Why the most desirable workplaces of 2026 borrow the language of home

The purpose of the office has changed. As the boundaries between living and working become increasingly fluid, the most compelling workplaces are beginning to borrow something from the intimacy of home. They offer not simply a place to work, but an environment in which to think, connect and belong.

In luxury office interior design in London, this shift is inspiring a more residential approach to the workplace. Through considered spatial planning, bespoke craftsmanship, tactile materials and a sensitivity to human behaviour, offices can become places of both productivity and quiet comfort.

At Elicyon, our approach to workplace interior design draws upon the principles that shape our private residences: understanding how people inhabit space, creating moments of privacy and connection, and designing interiors that respond intuitively to the rhythms of daily life.

The ambition is not to make an office resemble a home, but to create a workplace that understands what makes a home feel human.

Wigmore Private Office, Mayfair

Why Luxury Workplace Design Is Moving Beyond the Traditional Office

The traditional office was organised around a predictable working day.

People arrived, occupied a desk, moved into meeting rooms and left at the end of the day. Efficiency and hierarchy were expressed in the plan, from repeated desk arrangements to enclosed executive offices and formal boardrooms. The contemporary working day is less uniform.

Someone might begin with a private video call, move into individual work, join a collaborative discussion and spend the afternoon working alongside colleagues more informally. Different tasks require different levels of privacy, energy and interaction.

The rise of hybrid working has made this more apparent. The office increasingly has to offer experiences that cannot be replicated at home; namely spontaneous conversations, collective thinking, access to colleagues and exchanges through which ideas and relationships develop.

This means reconsidering the workplace not simply as somewhere work happens, but as an environment designed to enable people to work at their best.

No.6 Argyll, Soho

What Is Residential-Inspired Office Design?

Residential-inspired office design brings the warmth, comfort and spatial sensitivity of a private home into the workplace. Rather than relying solely on domestic aesthetics, it considers how lighting, acoustics, materials, privacy and informal gathering spaces can create a more intuitive and human-centred working environment.

Residential-inspired office design is sometimes understood as an aesthetic idea.

Sofas replace task chairs, table lamps appear instead of conventional commercial lighting; textiles, artwork and objects soften the familiar visual language of the corporate interior.

However, the more interesting relationship with residential design is spatial.

A well-designed home rarely asks us to inhabit every room in the same way. There are spaces for gathering and retreat. Some encourage conversation, others provide privacy. Light changes, materials shift and the atmosphere evolves as we move through them. Increasingly, the workplace requires the same variety.

As quoted in Design Anthology UK, Elicyon Founder and Director Charu Gandhi explains:

“We wanted to design an office that is, of course, highly functional, but fundamentally is not overtly office-like.”

Function remains essential. Technology, acoustics, lighting, ergonomics and circulation still need to perform at a commercial level.

For Charu, this reflects a broader convergence in the way we inhabit different environments:

“There is a lot more synergy now in how our clients want to live, work, and play; it is much more of an amalgam now.”

Residentialisation is therefore less about making an office domestic and more about applying the sensitivity and adaptability of residential design to the workplace.

Wigmore Private Office, Mayfair

Six Principles of Human-Centred Workplace Interior Design

Begin with people, not desks

Every workplace has its own patterns of behaviour. Understanding them is the starting point: how a team works together, which conversations require privacy, where collaboration happens naturally and when someone may need to retreat.

Rather than fitting these behaviours into a predetermined office plan, the architecture can develop around them.

Create choice

Different moments of the working day require different environments. A human-centred workplace might include open areas for collaborative work alongside private rooms for calls, smaller settings for informal discussion and quieter spaces for concentration.

Choice gives people greater agency over how and where they work.

Consider arrival

The experience of a workplace begins before anyone sits down. An entrance can establish pace and atmosphere, signalling a transition from the city outside into a more considered environment.

As in residential and hospitality design; proportion, lighting, materiality and movement can make arrival feel intuitive rather than transactional.

No.6 Argyll, Soho

Make space for informality

Not every valuable conversation begins with a calendar invitation.

Some of the most productive exchanges happen between scheduled moments, without the formality of a meeting room. Lounge settings, shared tables and gathering spaces can create the conditions for those encounters.

Design for the senses.

How a workplace feels is shaped by more than its appearance.

Natural light, acoustics, colour, temperature, texture and materiality influence our experience throughout the day. Together they can determine whether an environment feels exposed or protected, stimulating or calm. These elements may not always be consciously noticed. Their collective effect is what matters.

“The best spaces care for us almost imperceptibly. When those things are resolved beautifully, we may not consciously register them at all. We simply feel more at ease.”

Let technology recede.

Technology is fundamental to contemporary working, but it need not dominate the visual language of the office.

Dedicated video rooms, integrated screens and discreet connectivity allow virtual working to happen naturally while preserving the atmosphere of the wider interior.

Wigmore Private Office, Mayfair

Wigmore Private Office, Mayfair: A Residential Approach to Luxury Office Design

At the award winning Wigmore Private Office in Mayfair, Elicyon's approach to luxury private office interior design finds expression through a carefully balanced relationship between functionality, craftsmanship and residential warmth.

Designed for a growing team across 3,354 square feet, the award-winning workplace moves beyond the conventions of corporate office design. Open-plan working areas, intimate meeting spaces and dedicated video rooms sit within an interior defined by natural materials, tactile finishes and considered detailing.

The material palette helps shift the experience away from a conventional commercial interior. Oak desks and fluted timber columns establish continuity throughout, while white ash flooring, limewashed walls and layered textiles introduce softness and tactility. Crittall doors and an expansive terrace bring natural light into the interior and establish a stronger relationship with the city beyond.

These decisions are not simply decorative. Together, they create a calmer environment in which the functional elements of the workplace feel integrated rather than imposed. The office can therefore change according to the rhythm of the day.

This is where residential design principles become particularly relevant to private office interior design. Wigmore applies the same concept to work, creating a setting that allows people to move naturally between concentration, collaboration and conversation.

Wigmore Private Office, Mayfair

No.6 Argyll, Soho: Hospitality-Inspired Workplace Design

At No.6 Argyll in Soho, Elicyon explores how luxury workplace interior design can draw upon the intimacy of residential spaces and the layered character of boutique hospitality.

Spanning seven floors, the project brings together private offices, collaborative workspaces, kitchens, boardrooms, landscaped terraces and wellness facilities. Inspired by the atmosphere of private members' clubs, the interiors balance the practical demands of contemporary working with a quieter sense of elegance and belonging.

Beyond a monumental bronze entrance door, ribbed oak panelling, Breccia Turquoise marble, walnut joinery and considered lighting establish a warmer, more tactile atmosphere than might traditionally be associated with a commercial reception. British makers contributed custom joinery, stonework, metalwork, lighting, rugs and furniture throughout the building.

No.6 Argyll is designed around both productivity and community. Collaborative workspaces create opportunities to come together, while private offices provide separation when it is needed. Kitchens and terraces offer more informal settings for conversation. A living green wall, outdoor areas and wellness facilities introduce moments of retreat.

No.6 Argyll, Soho

At the top of the building, the seventh-floor penthouse offers the clearest expression of this residential influence. Executive workspaces and panoramic views across London combine the intimacy of a private residence with the functionality of a workplace.

Consequently, the boundaries between office, home and hospitality become deliberately less defined. As the lines between living, working and socialising become less rigid, the spaces supporting them can become more nuanced too.

The Office as Sanctuary: The Future of Luxury Workplace Interior Design

At Elicyon, a successful workplace is more than a collection of desks and meeting rooms. That does not mean removing the practical rigour of commercial design, rather recognising that productivity and wellbeing are not separate from the experience of an interior. Light, acoustics, privacy, comfort and connection influence how successfully people can work.

The future of luxury workplace design may therefore be defined less by visible expressions of status and more by the quality of experiences.

A quiet room positioned away from circulation. A terrace that allows someone to step outside between meetings. Lighting that changes the atmosphere of a space. An informal seating area where a conversation continues naturally.

No.6 Argyll, Soho

A home is not successful because every room performs the same function. It works because different spaces respond to different moments of life, while still feeling part of a coherent whole.

As how we live, work and spend time with others continues to evolve, office design has an opportunity to become more responsive, personal and ultimately more human.

Rather than asking people to adapt to the workplace, we can design workplaces that adapt to them.

“A good workplace should allow its energy to change over the course of a day. We do not remain in one state for eight hours, so why should the spaces around us ask us to?” - Charu Gandhi, Elicyon Founder and Director.

Questions Shaping the Future of Luxury Workplace Design

How does residential design influence modern office interiors?

Residential design introduces a more nuanced understanding of comfort, privacy and connection into the workplace. Through natural materials, layered lighting, considered acoustics and spaces that encourage both gathering and retreat, offices can become more intuitive environments for the people who inhabit them.

What defines a luxury office interior?

A luxury office interior is defined not simply by the richness of its materials, but by the intelligence of its design. Bespoke craftsmanship, seamless technology, spatial flexibility and a sensitivity to wellbeing create workplaces that feel both purposeful and deeply considered.

Why is human-centred design important in the workplace?

Human-centred workplace design recognises that people require different environments throughout the day. By balancing opportunities for concentration, collaboration and restoration, an office can support a more varied and personal experience of working.

At Elicyon, we believe the most meaningful workplaces are those that respond not only to how people work, but to how they wish to feel.

From intimate private offices in Mayfair to hospitality-inspired workspaces in Soho, our London design studio approaches each interior with a sensitivity to architecture, craftsmanship and the people who will inhabit it.

Discover more about our approach to luxury residential and workplace interior design through our Studio page, or contact our team to begin a conversation about your project - Laura Garcia, Director at lgarcia@elicyon.com.