As you go about furnishing your office, you will no doubt
be looking at purchasing at least one file cabinet. In the
process of making the decision about what cabinet will work
best, you will want to consider the space you have
available in your office, the amount of paperwork you
expect to work with and the color that will work best with
your other furniture.
Space
The space you have for working in and storing your files
will be the first and most important consideration as you
decide on an office file cabinet. So before you head out to
the office supply store, become familiar with your office
space. It can even help to take some measurements and draw
a simple schematic of how you expect to arrange your office
furniture.
If you find that you have long walls, but not very much
working space, you will probably want to get a lateral file
cabinet. On the other hand, if you have a small amount of
wall space, but a fair amount of room to move around in,
perhaps the standard drawer will work best for you.
Don’t forget to consider how much space desks, office
chairs and walking people will need in order to function
smoothly.
Paperwork
Doctors’ offices are notorious for needing a vast amount of
file storage. Thus, they often have entire walls full of
patients’ files. If your office also works with a large
amount of paper that needs to be on hand, you will need to
be sure to get a large cabinet.
One way to conserve space if you have a lot of paperwork is
to get a file cabinet that has multiple levels. If you use
one of these, you are using vertical space, which is less
valuable than floor space. But remember that if you do get
tall cabinets, you will want to anchor them to the wall
behind them.
Color
The question of color is quite simple, because most file
cabinets come in colors that match nearly any décor. Light
gray and beige are the most common colors, and they will
work well with pastels or soft, warm colors. Black can
often give an office a slightly more stark, dramatic
appearance. Wood cabinets go well in offices that have
outdoor, more casual atmospheres. However, some wood
cabinets come in a dark color, such as those made of cherry
wood, so they also can give an impression of
professionalism and success.