Home Office Hideaway

The client frequently works from the comfort of her home and requires the lounge area to serve as her home office. During the evenings, she likes to conceal the study area so that she can unwind in the same space. The new unit had to seamlessly blend with the architectural style of the house, an old villa with contemporary, refined features. Adequate lighting in the office area was essential due to the limited natural light in the room, while a softer, more ambient lighting was desired for the display area. Another desire was to hide toys, arts, and crafts in a well-organized and functional storage solution.

Timber boxes were incorporated into the display side of the unit, harmonizing with the oak flooring found throughout the house. These boxes provide an orderly storage solution and have been installed on concealed Movento runners, cleverly obscured by drop-down face panels. Dovetail joining was employed to echo the historic charm of the house, and meticulous grain matching was applied to ensure consistency on the faces and sides of all timber boxes and drawers.

The lighting scheme was carefully designed to cast soft, moody shadows on displayed objects during the night, while providing a vibrant ambiance for daytime work. To maintain a sleek appearance of the unit, the sliding mechanism was discreetly concealed, and a handle-free option was chosen for the study area to minimize unnecessary lines.

It was important to prioritize safety when dealing with a sliding door of this size. To accommodate a soft-close sliding mechanism, the door’s weight was limited to 80kg. Steel reinforcement was incorporated into the door’s structure to prevent warping and twisting, which can jeopardize the sliding mechanism, particularly in response to temperature and humidity fluctuations. Installing such a sizable unit within a relatively compact room presented a challenge, requiring on-site assembly and gluing.