Cement colored offices make people sad, but you don't get much done at a coffee shop.
I think that making your office space awesome (e.g. Google's Tel Aviv office in particular – http://bit.ly/1ePziyy) is the ultimate solution. You need a place where people can be creative but productive, and still interact with others around them so that they don't feel alone and depressed.
If you want the best out of people, you need to give them the best.
We went from working a slightly dingy, tiny office in a converted duplex to a brand new place with open floor plans and 3 times the space, but the new office was so dang loud, nobody could get anything done. Concrete floors, block walls, no ceiling tiles, it looks really nice but you can hear a ping drop in the front office from the back of the building.
I work in an office in downtown Boulder, CO, and while it looks amazing (heaps of comfy chairs, bean bags) there is construction being done all the time and my desk shakes like we're being hit by an earthquake. Down the road from us are Quickleft's offices, and they have a keg of beer on tap and a Japanese rock garden. Jealous.
I think that making your office space awesome (e.g. Google's Tel Aviv office in particular – http://bit.ly/1ePziyy) is the ultimate solution. You need a place where people can be creative but productive, and still interact with others around them so that they don't feel alone and depressed.
If you want the best out of people, you need to give them the best.