A home office that doesn't feel like an office

If you like to feel at home in your office, then go for furniture with a living room feel rather than stark metal or glass. I love this white Lila set available at Coco Male...

The twin pedestal desk has room for all the essentials yet you wouldn't guess that from looking at it with all the doors and drawers closed. There's also enough surface space to work when you are not on the computer which makes it a versatile piece. 

 

 

The furniture is made from solid ash wood, so it's built to last. You also won't get anything flat-packed here - all the items above come ready asemled so you can start work in that home office without the hours spent building.

A tour of Twitter's new San Francisco office

We've had a look at where Facebook employees do their thing in London, so here's an insight into where those folk over at, the rapidly growing, Twitter reside. The new office currently houses around 100 employees, but it's pretty spacious with room to grow. There are a few neat ideas dotted around such as bird motifs and decals, but by and large it's a functional space. I particularly love the large meeting rooms and the excessive number of sofas. Comfort is key!

Chinese build world's largest solar energy office

 
So China does have some plans in mind for becoming greener... and it would just have to be the 'biggest' too.

'The world's largest solar energy office building opened on November 27 in Dezhou, Shandong Province in northwest China. The building, which has a total area of 75,000 square meters, features exhibition centers, scientific research facilities, meeting and training facilities, and a hotel.

The design of the building is based on the sun dial and underlines the urgency of seeking renewable energy sources to replace fossil fuels. The design also features the Chinese characters for sun "日" and moon "月", and the color white predominates, symbolizing clean energy.'

Source: china.org.cn

How to make a building stand out

So you have a nice building, but you really want people to take a bit more notice of it. Look no further than 3D video projection. This video is a must-watch...

Projection on Buildings from NuFormer Digital Media on Vimeo.

Thanks to VideoGoGo for finding this little gem.

Decorating the office for Christmas

I started a new job earlier in the year and it's the first time I've ever worked in a big open plan office. Previously my office has been shared with just one other person. Part of the festive season at work sees each bank of desks compete to decorate their space and the winners get a prize. It got me thinking how other workplaces decorate their buildings for Christmas? Is your boss a scrooge or all for festive fun? Here are some I found on Flickr... let me know if you can do better.

Photo Credit: dejahthoris on Flickr.com


Photo Credit: Brandy Shaul on Flickr.com


Photo Credit: kaytethinks on Flickr.com

And there are always those office pranksters who take it just a bit too far...

Photo Credit: tbertor1 on Flickr.com

Photo Credit: AussieGold on Flickr.com

Cocoon gives office design a whirl

As striking entrances go, this one is definitely up there.

This project is called Cocoon and is a bold stand-alone building in Zurich. The centre piece of the building is an upwardly widening atrium with a ramp that ascends the central space connecting the different areas. The skylight at the top floods the whole area with light making it an bright and airy place to be.


I wouldn't mind working there! The inside really is beautiful, but I can't help thinking it's a shame that the outside of the building doesn't really have the same impact. To me, it just looks like another office block, even if it is circular.

The shop that acts as a design inspiration

I was emailed about a fairly new interior design shop - eliská - that was opened by renowned international interior designer, Eliská Sapera. It's at 16a New Quebec Street, London and replicated online at www.eliskadesign.com. Why was it worth a feature? Because the space is inspiring and would make a fabulous place to work.

This is a gorgeous, tiny shop, crammed full of eclectic and unusual interiors items - truly a style lovers dream. It showcases a wide selection of Eliská’s design ideas – from bold, innovative bespoke items to small, quirky, instant must-have pieces. Regular visits are a must as new pieces are sourced and frequently added.


The shop acts as a design inspiration. It is a place to buy highly desirable and unusual pieces. From stunning one-off items, such as her crocodile print leather dressing table, to small takeaway treat items and gifts, such as mother of pearl and wooden handled jam spoons, beaded coffee spoons, hand-blown and recycled glass and cashmere throws. There are also Aiveen Daly chairs, designed to Eliská's own fun design an she has her own range of hand-blended wax candles with extremely evocative and unusual scents, i.e. citrus and cigar.

The shop is open every day, except Sunday, from midday to 6pm. In addition, visitors can meet Eliská herself - she is happy to offer her invaluable style advice.