How This Office Made The Workplace More Homey

As the working world continues finding its footing between hybrid work schedules, remote offices and being back in the office full time, one company is setting the standard for how office interior design can deliver the kind of comfort that feels like home and corporate necessities. This kind of approach not only ensures that there's a culture that values the mental health of its employees, but helps to attract new talents who want a space that oozes creative thinking. Covid certainly taught us how our homes needed pockets for productivity, but can the modern office offer pockets of comfort?

Daytrip.studio headed this project for a media company in London that occupies three floors of an 18th-century industrial warehouse which features exposed brick, Crittall windows, a rooftop pavilion and a terrace. The building certainly has a character of its own, and Daytrip was encouraged to harness that energy to create an audacious interior that didn't follow the conventional design rules of a typical office. The client also requested that individual workspaces make up most of the floor plan, with pockets of open-plan studio space for collaboration, plus a floor that would function as a flexible lounge-work area and meeting rooms.

At the heart of the concept were comfort and usability, allowing employees to feel at ease when toying with ideas and brainstorming without distraction. Interior design has the power to set the tone and energy within a space, which is why this one, in particular, uses spurts of happy, vibrant colours, along with ethereal, soft materials to keep a balance between energy and calm.

The interior design language uses a classic feminine aesthetic that focuses on softening each room– references to 1950s kitchens, old Hollywood glamour and the ritzy lifestyle of Californian clubhouses were used. The office is artfully balanced using a mix of materials like plywood and pigmented MDF with more upscale finishes such as high gloss lacquer, deep velvets, and plush carpets. The results are daring but make for a definitely comforting office, with liberal use of colour and contrast while maintaining a sense of opulence.

Throughout the space, you feel as though you're walking through a mishmash of retro eras, with playful furniture that celebrates mid-century modern silhouettes alongside classic fabrics from the 1920s, all to elicit a strong nostalgia. This creative and contemporary approach to a retro interior lends itself nicely to the emerging culture of the flexible work economy, it defies standards and offers its workers a polished, professional, and playful alternative to working from home.

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