The Home Office Edit: What Designers Are Specifying Now

From sculptural desks to hardworking storage and the elusive stylish ergonomic chair, designers share the sources and pieces shaping today’s multifunctional home office.

Home offices are working hard, serving as work-from-home spaces and doing double duty as places for entertaining and relaxing with family and friends.

It means furniture must be multifunctional and selections thoughtful.

Last week, I talked with interior designers about directions in home office design. This week, they share some of their favorite sources for key home office components — desks, chairs and storage — and we showcase some new options in those categories.

Redefining the desk

As I noted last week, there’s not much demand for traditional, boxy executive desks, but a desk of some sort is a defining feature of a home office.

“We do more writing desks than we do executive-style desks, so we’re typically looking for really pretty desks, not heavy-lifting functionality,” says Amy Peltier, founder and creative director of Peltier Interiors, which has offices in San Marino, California, and outside Washington, D.C., in Northern Virginia, where Peltier resides. Some of her favorite brands for desks or tables that can function as desks include Woodbridge Furniture, Lexington, Chaddock and Century.

“A lot of times it’s not only the desk itself but what kind of finishes I can get on it,” Peltier says. “Having flexibility on finishes is key.”

While designers favor secretaries and tables as desks in today’s home offices, some clients need something more specific, including sit-to-stand desks. Ryann Swan Hackett, owner and principal designer of New York-based Ryann Swan Design, likes Uplift Desk for those. “The guts of the desk are super functional and then we’ve clad around them to make them more aesthetically pleasing,” she says.

Juniper Office, a company Hackett has used for commercial offices, also has sit-to-stand options, she says.

Alison Green, co-founder and principal designer of Élan Design House, a San Diego-based firm specializing in high-end residential and boutique hospitality projects, says she and her team sometimes turn to adjustable, reconfigurable desks from Four Hands.

Kilian Camp, principal designer who co-founded Élan Design House with Green and their business partner Kadie Chiera, adds, “For that flex space aspect we’re looking for, they have quite a few moveable desks. I feel like they definitely jumped (into that category).” Camp likes the often transitional styling of the desks, which gives her flexibility in where she can use them.

Bernhardt Asana Desk and chair — Bernhardt’s Asana collection, introduced in the spring, pairs restrained Eastern minimalism with an organic Scandinavian sensibility for an uncluttered yet inviting aesthetic. The desktop is faux stone. (Bernhardt)

Taamaa Moss Desk — The high-gloss lacquer top of Taamaa’s bold Moss desk rests upon distinctively arched supports, anchored by a structural central spine with button detailing. The drawer is finished with an aluminum cast pebble handle. (Taama)

Moe's Wiley Desk — With monolithic round legs and a scalloped edge on the clean rectangular top, Moe’s Wiley desk blends Scandinavian and Shaker influences. The desk is made of mango wood with a natural finish and is also available in a darker Vintage Brown. (Moe’s)

Madheke Talon Desk — Madheke’s Talon lightweight desk features a top composed of carbon fiber and glass with an inset soft leather writing surface. A discreet matte-finished walnut drawer sits below. Slender, tapered legs add architectural appeal. Talon is also available as a console table. (Madheke)

Flexible storage and lighting

Home offices often demand built-in storage and shelving, whether it’s being used to store work-related items or to tuck away other household objects. But there’s often a place, too, for standalone options.

“If we just need one sort of étergé type bookcase, we’ll find a piece of furniture,” Peltier says. She likes the “spectacular” bookcase options from Worlds Away and Made Goods. “And Woodbridge,” she adds, “has fantastic bookcases.”

“Arteriors does have some funky bookshelves that are interesting (and) Noir also has desks and bookshelves that are just terrific — sculptural versus being just a desk,” Camp adds.

With designers floating many desks and outlets sometimes in short supply even near bookcases or consoles, rechargeable lamps are especially useful in home offices, Green says. She points to Visual Comfort & Co. as a good source for stylish cordless options.

Wildwood Winslow cabinet — Wildwood’s neo-traditional Winslow cabinet has fluted front doors, tapered legs and classic hardware for a classic, charming look. Inside is a single shelf. Shown here in Powder Blue with gold detailing, it’s also available in Bordeaux Red. (Wildwood)

Room and Board Coles floating cabinet — The wall-mounted Coles floating cabinet from Room & Board offers generous storage, while the slatted doors promote airflow for electronics and allow remotes to work easily to control equipment contained inside. (Room and Board)

Noir Musashi cabinet — The small two-drawer Musashi cabinet from Noir is defined by faceted, pyramidal drawer fronts that add sculptural depth and showcase the wood grain. It’s shown here in Dark Walnut with brass pulls and is also available in Griege Walnut. The Musashi also comes as a large cabinet and a sideboard. (Noir)

Century Maison bookshelf — Century’s Maison bookshelf is available with wood door fronts (shown here) or mirror or mesh fronts. It also comes in a door-free version with four shelves. The bookshelf is customizable with dozens of finishes, as well as Polished Nickel hardware instead of the Antique Brass shown here. (Century)

The search for a chair

Designers have nearly boundless options for most of the pieces of furniture they include in their home office projects, yet there’s one category where they wish they had more choices: the desk chair. They’d like more style, upholstery and color options from more vendors.

“Most people still want an ergonomic desk chair,” Camp says. “… There are some cuter ones now but in general, they’re not that great.”

Herman Miller is a go-to source for ergonomic desk chairs for both Elán Design House and Jennifer Worts Design.

“Some clients are less particular about what they need in terms of a desk chair, but if someone is truly going to use a space (full time) as an office, we always want to make sure that they’re buying good adjustable furniture. It’s important to have really comfortable seating,” says Jennifer Worts, president and principal designer of Toronto-based Jennifer Worts Design, adding that other MillerKnoll brands are often good sources for home office furniture, too.

Moe's Harris Office Chair — Moe’s describes its Harris office chair as bringing “the same clean, boxy profile you’d want in a living space — then puts it on wheels for work mode.” The fabric is textured polyester and tonal piping, available in Burgandy and Oat. (Moe’s)

Aprer Cari Chair — The enveloping, sculptural Cari chair, designed by Doshi Levien for Arper, is available with a traditional five-star base with casters or with a four-star aluminum base with glides. (Showphoto)

Hurtado Connect Armchair — Hurtado debuted the Connect armchair (shown in Blush) at Workspace Design Madrid this summer. The base is available in six finishes. A swivel mechanism, adjustable seat height and tilt function with mutipositional lock provide maximum comfort. (Hurtado)

Julie A. Palm

Julie A. Palm is style editor for both Design News Now and Lighting News Now. She grew up with a DIYer mother who spent weekends browsing vintage stores, painting and decorating, giving Julie a love of all things home. Julie has covered the home furnishings industry for nearly three decades. In her role as style editor, Julie is thrilled she can focus on two of her favorite parts of the business — interior design and lighting.