You want the reception desk at your office or business to be a welcoming site to your clients and visitors. When your customers are children, it's even more important to have an eye-catching and inviting reception area where kids will feel comfortable and can participate in the interactions taking place. Consider these ideas for making your reception desk more interesting or fun for kids.
Color Key
Most children are going to be face to face with the front of your reception desk rather than looking over it. Paint the front of the desk with bright, happy colors that attract kids' attention. Stay away from stark white or steel that can intimidate.
If your place of business is one that might cause anxiety to kids, such a dentist's office or pediatrician, consider painting the desk and reception area in calming colors. Cool colors like blues and greens are great for relaxing. The New York Times reported that many hospitals and juvenile correctional facilities have rooms painted bubble gum pink because it has been shown to quiet children who are having a meltdown.
Pictures and Patterns
Give your littlest clients something fun to look at by decorating your reception desk in a pretty pattern or with interesting pictures.
- Paint pictures of animals all around the front of the desk.
- Tile the desk in brightly colored patterns with shiny tiles that kids can reach out and touch.
- Print a large photograph of children, animals or a city landscape, and attach it to the front of your reception desk.
You can create lots of visual stimulation using your reception desk. Consider putting all or part of the desk behind clear plastic, and fill the center with stuff kids love. Use your imagination to build a desk that features children's books, pretty stones or candy.
Tactile and Texture
Kids love nothing more than to explore things with their hands. Give them the opportunity by providing a touchable space on your reception desk.
- Place boards with different textures along the front of the desk. Include rough, smooth and fuzzy surfaces.
- Let a small stream flow across the reception areas low enough where little hands and can dip in and play. Add a waterfall for extra stimulation.
Interactive Features
The best way to keep a child entertained is by giving them something to do. Have some fun activities on your reception desk to keep small hands busy.
- Hang a magnetic surface where kids can manipulate shapes, letters and numbers.
- Offer a chalkboard and colored chalk for kids to create fabulous works of art that the whole room can see.
- Hang a wooden maze with pieces kids can push along a track.
- Put up a wooden tic-tac-toe board.
Living Attention Grabbers
If you really want to make your reception desk something special for kids, add a few living creatures to the design. Kids cannot resist things that crawl, swim, eat and move.
- Install an aquarium in the desk. This can be something as simple as a small square with a single beta fish, or you can make the entire desk into an underwater wonderland. Children will love watching the fish swim and play.
- Create an area of your desk that is low enough for kids to see, and place a habitat for a hamster or lizard on top. Make this the office mascot, and allow kids to hold and interact with it if possible.
- Bring a friendly office cat to work with you, and create a bed for it on your reception desk. Let your young visitors pet, feed and help care for the kitty.
You can turn your reception area into a wonderful space for your youngest clients by thinking like a kid. Provide plenty to see, touch and explore, and you will be sure to please any child that comes into your office.
