Transforming the Milson Primary staffroom into a calm, cohesive space

When Tracy Thorn, Principal at Milson Primary School in Palmerston North, approached Furnware, she had the goal of creating a space for her staff that was calming, tidy, and welcoming. Previously, staff members had tried to save money by either re-covering existing chairs themselves or bringing in chairs. This meant they developed a staffroom that was overwhelmingly mismatched, and hard to move around in.

Tracy recognised the importance of the space for her staff and their wellbeing, approaching her “super-supportive board” who approved the idea, and with that the new staffroom was underway. Furnware Account Manager, Marianne Elliot, used the Furnware 3D floor planner app to draft up some layout options that offered a range of different seating solutions. The new plans included staff break-out zones with soft seating, tiered seating to facilitate meetings, and round tables to allow for discussion and cafe-style seating. The range of seating heights opened up the space and reduced the feeling of clutter, all while maintaining the ability to seat 40 staff.

With the new seating arrangements, staff are now able to have meetings in the staffroom, something that they haven’t been able to do in many years. They love the range of different seating - “high, low, in sun, out of sun, curved, straight, open, colourful - and most of all, an amazing shamazing welcoming place to be during break times.”