Most people think of high end home dcor stores when they think of designer furniture, but in todays competitive work environment, designer furniture is just as trendy in the office as it is at home. In fact, some of the trend-setting furniture for todays office environments concentrates on both style and function, as collaborative work spaces take center stage.

Collaborative working is becoming more prevalent in forward-thinking businesses, as chief executive officers realize that people produce better work when they are able to come together to brainstorm ideas. The traditional closed-door offices are being redesigned and office cubicles are being dismantled in favor of sleek, open, designer workspaces that encourage communication and collaboration. As companies struggle to get out of the recession, theyre reinventing themselves and the way they work. Giving employees an opportunity to work in a new and high-tech environment is a benefit that doesnt count against the bottom line.

Designer furniture for offices comes in different styles and configurations as well as in both traditional and eye-popping color schemes. Although heavy oak and mahogany desks and credenzas can still be found in penthouse offices and corporate board rooms, the newest workstations styles include built-in electronics that allow desktop videoconferencing. The only additional component needed is a laptop computer with a built-in webcam and a high-speed Internet connection. This available technology gives staff members the opportunity to get instant feedback or ideas from co-workers in other parts of the building, across the street, across the nation or around the world.

Steelcase is one of the pre-eminent manufacturers of todays designer desks, tables, chairs and workspaces. It has a family of functional furniture that turns heads and screams productivity. Low profile desks and workstations from Steelcases C:scape and Frame One lines are perennial bestsellers. Many corporate offices are chucking the walls, partitions and barriers in favor of installing these easy-to-maintain work surfaces. Another one of Steelcases sleek and stylish product s is called Media:scape. This is a combination work surface and collaborative viewing area, which supports up to six users with their laptops, iPads or other electronic devices. Each member of the team can plug in and share their material on the connected monitors, which is pretty cool.

Other fashionable, functional and cool-looking designer furniture products include whiteboards from Polyvision and Qomo which allow you to capture whatever is written on the boards and send it direct to your computer. Another designer solution is the introduction of the innovative Node chair, which has a brightly colored unique look as well as comfort quotient that is unparalleled for a casual, classroom-like chair.

Tomorrows well-dressed office environments will be looking toward sleek, designer furniture that has the ability to provide open collaboration and sharing with other workers. There are dozens of manufacturers who are at the ready to strut their stuff and become part of this collaborative revolution.