Signature Spaces Designer of the Year 2025
David Allen
Entry for Signature Spaces Designer of the Year 2025.
This home office was a part of a whole-house renovation project, which meant I had a good understanding of the client's taste and how they live. The brief was to create a home office for a mixture of working from home, general paperwork and booking holidays. The client needed a desk big enough for a Mac computer, storage for stationery, storage for a printer, as well as book and file storage, an area to house a TV monitor for security and display space for the client’s passion, cars. The space needed to be practical but cool, with a New York office feel.
The layout of the office positions the desk facing both the window and the door, to ensure the client doesn’t have their back to anyone entering the room or property. This also gives the client the best view out of the window, creating a calm place to sit. The desk is floating on one side with a leg on the other and includes built-in compartments for stationery and paperwork, which allows the client to keep the desk tidy while working. The desk was designed to be open from both sides giving the client an opportunity to add another chair from the other side to maximise usability.
The desk sweeps round to the back of the room, where it is met with a wall of sleek storage and LED-lit display shelves. This gives the client storage for books and files with plenty of space to display cars and car books. Wall-mounted drawers continue along the back wall of the office, continuing the floating look of the office. Positioned on the back wall is also a tall double unit, which has fully adjustable shelves and a pull-out shelf for the client's printers.
On the opposite wall, I created base storage with an integrated TV panel for the TV and security monitor. This gives the client a clear view of this screen to either keep an eye on security or watch TV.
The materials used are both luxurious and practical, giving the client a beautiful yet functional space. The desk and worktop are made from a Ceramic material and finished in Labradorite, which is a great surface to write on and can deal with any heat from hot drinks. The open shelves and floating units are finished in a dark veneer, which is accented by the halo of LED lights to create a backdrop for the client's display. The tall units and TV area are made from a metal-clad door and finished in a bronze finish, which is both robust and can be easily cleaned. The floor is a practical and beautiful wood-effect tile, and the ceiling lights are built into a track system to maintain clean lines throughout the space.
This office gives the client all the storage solutions they need while giving them a layout which best serves the room with a luxurious feel, creating a true sanctuary for work.