An ode to the bracket: interior designers on why you should ...

Boz Gagovski

It's no really secret that I love a wall bracket! When I started designing and making frames during lock down I knew at the back of my mind that if I survived the perils of our dining table being both office and workshop brackets were something I needed to come back to. Never one to set myself a short task I've ended up producing three brackets recently - but whilst I knew that many others enjoyed this quite particular form of wall ornament I'd never really stopped to examine why? House & Garden posed the question recently and so I decided to call on a few well known designers to see what if anything was the consensus, and also to reflect a little on my own interest.

I think my very first foray into wall brackets was realising as a teenager I could cut a very workaday wooden shelf in half and rehang the two parts at different heights. I can&#;t remember now what exactly the objets were that I wanted to put on them, but I do remember being pleased at how giving them literally their own platform seemed to help them speak to each other visually, in a way that side by side on a single surface they didn&#;t. 

Boz Gagovski

Most of my work starts with good dollop of historical research, I find it both fulfilling personally and generally it gives a greater depth to any project than scraping a few well thumbed online images together. Design minded friends use both wall bracket and sconce almost interchangeably but is there any technical difference? It turned out that mostly in the past it related to what you intend to put on your decorative support, these days I think you can pass muster with either term really - for me design isn't a place for pedantry but to have fun!

The history of wall brackets is part practical, and partially about setting things apart. In a room with little space or where you want something high up and away from enquiring hands they do the job perfectly, breaking up an expanse of wall in the process, offering their supported contents forward into the room for us to take note of. 

A quick whip round a Roman house would probably find a lamp raised on a bracket or possibly a household totem, anyone who's seen a priapic herm will know that the ancients weren't particularly coy about what they put on display, but certainly some things were best put up out of the way! 

Goto Hangcan to know more.

Our Lady of the Children basilica at Châteauneuf-sur-Cher, France

isogood / Alamy Stock Photo

Energy-Efficient Offices

Concern for the environment has prompted millennials to lean towards companies that adopt an eco-friendly policy. According to reports, 40% of younger workers have chosen to sacrifice a higher salary in favour of working for a company with a healthy environmental agenda.

Whilst today&#;s high-performance green buildings&#; go a long way to improving energy efficiency, the interior design of an office space can have a significant impact on reducing energy consumption and your carbon footprint.

Contrary to some schools of thought, studies have also shown that implementing sustainable technologies aimed at reducing thermal and lighting costs do not threaten the health and wellbeing of employees. If anything, energy-efficient systems and design concepts can help improve performance.

Large windows, for example, harvest daylight and negates the need to use electricity to power the lights. Natural daylight also enhances mood, health and wellbeing.

Adjustable heating and water conservation systems also reduce the power consumption of a business. Improving air quality by installing indoor ventilating systems has been shown to enhance cognitive performance.

A report commissioned by the UK Green Building council confirms:

office workers in high-performing green-certified buildings have a 61% better cognitive function and some businesses report having saved over $6 per square foot in staffing costs.&#;

However, not enough businesses are aware of the advantages of working in sustainable environments and there are a series of barriers that prevent better energy efficiency and health and wellbeing in existing buildings.

Researchers in Norway have shown that significant effort is needed to bring existing office buildings up to sufficient energy-efficient standards set by government guidelines.

Are you interested in learning more about hangcan office furniture? Contact us today to secure an expert consultation!