Coworking Space Furniture for Flexible Workspace Projects: Five Sourcing Routes for FF&E Contractors
Five sourcing routes for coworking desks, lounge seating and meeting furniture, and what to put in the schedule so quotations can be compared line by line.
A coworking or flexible workspace is furnished like several offices at once: open desks, private offices, phone booths, meeting rooms and a lounge that doubles as an events area. The furniture is moved, reconfigured and used by different people every day, and operators usually need the same pieces in several buildings. The item list therefore has to be written so that the same product can be reordered and matched later.
This guide sorts the supply side into five sourcing routes so a project team can send one brief to the right makers and compare the answers fairly. It is not a ranking. No factory is named or scored here, and no claim is made about the performance of any product. For the wider office range see our office furniture page and our guide to office workstations and desks. The main-site guide to furniture and finishes sourcing for coworking spaces covers the wider package.
What should a coworking furniture brief state?
A brief that says only “coworking furniture, 300 desks and chairs” produces quotations that cannot be compared. State at least the following, copied from the plans and the item list.
- Item code and quantity: one code per desk, chair, booth and lounge type, with the quantity per floor or building.
- Space types: hot desks, dedicated desks, private offices, meeting rooms and lounge, each with its own list.
- Desks: size, top material and edge, frame, cable management and whether desks link or reconfigure.
- Seating: task chairs, visitor chairs, stools and lounge seating, each with frame, covering and adjustment as drawn.
- Booths and pods: the booth type, the ventilation and power the drawing assumes and who supplies them.
- Lounge and events: sofas, modular seating and tables, with covering and cleaning requirements.
- Reorder: how the operator will reorder the same item for a later location, and which sample is kept as the reference.
- Finish codes: frame, top and covering finish codes, with approved samples against each item code.
- Packing: how parts are protected and marked by floor and building, and which parts ship separately.
Five sourcing routes for coworking furniture
1. Desk and workstation makers
Workstation makers supply open desks, linked benches and private office desks, with frames, tops and cable management. Ask for the frame section and top description, the cable management drawing and a finished sample, and see our office workstations and desks page for the construction questions.
2. Task and visitor chair makers
Chair makers supply task chairs with adjustment and visitor chairs for meeting rooms. Ask for the mechanism and covering description for the exact model and a working sample; our task and meeting chairs page sets out the questions.
3. Phone booth and meeting pod makers
Booths and pods are fabricated from panels, glass and fittings. Ask for the drawing, the ventilation and lighting description, the power arrangement and a sample or a built reference, and agree in writing who installs and connects each unit.
4. Lounge and modular seating makers
Lounge pieces and modular seating are made by upholstery workshops. Ask for the frame, foam and covering description, how modules connect and a finished sample, and ask how the covering is cleaned and replaced.
5. Full workspace package suppliers
Some suppliers quote the whole workspace, from desks to lounge. This gives one party to coordinate, but ask the supplier to quote each item on its own line and to say which items it makes and which it buys in, so the reorder source is clear.
Reconfiguration, reorder and branding
Coworking furniture is judged by how it survives change. Ask each maker to state in writing whether the model can be reordered in the same finish later, how long the maker keeps the model available, and how a repeat order is matched to the first. The answers belong in the quotation file next to the sample reference.
- Reorder: whether the same model and finish can be supplied again, and how it is identified.
- Matching: how colour and finish are kept consistent between orders.
- Moves: how desks and booths come apart and go together again for relocation, and what is lost each time.
- Branding: where operator logos and finishes are applied, and who approves the proof.
- Spare parts: whether feet, glides, caps and covers are offered and how they are identified.
Send your coworking furniture schedule
Send the plans, item list and quantities, and we will tell you which furniture details are missing before factories quote.
How to compare coworking furniture quotations
- What is included: desks, bases, chairs, booths and lounge pieces as separate lines with the unit of measure stated.
- Item match: each line tied to an item code, so missing pieces show up before the order.
- Construction detail: frame, top, covering and mechanism described on every line.
- Samples: whether a finished sample is included and who pays for revisions.
- Installation: whether assembly or connection of booths and desks is quoted and who does it.
- Packing: how parts are protected and marked by floor and building.
- Exclusions and substitutions: any change of top, covering or mechanism the maker proposes.
A quotation that is cheaper on one line may be thinner on another. Read the descriptions side by side before reading the totals.
Privacy, noise and shared use
Coworking space is shared by people with different needs, and the furniture is often asked to do the work of a wall: a high-backed sofa as a screen, a booth as a quiet room, a panel as a divider. Write the purpose of each piece into the item list, so that a maker quoting a screen or a booth knows what it is expected to do, and so that the sample can be judged against that purpose and not against a catalogue image.
Do not accept a performance statement from a catalogue as a substitute for the project requirement. If the specification names an acoustic or privacy target for a booth or panel, put the target and its test method in the brief and ask each maker to show evidence for the exact model and build-up, the way it would for any other regulated item. If the project has no such target, say so in the brief, so that the quotation is read as a furniture price and not as a promise about sound.
- Purpose: what each screen, booth or high-backed piece is for, written on the item list.
- Target: any privacy or sound target the specification names, with its test method.
- Build-up: the panel and fabric build-up of each booth or screen, described for the exact model.
- Evidence: the maker’s documents for the exact model, not for a product family.
Samples, approval and acceptance on delivery
Approve a finished sample desk and chair, not a photograph, before bulk production, and record the approval in writing against the item code. Place it beside the other pieces of the room set so finish, height and edge are seen together. Keep the approved sample as the reference for the bulk order. Our guide to samples, finishes and approvals sets out the approval sequence.
On delivery, check a sample of cartons against the order: item code, size, finish, hardware and quantity of each part. Note any difference in writing on the day with photographs, so the maker can respond while the evidence is fresh. Before shipment our own team checks quantities, dimensions, finish, hardware and packing against the signed-off specification, and you receive a QC report with photos and video.
Name the rules in the specification
The rules that apply to office furniture depend on the destination, the building and the materials. Name the requirement in the specification and ask each factory what evidence it can provide for the exact model offered. Our United States, Canada and Australia and New Zealand compliance pages explain how we approach the main rules. Your specifier or certifier decides what applies to your project.
Specification gaps to close before quotation
A quotation cannot answer the questions below for itself. Check that the brief answers these questions before it goes out.
- Which item codes are repeated across buildings, and which sample is the reference for the reorder?
- Which desks link or reconfigure, and how is the connection drawn?
- Who installs and connects booths and pods?
- Which coverings and surfaces does the operator clean, and with what?
- Is the finish named by code, with a sample approved against the item code?
- How are cartons marked by floor and building?
Next steps for a flexible workspace project
Send each maker the same brief: the plans, item codes, finish codes and quantities. Ask for answers in writing, line by line, and request samples before bulk production. For suppliers you nominate, we charge a 5% commission; for products we source for you, we quote a direct price. Our own team performs one inspection after bulk production is complete and before shipment, and your team is welcome to attend.
Frequently asked questions
Should coworking furniture come from one maker?
One maker gives matched finishes and one reorder source, but few makers supply desks, chairs, booths and lounge pieces equally well. Keep each item on its own line and ask who makes it.
How is a later location matched to the first?
Keep the approved sample and the finish codes as the reference, and ask each maker in writing how a repeat order is matched. Put the answer in the quotation file.
Who installs phone booths and pods?
Settle this in the brief. Ask each maker whether installation and connection are quoted, who supplies power and ventilation, and who is on site.
Do we need spare parts in the order?
Decide this in the brief. Ask each maker whether feet, glides, caps and covers are offered as spare parts and how they are identified.
How does FBM Furniture charge for office furniture?
For suppliers you nominate, we charge a 5% commission; for products we source for you, we quote a direct price. Our own team performs one inspection after bulk production is complete and before shipment, and your team is welcome to attend.
Send your coworking furniture schedule
Send the plans, item list and quantities, and we will tell you which furniture details are missing before factories quote.