video calls, a dedicated room with a proper table, hidden cabling and a tidy backdrop makes a real difference. Our bespoke home offices and studies are designed on exactly the same principles.
Planning a boardroom: a quick checklist
- Who uses it? How many people, how often, and for what kind of meetings?
- The table: the right size for the room, with space to move around the chairs.
- Power and data: built into the table, so there are no cables across the floor.
- The screen: chosen early, so the joinery can be designed around it.
- Light: people facing the window, not sitting with their backs to it.
- Storage: closed cupboards for clutter, open shelves for what you want seen.
- Finishes: hard-wearing paint, timber and hardware that will age well.
- The wider building: a design that links with your reception and other spaces.
How Hafferty works
Every commission starts with a consultation and a design you can see before anything is made. All our joinery is built in our own Manchester factory and fitted by our own directly employed team, for both commercial interiors and private homes across the UK.
Planning a boardroom, meeting room or office? Let's talk about what your space needs to do.
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