Contemporary work spaces in the home should be calm, clutter-free and come with plenty of personality, writes Kate Youde
For many of us, this time of year marks a return to work, whether that’s the start of a new academic semester or back to the office after a summer vacation. But since the pandemic shift in working patterns, this does not necessarily mean leaving home, so it is perhaps unsurprising that interior designers have seen an uptick in requests for beautiful yet practical studies in recent years.
The design of these spaces has evolved with the way we use them. Whereas a study may once have been occupied for a couple of hours in the evening, often it is now in demand all day. And while some homeowners still want a contemporary spin on the traditional aesthetic of dark colours, dark wood and moody lighting, a more common request is a lighter, softer, multifunctional room.
“For my clients, it’s very much a living space—it’s so much more than just a desk,” says interior designer Laura Hammett, founder and creative director of her eponymous London studio. Her studies typically feature a sofa, two armchairs and a coffee table, used for informal meetings or working with a laptop. She often places a couple of chairs opposite the desk as a “conversation space,” as seen in a study she completed last year for a penthouse in the Bahamas.
Acoustics are a key consideration. In a Westminster penthouse, London-based interior design studio Elicyon used a special plaster on the study ceiling that can absorb unwanted sound and lined the sides of shelves with sound-proofing fabric. “That client was self aware enough to say, ‘Look, apparently I’m quite shouty on phone calls and it gets to the family,’” says Charu Gandhi, founder and director of Elicyon.
Technology is integrated: in the Westminster study, cabling was concealed within the leg of the desk, while the desktop has a hidden compartment for sockets and a wireless charging pad integrated into the leather runner. Equipment is ideally stored out of sight when not in use.
In another London home designed by Elicyon, the printer is tucked away in a cupboard with a bar concealed in the elegant art deco-inspired modular unit above. This study is just off the primary living room so doubles as a “spillover” space, explains Gandhi. The client enjoys playing card and board games, so a bespoke table used for meetings has built-in games storage, too.
Contemporary studies should not be all work and no play. “They’re often the space with quite a lot of personality—a real celebration of self,” says Gandhi. The study is where someone might hang the art that feels particularly personal to them (or that their partner dislikes) or indulge in a favourite hobby. Elicyon is working on a study in west London that will showcase the owner’s “Star Wars” memorabilia. Another in a villa in the Middle East will feature a large watch winder.
This self-expression extends to an ornament that has decorated studies for centuries. Bellerby & Co Globemakers handcrafts desktop and floor-standing globes, which the London company’s founder Peter Bellerby suggests is “the most interactive piece of artwork you will ever buy. It might have the story of your life, your family over generations on there for you to reflect on,” he says. “It might just be a way of getting inspiration to see where you want to travel on your next trip.”
Personalisation requests include labelling places close to a client’s heart, tracking family migration, or showing someone’s favourite travel itineraries. One of the more unusual commissions, Bellerby says, was a globe depicting undersea cables, reflecting that particular client’s industry. It sits on a base of three bronze petals, engraved with the names of his daughters and housing the ball bearings on which the globe spins.
Hammett’s Bahamas study has a built-in cigar humidor. She believes it is important that a study represents a client’s identity. “It’s the lifestyle element that comes with working from home these days,” she explains, “and it needs to feel like a space that is tailored to them.”
She brought “a masculine feel” to the daylight-filled room with the use of materials including fluted mid-tone timber, sandy-colored leather and a bespoke dog-leg desk with a Nero Marquina marble base and liquid metal-finish top.
“We’ve got the drama with the desk, but it’s not overpowering,” she says. “It’s not heavy. And that’s probably the way that our more masculine studies are going: less of the heavy darkness.” Where they do retain a traditional feel, it tends to be “more of a stylised space,” and less regularly used.
Most of the properties Gandhi works on have at least two studies, as is the case in a high-end family home near London’s Regent’s Park that she designed. This is partly done with children in mind. Hammett agrees: “Studies have become more of a family space for the kids to come in and do their homework, or play games,” she says.
The recent work-from-home trend has driven a cultural shift. While once people sought a work-life balance, today’s buzzword is the work-life blend. And a contemporary study accommodates that.
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