It's official, Level 2, 199a Rundle street is going to be our new office. On one hand we are relieved the search is over, but now the real work begins. We have a beautiful shell of a space to fit out, the old floor boards, high ceilings and timber windows add so much character and warmth. I love how the winter sun streams into the place.

We have lined up some builders that we have used before in the Carrington street office and thankfully they can slot our work into the tight time frame. They have said 5 to 6 weeks for building work. But first we have to design what they will build. The office is really just an empty shell. We need to really think about how we want this space to work for us.  I feel like everything we put in will take away from the awesomeness of the space. We really need to consider how the teams work best together, how many meeting rooms and quiet spaces we need, as well as where the post-production suite, board room, ideas room, storage and kitchen will go. It's an interesting challenge.

As luck would have it a friend gave me designs of the space that he did for a tenant that changed their mind about the building. My interior design keen wife got hold of them and reworked the plans and has come up with a great design. Our architect has made a few tweaks and added some angles, that should energise the space. We have made a radical decision to put in an open plan kitchen right next to the board room. It will be like a cafe and bar space for clients and staff. They say kitchens are at the heart of homes, maybe its true for offices too. We certainly have a coffee culture entrenched here. Everyone is pretty good at keeping the kitchen clean and tidy currently, so it will be imperative that that continues. But we all like the idea of bringing the kitchen front of house as its always part of the action. The pool table will be located in the cafe area too, and will be one of the first things you see as you enter, so that might raise a few eyebrows.

We are concerned about time. I cant see the kitchen and all the cabinets making it in before we move, but the main partitioning with electrics, network cabling and data should all be good to go. The floor is slightly problematic. If we damage it, which office chairs will do over the term of our lease, we will have to replace the floor boards. Rather than be up for thousands in repairs, it looks like we will have to carpet the main office areas. This has the upside of creating a noise dampener in the open space but is also a great pity as the floor is one of the best features of the place.

It's a big project with a tight timeline, but its not like we have never been in that situation before.