The first week back in January is a good time to walk the office floor with a notepad. The meeting room is always booked, calls spill into the kitchen and the desks look exactly as they did five years ago. Before you reorder the same furniture, look at the office furniture trends that show up in current ranges, and decide which ones suit your team in 2026.
This guide covers five directions you can see in the products themselves, from timber-look finishes to height-adjustable workstations for whole teams. Each section links real products with their stated specs and suggests a way to adopt the idea in stages.
Warm timber looks and softer colours
Look at the finish options on current desks, booths and wall panels, and timber looks keep appearing: oak, maple and beech beside the usual white. Softer colours appear too, such as a sage green desk screen or a green recycled-fabric lounge. Our guide to choosing oak, walnut, white or black finishes explains how to mix them.
A wall is the quickest place to start. The Wooden Slat AcoustiQ Panel ($196) has 12mm MDF slats in a White Oak, Mid Oak or Ebony veneer, bonded to a 9mm polyester fibre base. Each panel measures 2730 x 600 x 21mm and mounts on a wall or ceiling. It absorbs incident sound and reduces ambient noise, and it carries a 10-Year Warranty.
Softer colour reaches the desk as well. The Montana Electric Standing Straight Workstation with Sage Green Edge25 Screen (from $966) comes with a Sage Green slim edge screen, and its tops come in New Oak Matte, Nordic Maple or Studio White. To adopt the look in stages, line one wall of the breakout area with slats, then choose timber-look tops when desks are next replaced.
Sit-stand desks for whole teams, not just a few
Electric desks now come as double-sided benches and multi-person clusters, not only single desks, so a whole team can sit and stand along one run.
The Agile+ Electric Height Adjustable 2 Person Double Sided Workstation (from $1,968) puts two desks on one H frame, with a motor concealed in each leg. It moves at 30mm/s across a 645mm to 1285mm range, including the worktop, and has a 4 point memory control. It carries a 160kg weight rating and a 10 Year Warranty.
To adopt it in stages, start with one double-sided bench for the team that asks first. Its page says it integrates with Agile single desks and the wider Agile Collection, so the run can grow later. For a single desk, the Montana above lifts 140kg at 32mm per second and has 3-point memory control.
Pods, booths and screens for calls and focus
An open-plan floor works until two people join video calls at once. Current ranges answer this at two scales: enclosed phone booths and screened workpoints on the open floor.
The Qzone Phonebooth (Version 2) ($8,114) is a dedicated phone booth for private calls and individual tasks, working as a self-contained workstation within an open-plan area. Its New Oak Ravine finish shows the timber trend reaching quiet spaces too. Compare other sizes in our acoustic pods and phone booths range.
For focused work without a door, the Motion Zip 1 Charcoal/Stone, Beech ($3,432) is a one-seat acoustic workstation with a 700 x 920mm worktop. Its sculpted, acoustic upholstered panels stand 1400mm high and help soften surrounding noise. The worktop comes in Solid Beech or Lacquered White, and it carries a 10-Year warranty. Start with one booth or workpoint near the busiest team, then add more once you see how often it is used.
Soft seating for hybrid days
When most of the team comes in on the same days, people need somewhere to catch up outside a booked meeting room. Lounge ranges now include armless modules that join into longer runs.
The Ola Modular - Straight 2 Seater - No Arms ($1,851) is upholstered in green EcoPlush recycled fabric on black powder-coated diecast aluminium legs. Joining clips are included, so modules link into shapes that suit your floor plan. Each seat has a recommended weight capacity of 140kg, and it carries a 5 year warranty.
Begin with one module beside the kitchen, and clip on more as busy days fill up. Our breakout and booth seating range has chairs and ottomans to finish the zone.
Modular and mobile pieces that reconfigure
The fifth direction is furniture that changes with the day. Castors, joining clips and modular components let one floor host a workshop on Tuesday and quiet desk work on Wednesday.
The Elaro Occasional Meeting Chair w/ Castors ($602) measures 630mm wide, 650mm deep and 910mm high, so it suits smaller meeting spaces. A height-adjustable gas lift lets each person set their own seat height, and the 5-Star Slimline Castor base makes it easy to move between spaces. It carries a 10-Year Warranty.
Modular pieces make a sensible first purchase in a changing office, because they follow the plan when it moves. The Ola modules clip together, and the Motion Zip 1 is supplied as modular components that are put together on site.
Office furniture trends for 2026 at a glance
Use this summary to pick a first step for each trend.
| Trend | What it looks like | Products in this guide | A first step |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warm timber and softer colours | Oak, maple and beech finishes; sage screens | Wooden Slat AcoustiQ Panel; Montana with Sage Green Edge25 Screen | One slat wall in a shared area |
| Sit-stand for whole teams | Double-sided electric benches | Agile+ 2 Person Double Sided Workstation | One bench for one team |
| Quiet spaces | Phone booths and screened workpoints | Qzone Phonebooth (Version 2); Motion Zip 1 | One booth near the busiest team |
| Soft seating for hybrid days | Armless lounge modules | Ola Modular Straight 2 Seater | One module, then more as needed |
| Modular and mobile | Castors, joining clips, on-site components | Elaro Occasional Meeting Chair w/ Castors | Mobile chairs for shared rooms |
Planning a 2026 refresh in an Australian office
Early January is often a quiet time in the office, which makes it easier to measure up and try layouts. Australia's financial year runs from 1 July to 30 June, so a staged plan can buy the first pieces now and leave larger items for the next budget.
Each product page has a Delivery line naming its metro cities. All seven products here list metro Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide. Deliveries go to the ground-floor entrance, and goods arrive flat-packed unless the product page says otherwise, so measure lifts and doorways for the larger pieces.
The Montana desk is AFRDI approved. AFRDI, the Australasian Furnishing Research and Development Institute, is an independent body that tests and certifies furniture for Australia and New Zealand.
Office furniture trends — frequently asked questions
What are the office furniture trends for 2026?
The clearest directions in current ranges are warm timber looks with softer colours, sit-stand desks for whole teams, phone booths and screened workpoints, soft seating for hybrid days, and modular or mobile pieces. Each one can be adopted in stages rather than in a single fit-out.
Can you mix sit-stand desks with fixed desks?
Yes, electric desks can sit beside fixed desks while you replace them in stages. Choose the same top finish and depth where you can, so the room still looks planned.
What is the difference between a phone booth and an acoustic workpoint?
A phone booth is an enclosed unit for private calls, while an acoustic workpoint is an open, screened desk for focused work. The Qzone Phonebooth (Version 2) is the first kind, and the Motion Zip 1 is the second.
How can you make an office feel warmer without a full refit?
Add timber-look surfaces and softer colours where people gather. A slat wall panel, a lounge in a soft colour or oak-look desk tops will change the feel of a room without moving a wall.
Shop the range
Every product in this guide is listed below in the order it appears. Our height-adjustable workstations, acoustic pods and breakout seating hold more sizes and finishes.
- Wooden Slat AcoustiQ Panel ($196): timber veneer slats that warm a wall and absorb incident sound
- Montana Electric Standing Straight Workstation with Sage Green Edge25 Screen (from $966): a single sit-stand desk with a softer sage screen and timber-look tops
- Agile+ Electric Height Adjustable 2 Person Double Sided Workstation (from $1,968): a double-sided electric bench that starts a team-wide sit-stand plan
- Qzone Phonebooth (Version 2) ($8,114): a dedicated booth for private calls, finished in New Oak Ravine
- Motion Zip 1 Charcoal/Stone, Beech ($3,432): a one-seat acoustic workpoint for focused work on an open floor
- Ola Modular - Straight 2 Seater - No Arms ($1,851): armless lounge modules that clip together for hybrid-day catch-ups
- Elaro Occasional Meeting Chair w/ Castors ($602): a compact gas-lift chair on castors that moves easily between rooms
Metro delivery is a flat $75 per order, and prices include GST.
