Furniture, Future-Proofed: The subscription
flex has been waiting for
FEATURES / 12 OCTOBER 2026
In a sector founded on the very basis of flexibility, furniture has long remained the exception to the rule. Enter NORNORM, spearheading a new era. Its fully circular subscription gifts landlords, operators and occupiers design-led, Nordic-inspired workspaces that can scale, shift and evolve alongside them, all without the hefty upfront cost or long-term commitment. From the heart of Southwark to Amsterdam's canal-side, discover how some of flex's leading names are furnishing differently below...
When NORNORM arrived on the scene in 2021, offices were still being kitted out with brand-new furniture, much of it destined for the skip the moment the brief changed. The brand's answer was a far more considered one.
Rather than buying furniture outright, clients subscribe to a complete workspace solution, with design, installation, maintenance and the flexibility to adapt all wrapped up in one monthly fee. When a piece has run its course in one office, it's refurbished and given a second life in the next.
That approach has won over an enviable roster of more than 1,200 businesses, from household names such as Holland & Barrett, Polaroid and Skanska to some of London's leading flex operators, including RIVVIA, infinitSpace and NewFlex. Over five million sq ft later, NORNORM is fast shedding its newcomer status - and has well and truly earned its seat at the table.
Rethinking the fit out
There's no denying the flex sector has matured. Occupiers now expect polished, move-in-ready spaces from day one, operators need floors that flex with their members, and landlords are rolling out fitted and managed products of their own at pace.
Furniture, however, is a different story entirely. Bought upfront and losing value from the moment it's unwrapped, it remains one of the most rigid fixtures in an otherwise agile industry - and when the brief inevitably shifts, far too much of it ends up on the scrap heap. In fact, a staggering 57 million tonnes of office furniture are discarded globally every single year.
And that's precisely the gap NORNORM set out to fill.
From floor plan to fully furnished
The process itself is effortless. Clients share a floorplan, and within 48 hours NORNORM's design team returns an interactive 3D layout. Once signed off, delivery, assembly and installation are all taken care of, transforming a blank canvas into a fully furnished workspace in as little as four weeks.
It's the aftercare, however, that truly sets the brand apart. An eight-week Design Satisfaction Guarantee invites clients to settle in and road-test their space before fine-tuning the layout, while maintenance and repairs are handled behind the scenes. As the business evolves, so too can the workspace - with unlimited freedom to scale up, scale down or reimagine the floor entirely.
And for those with a taste for the finer things, add-ons range from sleek Herman Miller seating to private phone booths.
Less capex, more flexibility
Subscriptions start from 30p per sq ft per month, replacing the significant upfront investment that furnishing a workspace has traditionally demanded.
For operators and landlords, that unlocks a full OPEX or CAPEX-light model, freeing up capital to reinvest into the spaces themselves. With a flexible subscription, they can adapt their furniture requirements as their businesses evolve, and the monthly fee moves with them. Relocating? The subscription follows suit.
On home turf: NewFlex
NewFlex is one UK operator already reaping the rewards. Delivering and managing flexible workspace for landlords and occupiers alike, the brand has teamed up with NORNORM across multiple requirements in Southwark and Reading - and the scope is impressively broad. From complete workstations and additional desks to phone booths, kitchens, lounges and collaborative furniture, NORNORM has kitted out every corner.
And rather than juggling a patchwork of suppliers, the operator now has one dedicated partner delivering the same standard of design and service across its growing portfolio.
Scaling across markets: infinitSpace
It's a similar story for infinitSpace. Renowned for transforming commercial buildings into high-performing flex for landlords, the operator also runs its own premium coworking brand, beyond.
At Fox Court in London, infinitSpace took the reins of an existing flexible workspace and began its revamp, with NORNORM furnishing the common areas and meeting rooms, and upgrading tenant workstations with sit-stand desks. It builds on a partnership that first took root across several beyond locations in Amsterdam, including its flagship canal-side address.
By entrusting the furniture layer to NORNORM, infinitSpace sidesteps the burden of owning yet another fixed asset.
Circular by Design
Where NORNORM really comes into its own, however, is sustainability. While plenty of brands pay lip service to going green, circularity is the very backbone of its business model. When a workspace changes, furniture is collected, refurbished and recirculated to its next home - extending its lifespan and keeping it well away from landfill.
The impact is significant. According to NORNORM, its circular model emits more than 70% less CO₂ than buying new. By October 2023, the brand had already avoided 140,000 tonnes of CO₂.
And none of it comes at the expense of aesthetics. Rooted in Nordic design, the collection pairs pieces from a carefully curated group of partners with NORNORM's own circular designs, each chosen to be timeless, functional and built to last.
The B Corp Seal of Approval: RIVVIA
Few operators illustrate this better than RIVVIA. The B Corp-certified brand has partnered with NORNORM on five projects across London and Amsterdam.
With the subscription in place, RIVVIA can adapt its spaces as client needs change, while NORNORM manages the furniture as an ongoing service. The green credentials stack up too, with circular furnishing cutting the climate impact of RIVVIA's furniture by a whopping 76%.
For Greg Feld-Davidovici, Co-founder and Co-CEO of RIVVIA, the partnership extends well beyond the furniture itself: "NORNORM's circular model allows us to adapt to our clients' needs at a moment's notice. It's not just furniture, it's a service. And most importantly, it's the people at NORNORM."
The Bottom Line
Flex has spent the past decade reinventing how office space is leased, managed and experienced. With space as a service now firmly the norm, furniture as a service is the natural next chapter - and if you ask us, NORNORM is already several steps ahead.
It seems only a matter of time before more landlords and operators follow in the footsteps of NewFlex, RIVVIA and infinitSpace.
NORNORM is a proud sponsor of the Flex and The City Awards 2026 - catch the team at Ministry of Sound on 15 October. To stay up to date on NORNORM and its growing flex portfolio, be sure to subscribe.
Written by
Flex and The City