3 Interior Designers Convert The Same Attic Space into a Home Office
We gave interior designers Noz Nozawa, Kat Bell, and Hema Persad a photo of the same empty attic space—and then asked each of them to convert it into a home office in their particular style. Three artists, one canvas, each bringing something different to the space. Which designer's conversion can you see yourself getting the most work done in?
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00:00These three interior designers have been asked to transform this empty attic space into a home office.
00:07They have free reign to design it in any way they please.
00:11I'm Naz, and my design style is whimsical, bold, and narrative.
00:15I'm Kat, and my design style is immersive, ever-evolving, and thoughtful.
00:19I'm Hema, and my design style is global, eclectic, and livable.
00:24No clients, no restrictions, just blank space.
00:28My first impressions of this space are, wow, what potential.
00:32It is very sad and dark.
00:34You've got a big pole in the way, no natural light.
00:38It feels cold and kind of harsh.
00:40I love how long it is, and I also love the pitched ceilings.
00:44I think those will be fun to work with.
00:46I love the idea of turning a sort of mundane space into something that's highly functional and also beautiful in its own right.
00:53The idea here is that this is my personal beach escape.
01:00It's always my goal to be on vacation, at least mentally.
01:02I think it could be really fun to lean into a 70s vibe and mix in some Brazilian and space-age elements to really spice it up.
01:11My vision for this space is light.
01:13It is neutrals, but it's fun.
01:16I do want for you to add luminosity into the space so that it feels like a really rich and rewarding place to do work.
01:22These floors have a very unfinished look.
01:29We've got these slats.
01:30It almost looks like a subfloor.
01:32It looks a little dangerous for us to walk on this.
01:34I could see a puppy foot going straight through all of that.
01:37I could see a high heel going straight through these floors.
01:40But I also really like them.
01:42The floor is currently these open slats.
01:44I'm going to opt in for a wall-to-wall mustard yellow carpet.
01:49I chose this really beautiful plush carpet by Christopher Farr.
01:52It's hand-woven, made of wool and silk.
01:55I think it will really help cozy up the room and make you want to spend more time in it.
01:59There's something about these floors that is inspiring me because I can see all of that light through it.
02:05What I want to do, which is kind of wild, I want to cover the floor in a really thick lucite.
02:11You can get lucite sheets in really, really big pieces.
02:14That is going to enable me to have a stable, sturdy floor that doesn't have giant holes through it.
02:20But I'll still get all of that light from underneath.
02:22What I want to do is place a beautiful white lacquer wood floor.
02:27It's very Scandinavian.
02:28It's clean, but at the same time, it's warm.
02:31Unlike tile, wood floors retain heat.
02:33We've got this reflective, bright, clean, white surface that still feels kind of cozy.
02:39Now, I'm not just going to do a white lacquered wood floor.
02:43I kind of had this idea to work with this beautiful terrazzo slab material.
02:48This is from my friends at Concrete Collaborative.
02:50I'm going to have this inlaid into the corner here where my seating area is.
02:54It's like my little pond in the middle of my beach.
03:02The walls are currently a cement brick.
03:05I would love to clad them in a beautiful black walnut.
03:09I also want to carry the walnut all the way up to the ceiling and box out the beams in it, too,
03:15to create a super immersive vibe that feels very rich and warm.
03:19In this case, we have a very dramatic pitched ceiling.
03:22And so, I think I'm going to lean into that.
03:24So, the walls and the ceiling here, I'm going to cover them all in a beautiful palm print wallpaper.
03:31I really love this one from Arte.
03:33It kind of emulates that palm tree shadow on sand that you see sometimes when you're on vacation.
03:38I love the beams. The detail is really cool.
03:41But these beams are not cute.
03:43So, we're going to make them cute by painting them a really nice cream color.
03:47And then we're going to hand paint a motif across each beam.
03:51This is something that I've seen in India, and I just really love that sort of artisanal feel.
03:55And it would make me happy to look at this every day.
03:57So, I personally don't like live for cinder block.
04:00It's a very practical material.
04:02They feel very cold and a little austere.
04:05If I don't have a budget, I'm going to do a lime wash.
04:09I think it's still really luxurious.
04:11There's something almost elemental and mineral rich about doing the walls in a special finish that comes from the earth.
04:17I really love the vaulted ceiling.
04:19I want to show that off, but I want to make sure the roof stays standing.
04:23We're going to replace this structural post instead with trusses.
04:27I love the ones that spray out like a sun.
04:29And if you have one, two, three, four, five, it is a queen post truss.
04:33In my personal dream beach office, we're going to have a skylight in as many places as we can.
04:38We're going to get those clouds in, and as the day goes on, you're going to see the light change.
04:43Most importantly, I think we have to bring in some skylights into this space.
04:47So, I'm going to add in six skylights between every other beam to the ceiling.
04:51I want to add skylights in this space.
04:54I think that's a really obvious way to add some sort of natural light introduction into this volume.
05:04I think the biggest challenge of this space is the massive chimney that's running on the left side.
05:09We have to create some kind of symmetry or purpose for this awkward brick wall.
05:15We can't move it. It's a fireplace. It's got to stay.
05:18And with this chimney situation, I think it would be really great to just create a built-in bookshelf with it.
05:25I think we could continue the walnut as the framing and then add in a painted textured glass panel to introduce another texture to the space.
05:33I think we mirror the chimney shape on the other side, do another built-in bookshelf that matches,
05:39and then we can have a lounge space in the front and a workspace in the back.
05:43Artist Lucas Wegwerth, who's out of Germany, he makes these beautiful stained pink and stained natural,
05:50almost scalloped shape, like dragon scale shingles that this artist puts all over his stuff.
05:57I first saw it in Design Miami with Gallery Fumi, and I was like, what is this thing?
06:03So I love the idea of asking the artist to actually create a skin to go over the fireplace flue.
06:10If you have to live with this architectural remnant in a big part of your office, you may as well make it fun.
06:17So we decided to make it sort of a functional art piece.
06:21I've plastered it and carved out some niches, and each niche has a very beautiful hand-painted floral motif.
06:28And if I ever wanted to store things in these shelves, I could.
06:31It could hold books, it could hold little tchotchkes, photos, anything inspirational to me.
06:40So there's actually another vertical beam like this running in the back of the space.
06:44So I think it'd be really cool to accentuate these poles and round them out and cover them in polished steel.
06:51There's this insane villa in Berlin called Villa Kluge, and they actually have a focal point in the room
06:58where they've created a cantilevered desk out of chrome, kind of like this.
07:02So I wanted to take inspiration from that and build something in the back of the space
07:07that I feel like would be a really strong and bold statement in that room.
07:11I want to pair the desk with these two amazing chairs by Brazilian architect Jorge Zalzupan.
07:17They have a chrome frame, which I think will go nicely with the desk.
07:20And also they're in a subtle dark olive green leather, which I think is really nice against the wood.
07:26So across from the desk, I would love to do something a bit more low profile.
07:30So I found this vintage leather bench by Bodile KR.
07:33It's in a really beautiful cognac leather, and it also has chrome legs.
07:38The back of this space is going to be my coffee break area.
07:42Coffee is an absolute must for me.
07:44And I like this idea of having a drink station where we can just take a break, make a drink,
07:50and then sit right here at this corner banquette.
07:53So the banquette fabric I've upholstered in this beautiful Schumacher material.
07:58It's got kind of like this linear print.
08:00It was a collaboration with Porter Taleo.
08:02And the base of the banquette is going to be this lovely terracotta kind of like rough feeling tile.
08:08Again, maybe this beach office is inspired a little bit by Greece.
08:13So what I would love to do in my home office in the attic is create a ridiculous S-shaped table
08:20that snakes itself around the fireplace and then into it.
08:24And I'm very excited about this S-table because I've done it as a dining table once before,
08:28and it's seated so many people.
08:30It can serve as a giant shared desk.
08:32It can serve as a collaboration table where we have samples all over the table
08:36and we're looking at them with each other under the natural light of skylights.
08:40And then for the office chairs, listen, everyone can do what they want.
08:45I like a chair that rolls.
08:46I need casters, but I want it to be chic.
08:49It's my home office after all.
08:51I'm obsessed with these chairs that I saw at Design Miami by artist Chris Wolsten.
08:54And I want to upholster them in squishy fun things.
08:57Both of these are really, really lush and cozy.
08:59And I want the home office to be cozy.
09:02So I think it's important for a home office, especially if you have as much space as this,
09:07is to create two zones.
09:09So in the front of the space, I really want to create a lounge reading-type area.
09:15So I want to bring in this amazing chair.
09:17It's ring-shaped.
09:18It's by a Brazilian architect named Ricardo Fascinello.
09:22He's one of my favorites.
09:23And I think it really helps to bring in a space-age vibe into the space.
09:28I love the idea of building a daybed off of the right-side bookshelf.
09:33The bottom cushion's covered in a beautiful fabric by Kvadrat.
09:38And then the back cushions are reupholstered in this beautiful fabric
09:44inspired by an architectural print by Elitist.
09:47We also need file cabinets, right?
09:49No matter how paperless your office is,
09:51you always end up having something that needs to be there,
09:54even if it's just for storing crayons or something.
09:57There is an artist, Khaled Elmaez, who I'm obsessed with.
10:00And they have these tall stack, gorgeous file cabinets
10:05that have this round base with a rectangular tower of drawers over top of it.
10:09And I think that would be really cool to have three right in a row.
10:12So to further create division without actually adding walls,
10:17I like to use rugs because they visually delineate areas in rooms.
10:23Here we're going to add a beautiful terracotta-colored rug in the middle
10:28with an island on top.
10:30We look at lots of samples, so we really do need a lot of that flat space.
10:35So we're creating this island area in the middle,
10:37and the idea is group gathering.
10:39Another thing that's super, super important in my office
10:42and probably most offices is storage.
10:44I'm going to add this beautiful credenza off to the right
10:47where we're going to store some samples
10:49and then maybe have some coffee table design books up top.
10:53We're going to sort of create like a little sample area
10:56where we can store things and put them away.
10:58Above the credenza, again, because we don't really have a lot of tall wall space,
11:03I'm going to include these ceiling mount shelves,
11:06and they're going to be mounted on where the angle starts.
11:09And that's sort of going to save our wall space
11:11and give us that extra storage that we need.
11:13So I want to use this Abel chair from BDDW.
11:16So we're going to use a little side table
11:18from a designer in San Francisco, Lane McNabb,
11:20and this side table feels so much like the base of the table
11:24that I've designed for the S.
11:26So this feels like the perfect side table.
11:28There's also this incredible designer, Maurice Marty,
11:32who's represented by 21st Gallery.
11:34They make a bolt desk.
11:36It's so bonko, and I kind of need it up here.
11:39It's ridiculous.
11:40One of the legs of the desk is literally a giant gold bolt,
11:43and it actually is such a thorough design feature
11:46that it comes up through the surface of the desk,
11:49which I just think is so joyful.
11:51And that feels super industrial but, like, beautiful.
11:54So moving up to the front, I've always wanted a gold desk.
11:59So here we have an L-shaped desk,
12:01and I'm imagining that there is a wall straight across here.
12:05So we're going to take up the wall space on the right-hand side
12:07with a beautiful big L-shaped desk.
12:10And then on the left, that's going to be our relaxation area
12:13because I don't know about you, but most creative people
12:15and people in general need a lot of breaks.
12:17So I wanted to create a nice break area here across from the desk.
12:22The chair is a beautiful chair by Thomas Hayes Studio.
12:25He's based here in L.A.,
12:26and I've reupholstered it with this St. Frank fabric.
12:30So it's a little bit of an e-cat global ethnic print.
12:33It just makes me happy.
12:34But I love the shape, and the back is, like, very supportive,
12:37and it does swivel.
12:39The idea behind creating this little pond terrazzo area
12:44is so that I can then place some furniture over here
12:47and create an area that's kind of away from the main workspace
12:50where I can go maybe lay down, take a call, take a nap.
12:53But it's meant to kind of section off the space without adding walls.
12:57We've got this chaise lounge from The Expert
12:59covered in this beautiful boucle, cozy fabric,
13:02so I can be, like, on my own little island when I want to take a nap.
13:05If this were my office, we keep samples in the office.
13:09We keep these, like, pieces of wood and, like, leather and fabric, right?
13:12Like, we need somewhere for that to go.
13:14I love having things have friends in my spaces.
13:18So I don't want this little armadillo cabinet back here
13:21to be a lonely friend with nobody.
13:23I think it's very, very cool to showcase, like, the artist twice.
13:27So artist Lukas Wegwerth, who's out of Germany,
13:30this giant armadillo cabinet that, like, comes down and has little legs.
13:34Here's the other thing about home office in the attic.
13:37I personally feel really strongly about accessibility,
13:41especially when it comes to commercial spaces.
13:43I'm going to put an elevator in my home office.
13:45So we're going to do one of those little tube elevators
13:47that you can retrofit into older houses.
13:49And they don't go very far.
13:51They only go, like, three stories, which I'm presuming this home is at most.
13:55So we're going to tuck it just behind the fireplace flue.
13:58♪♪
14:02Let's talk about lighting.
14:05I do like more of an ambient glow, which is why I'm not in a home office
14:08putting, like, big desk functional lights everywhere
14:11over this giant S-shaped table.
14:14I want to do something kind of unexpected and a little bit animal-ish
14:18because of the, like, armadillo scale thing that I'm really excited about.
14:22So there are these light fixtures made out of leather from La Viva Home.
14:26They're by a Colombian artist and his team, Edgar Beltran Jaramillo.
14:29They look like flowers, but they look like animals,
14:31and they would make friends with the armadillo stuff in the room.
14:34So they come in lots of different leathers.
14:36So, like, literally there's, like, eggplant.
14:38There's pebble. This is, like, kind of a cognac.
14:41There's so many different colors.
14:42I'm not personally a big fan of recess lighting.
14:45I think there are better options here.
14:47So what I want is the drama.
14:49We've got this beautiful pitch ceiling, these dramatic skylights,
14:53and so I wanted to add a chandelier that I love.
14:56This is the Lindsay Adleman chandelier,
14:58and we have seen it here on Space Savers before,
15:00but this is my take on it.
15:01It's like adding jewelry to the ceiling.
15:03It's got a few lights, and in my mind, it's on a dimmer,
15:07so we can adjust how intense it is,
15:09but really it's just the drama of Lindsay Adleman's chandelier.
15:12In addition to the skylights,
15:14I want to bring in a lot of ambient lighting to the space.
15:17So on the front lounge area,
15:19I'm going to add in this light fixture by Mario Yagi.
15:23I actually have this light in my dining room,
15:25and I'm obsessed with it.
15:26The frame is made out of a French silk,
15:28and I think it brings a really nice feminine touch to the space.
15:31On the right side above the daybed,
15:33I want to bring in this oversized sconce by A&D Light,
15:37which is a really cool lighting company out of Vancouver.
15:40The finish is actually in a textured glass as well,
15:43so I think it works to complement the bookshelf quite nicely.
15:46I actually have a new lighting collection with Corbett Lighting,
15:50and I'm really, really excited and very proud of them,
15:52but I'm really into using my Riviera sconce.
15:56They're like alabaster roundies that sit dangling off of the sconce base.
16:01I think they're really cool, and they're casual, right?
16:04So a personal inspiration of mine is Anna Karlin.
16:07I love this totem lamp that she's made.
16:09It's kind of wild.
16:10I barely understand how it was built, and I think it's incredible.
16:15So it sort of suspends itself between the vaulted ceiling and the floor.
16:19And then Jenna Lyons, also love her.
16:21She has this whole lighting collection with Roland Hill,
16:24and so I'm just featuring one of her lamps.
16:25The thing that's hard to see about it when you're sort of at eye level with it
16:29is the base is like a starfish.
16:31It's wild.
16:36So as far as decorating the office,
16:38I don't know that I need tons of physical objects in this space.
16:42I love what we've done with the trusses.
16:45I don't want to put art on the wall.
16:47Again, I want fewer distractions, but I want a vibe.
16:49Office is not complete without a vibe, and I think I want to do that with lighting.
16:53So I'm going to do a wash of lighting up all of the walls,
16:58the entire perimeter with LED color light.
17:00I'm going to choose hot pink in this instance because I have pink chairs.
17:04But the cool thing about LEDs is they can be any color.
17:07So if you're like, you know what?
17:08I'm kind of like over the hot pink vibe.
17:10I think today's giving the emerald green.
17:12You could do that.
17:13The decor I'm going to keep to a minimum.
17:15I'm going to put some books on the bookshelf, some found objects, and some vases.
17:19But in general, I like to not over clutter spaces
17:22for the sake of just putting things on the shelves.
17:25I think it's really important to collect things over time,
17:28things that you love, and for the shelves to grow with how you grow.
17:32I've included a very large piece by Caterbowlie.
17:35I love his work, and I love his story.
17:37He used to be a shepherd in Africa and then made his way over to the United States.
17:41Kind of came from nothing and now has this huge booming art career.
17:45So not only are the paintings beautiful, but I just love the story.
17:48And I feel like every day looking at this piece of art would be really inspirational to me.
17:53And then I love plants.
17:54They bring fresh air, and they just make a space feel good.
17:56So this is my little aerial jungle.
17:59We've got hanging plants.
18:00We've got floor trees.
18:02We've got a tree over here in this built-in banquette.
18:04So we're scattering greenery all throughout, again,
18:07for that ethereal sort of breath of fresh air feel that we're trying to capture here.
18:15Overall, I love this space.
18:17And overall, it just makes me feel like I'm walking into vacation every day when really it's work.
18:21I'm super happy with how this turned out.
18:24Personally, I would love to work in a space like this.
18:27I love how the chrome accents and the Brazilian space-age furniture really helps bring everything together.
18:33I am obsessed with this home office.
18:35We've got weird shapes.
18:37We've got little guys that look like animals.
18:39We've got texture.
18:40We've got artists and designers in a space that I get to celebrate.
18:44But it's also generally kind of beige.
18:48It allows me to use the lighting as the color.
18:51And if we ever had a client over, I'd be really proud to host them for a meeting in this space.
18:56So I think we nailed it.
19:03Oh, my God.
19:05Everyone's is so different.
19:08This feels like a fairytale land.
19:10Oh, my gosh.
19:11This is cute.
19:12It's wild.
19:13This is my dream house.
19:14I love it.
19:15The pink is actually like a light wash.
19:16So she could be green.
19:17She could be yellow.
19:18But everything else is-
19:19I like how R2-D2 added in his age.
19:20Oh, thanks.
19:21I love that.
19:22This is awesome.
19:23Okay, and you kept the columns.
19:24Yeah.
19:25So I just cladded it in like a polished steel.
19:26And then I tried to create like with the chimney some symmetry.
19:30That's so cute.
19:31You have a little like breakfast nook situation.
19:33Yeah, because in my dreams, this is my office.
19:35I get coffee.
19:36I take a break.
19:37I take a phone call.
19:38I put the record player on.
19:40Oh, look at you.
19:41I had a whole lifestyle.
19:42This is amazing.
19:43Oh, my gosh.
19:44We all did skylights.
19:45Oh, my gosh.
19:46We're amazing.
19:47I kind of had to.
19:48Yeah.
19:49It was like so ugly.
19:50So I had to make it beautiful.
19:51That was it.