If you have a list of necessary facilities and requirements, it will be easier to strike of those on the list that do not meet your requirements. You will more than likely have to compromise on some of your ‘wish list’ requirements, but as long as you are not compromising on aspects that are essential to the successful operation of you business then finding an office to rent will be easier.

What to consider when renting an office:

What is your budget? It is important to look at this first as it will give you an idea of what you can afford. You need to remember about business rates, legal fees and any service charges that come with the office. You will also need a budget for any alterations and improvements that you need to make to the space in order to make it the right office for your business.

Size of your business - how many people do you have working for you? How many visitors will you have on a daily/weekly basis? You need to think about your employees, customers and any suppliers. You need to calculate the minimum space required so that you don’t make the mistake of renting an office that is too small.

Any special requirements you have. For example IT requirements - again, you must think about this and put them down in a list of essential and non-essential. The likely hood of you finding an office to rent with all your IT requirements catered for is slim - you may have to invest in upgrading what is already there or putting your own systems in.

It is important to look at your business plan and forecast. It would be a mistake to rent somewhere that is going to be suitable for your business for 6 months - you need to look to the future and rent somewhere that will be right if you expecting your company to grow significantly. You could look and see if there are other areas of the building that you could extend in to if this was the case.

When it comes to flooring, you should get rid of that wall-to-wall carpeting. Even though they look extremely elegant, they harbor allergens and trap toxins and pesticides. They’re just not practical in homes, least of all your kitchen! in fact, some synthetic carpets contain volatile organic compounds as well. So you should ideally go for a sustainable hard floor, made from good quality wood, renewable bamboo, or even cork. If you want, you could put a few natural rugs around in the kitchen, these are easier to clean than wall-to-wall carpeting and are part of the green kitchen design.

Do think about the functionality of light and energy in your green kitchen. A good decorating tip for your updated kitchen is to balance it out. For instance, make sure all the furniture isn’t towards one side. This gives an unwanted tilted effect. Use low or possibly no-volatile organic compounds finishes and paints for your wood furniture in the green kitchen. If possible, keep a plant or two - not only does this beautify the room, but it also cleans the air indoors by trapping the carbon monoxide and releasing oxygen into the local environment. In fact, plants like bamboo palm, gerbera daisy, chrysanthemum, peace lily and English ivy are especially beneficial in removing toxic formaldehyde, carbon monoxide, and benzene from the air.

Another great decorating tip for your design is to go green wherever possible. Don’t always go for the swanky new furniture, if possible, scour your local shops, yard sales and the thrift markets - you might be able to pick up some really great stuff. The second-hand furniture works, and you are helping to recycle what may have been thrown out and wasted! Go for sustainably made wood, and environment-friendly upholstery, and don’t encourage the treating of toxic chemicals, like flame retardants and stain-resistant sealants. You could also buy Fair Trade baskets and housewares for your kitchen.

When you are getting ready to paint a room, the first step that you need to take is masking it. Essentially, you need to use blue masking tape to cover up any of the edges in the room that touch an area with paint. No matter how careful you intend to be, masking the room will create less mess and a better paint job. Although you might find this straightforward process to be quite time consuming, this is still important when you are looking to do a good job!

To get started, clear the room as much as you can. Don’t simply assume that you can paint neatly! Anything that cannot be moved (carpeting, heavy furniture, etc.) should be covered and covered well. For a hardwood floor, consider getting a plastic covering and using masking tape to make ti stick. Poly sheeting and adhesive backed plastic can cover your carpet and your furniture, so remember that everything needs to be covered.

To get started, cover the carpet with carpet protection film and cover everything else in the room with some type of surface protection. Next, take everything off the walls and look for holes that have been left behind by tacks or nails. You’ll find that wood putty is a great way to fix this, as is epoxy, but in a pinch, plain toothpaste (not the gel type) will do quite well. After the holes have been filled, wash the walls with a mild solution of soap and water to make sure that any dirt or excess grime is removed. This ensures that the paint will stick to the walls evenly.