Extreme Makeover: Reimagining Your Office Space (Without the Address Change)

We’ve all been there. Those moments where your vision is bigger than your budget. It tastes like disappointment. 

Unfortunately, Ty Pennington isn't waiting in the shadows to grant you an Extreme Makeover worthy of prime-time television.

But here’s the thing: something doesn’t have to be new to be revived. 

That’s especially true for offices. And, extra useful for your bottom line, especially in unpredictable times like these. When you can't commit to an address change, there's another option. Here's how to take what you have and make it into a refreshed space that supports your teams.

What’s Changed for Office Work? 

First, let's set the scene. The will-they-won’t-they of office returns left many workplaces looking frozen in time. The 2019 setup became crystalized while we all tried to figure out what work looked like post-COVID.

After nearly 5 years of conversations, the majority of knowledge-work companies settled on a hybrid schedule. Now it’s time for workplaces to catch up. 

As you can imagine, lots of trends have come and gone since the beginning of the office shuffle. The rush to remote work in 2020 was out of necessity. We all adjusted. But since then, office work has undergone a major transformation. 

By the numbers, we know that hybrid is here to stay. There are some companies on the remote end of the spectrum and others on the full-time in-office spectrum. But as with most things in the world, the real majority of people sit in the middle. So how exactly do companies plan for hybrid work, which is inherently less predictable? 

The way we work has changed. Now, it’s time for offices to change too. 

5 Ways to Reimagine Your Office before a Relocation

Before you tour a new office or commit to a longer lease, consider this your permission slip to do more with what you already have. Here’s how to rethink your space using real workplace behavior—not guesswork.

1. Take an office inventory

Start simple. Walk your space and list what’s working, what’s not, and what’s just collecting dust. That oversized executive office that no one uses? Prime real estate. That corner booth that’s always booked? Worth replicating. This first step is about knowing your assets before you even think about upgrades.

2. Lean on the space data

The office isn’t just walls and desks—it’s a source of truth. Pull your resource booking data to see how often spaces are used, when demand peaks, and what sits empty. Go beyond headcount and occupancy rates. 

See which teams are in most often, what types of meetings are happening, and where bottlenecks occur. You don’t need more space, you need smarter space.

3. Define the purpose of your workplace

Every office should earn its keep. Is your space a collaboration hub? A client-facing headquarters? A quiet zone for heads-down work? Get clear on what the office needs to do for your people, and let that purpose guide your redesign. The most successful layouts don’t do everything—they do the right things, really well.

4. Explore new office layouts

If your office still looks like a 1:1 desk maze, it’s time to experiment. Try neighborhood layouts by team, convert low-traffic zones into touchdown areas, or carve out more phone booths for quiet calls. Use layout drafts to mock up different scenarios before committing. You’ll spot opportunities that a blueprint won’t show you.

5. Consider shared resources

Not everything needs a permanent home. Lockers, flex desks, project carts, and even department-specific zones can be shared to reduce wasted space and improve flow. Set priority booking rules or assign spaces on specific days, so everyone gets what they need, when they need it.

What Does That Look Like in Practice? 

It’s tempting to revert to old ways of thinking when it comes to office space planning. We get it, it was a more straightforward equation. So, let’s use an example: 

Your team just issued a 3-day mandate. Wednesdays are the company anchor day. The office is at capacity and people are already coming to you with concerns about booking desks or finding space. 

In the third week of this same problem, you start to consider investing in more space. But here’s the issue: this problem only really presents itself two days of the week, on other days there is more than enough room for everyone. 

This is when it’s time to turn to the data. Instead of defaulting to one desk for every person, consider how you could create multi-purpose spaces for teams to park their things. Look at the numbers on resource utilization, are people spending more time in meeting rooms or at desks? 

At Robin, we found that people are only spending 35% of their day at their desks. We intentionally eliminated the 1:1 ratio of desks and people so that on less busy days, the office didn’t look empty and hollow. The outcome? More cross-functional chatter in soft spaces. 

With office space being firmly in the top three biggest organizational expenses, the smartest companies are flipping the script on the traditional office move and, instead, reimagining their current space for modern work. 

Extreme Makeover, Office Edition: 📣“MOVE THAT BUS”

While we can’t guarantee that Ty Pennington will show up for the big event, we can guarantee that a move is not mandatory for reimagining your workplace setup. 

With a little imagination and the right workplace data, you can create a space that works for your team without the high price tag. For companies looking to do more with less, this is your chance to be the real office MVP. Learn about how Robin can help.