Contract Furniture

A comfortable and aesthetic environment makes it easy to work and enjoy yourself during the process. At Desace, you will find everything you need to transform your workspace concept into reality.

So what is contract furniture? It refers to those furniture pieces that have been designed and manufactured specifically to be used in commercial and public settings. Compared to residential furniture, contract furniture is much stronger and durable. It is designed with practicality in mind so it can withstand heavy and repeated use.

They are designed to be used in commercial settings including offices, schools, colleges, hotels, restaurants, airports, and other public spaces. Needless to say, they call for greater strength, durability, safety, and weight-bearing qualities.

Contract Furniture Features

Because of the repeated and heavy use, it conforms to rigorous standards and constitutes certain essential features.

• High-Grade Construction Materials – Contract furniture is made from high-grade materials as compared to the ones used in homes. Popular choices of materials in metals include aluminum or high-grade stainless steel. To ensure that these metals do not get corroded, they are alloyed. Similarly, if any part of the furniture uses wood, high-quality hardwood is used for that purpose. They also use highly durable and tough plastic materials such as polypropylene. Other than these, they also use other materials that are strong and sturdy.
• Ergonomics – Another important feature is ergonomics. They are designed to keep functionality and comfort of the human body in mind. Contract furniture designs such as ergonomic chairs provide maximum support and comfort during working. With optimal support for the neck, back, arms, and legs, you are able to stay productive throughout the day.
• Strength – Being exposed to much more rigorous and heavy usage, it is only natural that it is manufactured in a way that it can withstand significant weight and high traffic.
• Durability – Durability is another important feature of contract furniture design mainly because of its continuous heavy usage. To ensure that they last for years without much wear and tear, highly durable materials and fabrication techniques are used during their manufacturing and upholstery.
• Fire and Safety – Often used in environments that have higher safety and fire standards like large buildings, hospitals, airports, oil rigs, etc. Therefore, they undergo strict fire and safety testing to conform to those high standards. It may comply with smoke emission standards and be fire-safe.
• Portability – Often designed to keep portability in mind. This is especially useful in an office environment where office contract furniture may need to be stored away to conserve space. Hence, they may have folding or nesting features that enable it to be stacked and easily moved from one place to the other.
• Fabric – Upholstered contract furniture uses highly robust and high-grade fabrics called contract fabric. Contract fabrics undergo rigorous testing during manufacture through the Martindale rub test. During the test, the fabric is tested with a machine that has sandpaper-covered discs that spin. The fabric is tested when the discs are spinning to see how much force it can withstand before it starts to wear out. Depending on the strength of the fabric, it is assigned a score. Contract fabrics, therefore, are highly robust, durable, and have antimicrobial resistance.
• Furniture Finish – Contract furniture is available in a variety of different finishes, colors, and patterns. Metal fixtures in furniture can have an electrostatic powder coating (EPC) finish or a chrome finish. Laminate furniture can have a glossy or matte finish in hundreds of colors, patterns, and designs.
• Warranty – Since they made from such robust and durable materials that conform to high industry standards, it has much longer warranties than domestic furniture. Some contract furniture can have as long warranties as 20 years. This is a testament to their highly durable and strong construction.

Types of Contract Furniture

Since contract furniture is used in public spaces, it comprises all the types of furniture that can be used out of a domestic setup. Public places like hospitality venues, offices, reception areas, educational institutions, churches, community centers, healthcare facilities, transport stations, and many other areas use such pieces. Therefore contract furniture can include any type of furniture that can be used in these facilities including (but not limited to):

• Tables
• Desks
• Chairs
• Office chairs
• Benches
• Couch
• Cabinets
• Shelves
• Storage cupboards
• Others