At the office, there’s no place like home

Adrian Ballantyne

First published 18 August 2016, 12:01am

The StatePlus offices in Canberra look more like a living room than a workplace.

Ever get the feeling your work environment is starting to look a little bit like your living room? Turns out you’re not going crazy, after all.

‘Domesticated’ offices with home-styled appointments are the latest trend in office design, according to one interior design agency.

With employees spending more hours at work than they do in their waking hours at home, Futurespace managing director Angela Ferguson says office fit-outs are increasingly focused on blurring the line between office and home environments.

Home or office? It's hard to tell at RSM's office in Sydney.

Home or office? It’s hard to tell at RSM Australia’s office in Sydney.

“A domesticated workplace does not just have a few elements of the home, but instead is a total integration of domestic features and transforming the whole office into a relaxing, home-styled retreat,” Ferguson says.

“There is a new paradigm happening in the workplace with offices becoming domesticated, or made to be more home-like. Australian’s have one of the longest working weeks in the world so it makes sense for our workplaces to become places employees actually want to be.”

RSM Australia’s new offices at 60 Castlereigh St in Sydney is among the commercial properties to have embraced the work-home experience, with an open plan kitchen, “family-style” gathering spaces, indoor greenery, vertical gardens and reading nooks.

Today’s office fit-outs feature all the creature comforts of home.

“It was about creating an office that reflected the social but hard working office culture, to break up the silos that had formed between departments and to create a more flexible space with a great social vibe,” Ferguson says.

The StatePlus office in Canberra’s Nishi Building also underwent the residential treatment.

“The office has a comfortable and residential feel while still being professional and ergonomic. It was important to provide a variety of spaces for employee to work in, including team, private, informal and collaborative spaces, as well as a large residential-style kitchen where employees could dine together.”