Home office

The steel beam that supports the new addition on the second floor is supported by a new wall that was finished in Venetian plaster; its different layers evoke a ruin, almost art-like in its texture and tonality.

There is a long built-in desk and that space which continues into the closet. "The client has to have plenty of privacy while working at home so we added a recessed privacy shade,

The vestibule is the entry point, and it also separates the sleeping area of the house from the communal areas.

Vintage Soft Pad chairs by Charles and Ray Eames for Herman Miller (an eBay find) and matching new Eames desk and storage units, also from Herman Miller, furnish a workspace on the mezzanine level. "When we're both at home we speak to each other all the time," William says of the openness of the house.

In 2015 the Fabricius & Kastholm desk bo-555 was manufactured for the Santa Monica Residence. Before that, it hadn't been manufactured for more than two decades.

Dan designed the office seating with the capacity to double as overnight accommodations.

In a private study, a thick built-in counter desk composed of marble and Savior Blue limestone brings texture and color to the neutral scheme, and highlights the artwork.

Architect Bruce Bolander made the most of a limited footprint in a house he designed in a Malibu canyon. With the small bedroom unable to accommodate any "normal" size desk, the architect designed a very thin custom steel desk where resident Heidi Wright works. The floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors from Metal Window Corporation open the entire corner of the room up to the outdoors. “The mountains across the way are almost like another wall—they contain the space to the point that you feel like you’re in a much bigger space, that you’re part of the overall landscape,” says Bolander. Photo by J Bennett Fitts.

The Adelaide swivel chairs at one end are by Henrik Pedersen for BoConcept.

In the office, a Reale table by Carlo Mollino and a Conference chair by Eero Saarinen for Knoll look out on the gardens. The lamp is from Le Bon Marché. On the wall is a photograph by Dutch artist Barry Marré, and below it is a custom oak heater cover designed by Pilon.

The organizational method, which focuses on neatly highlighting your belongings instead of discarding them, is rife with potential as an interior design philosophy.

After: The front room on the top floor was split into two offices, near mirror images of each other.

The home office's built-in desk has enough space for parents to work while the kids tackle art projects or homework without feeling too crowded.