Office Move-In Guide

Furniture, Fixtures & Equipment (FF&E)

Get the desks, chairs, rooms, and storage to arrive on time, fit the space, and actually be usable — power included.

working draft Updated Jun 3, 2026

Furniture, Fixtures & Equipment (FF&E)

What this is

FF&E is everything physical people touch every day: desks, chairs, meeting tables, lounge furniture, storage, monitors, monitor arms, whiteboards, lamps, planters, sometimes appliances. This workstream gets the right pieces to the right place, on time, and usable.

Why it matters

Furniture is where “it arrived” and “it works” most often come apart. Desks show up but the power isn’t there. Chairs land after opening. A conference room has a beautiful table and no working audio/visual (AV). Tracking the dependencies, not just the deliveries, is the whole job.

Who owns it

The workplace lead, usually working with a furniture dealer and/or designer, and coordinating with the property manager (PM) for building access and freight.

First 48-hour questions

  • How many people need to work in the space on opening day?
  • What furniture is already owned, leased, included, reused, or missing?
  • What are the order, delivery, and install dates?
  • Does the furniture plan align with power, egress, accessibility, and team seating?

What to confirm / set up

  • What’s already in the space, and what’s ordered / awaiting approval or payment.
  • Delivery and install dates, who receives deliveries, and whether there’s a staging area.
  • The freight elevator is reserved for delivery and install.
  • The plan aligns with power locations — a desk without power is not a usable desk.
  • Enough task chairs, monitors, and conference-room seats for day one.
  • The damage / warranty process, and how leftovers get reused, donated, or recycled.

Track it all in the FF&E Inventory.

Opening-critical vs. can-wait

Opening-critical: enough powered desks and chairs for the people showing up, and working furniture in the day-one meeting rooms. Can wait: extra lounge furniture, decorative pieces, planters, and “phase two” seating that no one needs on day one.

Common misses

  • Desks arrive but power isn’t ready.
  • Chairs (or monitors) arrive after opening.
  • Conference rooms have tables but no working AV.
  • The furniture vendor assumes building access is handled — and it isn’t.
  • Damaged items aren’t documented during install.
  • Extra furniture has no storage or disposition plan.

From open to great

Opening safely is the floor. The pieces people touch all day are where open becomes great — and the big orders are hard to undo:

  • The right chairs and sit/stand desks — people live in these eight hours a day; comfort and ergonomics aren’t cosmetic.
  • A real mix of settings — focus, collaboration, and social furniture, not just rows of identical desks.
  • Quality over “whatever arrives fastest” — a rushed substitute you regret is one you’ll see every day.

Decide early — you can’t easily undo it: long-lead furniture orders. A wrong call means living with it for years, so get the big ones right. See Aim to Open Great.

Tools for this workstream

Terms you’ll hear

FF&E · freight elevator.