Choosing the right furniture for your reception area can be a daunting task. There is a bewildering variety of counters available and you have to think carefully about what you actually need, as it is very easy to make an expensive error.
By far the biggest mistake is not getting a scale drawing produced. Reception counters (especially if they are curved) take up a lot of space, and most people overestimate the amount of space they have.

Not enough consideration is given to access areas, walkways, and seating areas in the reception, so the first thing your customer is presented with, is an overcrowded space, which is badly thought out and which does not work.  This is one area of an office where is does pay to seek professional advice from an office furniture dealer.

The type of reception counter available in the market can be broken down into 3 distinct areas as follows:

Add-on units – These range from simple desk top reception boxes and links, designed to be fitted to existing furniture- cheap and usually available quickly, but fairly basic. They will be somewhat of a compromise and may not be as space efficient as the other options but they can often be the quick fix a customer is looking for, and will not cost a great deal.

The upturned shoebox design of these counter units can be a bit of a compromise as they are often not high enough to accommodate a modern computer screen, and take up a significant amount of the desk space.

Modular – These units are designed to be self contained reception counters, but are usually available from stock in various sizes of rectangular and curved units, to allow you to achieve your required layout.

Usually there is a limited range of available finishes and options, but some manufacturers can  offer some degree of flexibility with sizes and special shapes, whilst still retaining the advantage of fast delivery and installation. The range of sizes, option and finishes will be greater than you would get from the simple shoe-box designs.

Although these units are mainly available in a wood veneer or made made wood finish, there are also pastel colour and metalised laminate finishes available.

Bespoke- These units are specifically designed and manufactured to your specifications and brief. They are available is just about any finish or material you require and are entirely made as a one off special.  As you will appreciate this route is the most expensive and will take the longest amount of time to produce, but you will get exactly what you want in the same way as purchasing a made to measure Savile Row  creation, rather than a Marks and Spencer ( modular ) suit.
You can specify custom made features to tie in with your corporate colours or logo, and can have virtually any finish you require, provided that you can afford it., and are willing to wait for it.
Indeed, if you have any special requirements or are limited by the layout of your office space, this route is usually the only option you have to provide a quality looking reception counter which fits perfectly into the workspace.

There are also other factors to consider, such as the Disabillities Discrimination Act, which requires you to take reasonable steps to ensure that any disabled person can be properly looked after if they visited your offices, and general health and safety issues which govern what you can and cannot do within an office environment.

But once again it really is a good idea to contact your local office furniture dealer to see what help that they can offer. You may be surprised at how much relevant information and help he can give you, and how cost effective his solutions will be.

And one thing that is for sure is that he will have deigned, produced and planned many more reception areas in the past, than you are likely to ever encounter in the future.