• John Wilson
• October 19,2022

A dedicated work space in your home helps you set aside household distractions and focus on work. Here, we’ve gathered 65 home office ideas that will inspire you to design a work-friendly space in your own home. These home offices, located everywhere from Beverly Hills to Brooklyn, have one thing in common: a sophisticated space secluded from such tempting distractions as TV and snacks. Photographer Steven Meisel even installed a hybrid office/master bath in his home for those moments when genius strikes, say, in the tub, and an idea must be documented. From actor Julianna Margulies’s Manhattan apartment to author Judy Blume’s Key West, Florida, retreat, these home office design ideas will not only inspire you to get that last bit of work done, but enjoy your surroundings while doing so.

Minimalist Work Space

For her radical redesign of a Park Avenue apartment , Jennifer Post carved six distinct areas out of the 900-square-foot space. The home office occupies an entire bedroom wall. Its decor is in line with the rest of the place, which has a minimalist feel with a strictly white palette and strategically placed accents of color throughout. “Color is used to increase the length of the apartment. You have to go look for it,” she says.

Space-Saving Study

We’re digging the minimalism in this beach-chic Malibu home office area. The Ellwood-Lomax drop-front desk saves space and highlights all the sculptural accoutrements. That poof takes on many jobs: bookshelf, footstool, and extra chair for a study buddy.

Clean and Bright

This bright, light home office is the perfect place to think and create. When architects Lee F. Mindel and his partner, Peter L. Shelton, redid a couple’s apartment in a 1910 building in Manhattan, they wanted to take advantage of the natural light that streamed into the corner unit. This bright office doubles as the guest room. The chairs are by Jean Prouvé, left, and Hans Wegner. The Orrefors bowls on the low table are by Shelton, Mindel & Associates.

Fresh and Clean

A little color goes a long way in an all-white space . The study in this New York apartment designed by Desai/Chia features aluminum shelving by Rakks and just enough color and shapes for oomph.

Sleek and Unique

Some super sleek curves—architect Charles Gwathmey’s signature—distinguish his St. Barts home office and its sucupira-wood desk, designed by Kang Chang and fabricated on the island. The swivel chairs are by Hans Wegner from DK Vogue, and the ceiling fan is by Boffi. The rainbow display of books is a nice touch, too.

Midcentury Loft Office

For all your midcentury-modern motivations, look to Stephen Harvey’s mezzanine office of his Sagaponack, New York, retreat . A great combo of sleekness and color, the Arne Jacobsen pendant light paired with the golden Moroccan kilim and Navajo rug, decorate the space.

Sometimes light and bright is best—as seen in the Manhattan penthouse designed by David Mann and Brett McMullen of MR Architecture + Decor . The office is anchored by the vintage Bodil Kjær rosewood desk and a few key pieces of art.

Dallas Home Office

Many of the design elements of Sarah and H. Ross Perot Jr.'s Dallas penthouse , including the pocket doors throughout and the African teak cabinetry in Sarah's study, were created by Emily Summers's architectural team. The painting One More Day 4 is by Hungarian artist Zsolt Bodoni-Dombi and adds pizzazz.

Pops of Color

A color combo to covet: bright green and gold. Gather some office inspiration from this Bridgehampton home designed by Steven Gambrel. All the vintage brass-and-leather accents and the silk rug created by Gambrel make a splash against the white cabinets.

Alexandra von Furstenberg's Sunny Work Space

This cheerful space is full of sharp angles while also maintaining a lot of fun. Alexandra von Furstenberg created the acrylic desk, side table, and (in collaboration with Dax Design) shelving for her Los Angeles home office , which is also outfitted with two Milo Baughman lounge chairs, an Eames desk chair by Herman Miller, a Dax Design cabinet, and a Philippe Starck floor lamp by Flos; the large photograph is by Kim Keever, and the easel displays an issue of Interview magazine signed by Andy Warhol to Von Furstenberg.

Kourtney Kardashian's Playful Home Office

Batman , Frank Sinatra, and Mia Farrow line the back wall in Kourtney Kardashian’s Los Angeles home office—designed by Martyn Lawrence Bullard and furnished with a vintage Jules Leleu desk and Pierre Jeanneret chairs. The vibrant work on paper by Bridget Riley and the arrangement of flowers add playfulness.

Brooke Shields's Neoclassical Nook

Brooke Shields's Manhattan study is furnished with an Italian neoclassical secretary. The green chair and art are easy adds for a pop energy.

Parisian Maison Bureau

Painter’s canvas is used as paneling in the office of fashion designer Stefano Pilati’s Paris apartment , which was renovated by architect Bruno Caron. The repetitive crisscrossing elements on the Moroccan rug and yellow chest of drawers definitely make the room captivating.

Bold, Blue Bookshelves

Another moment for loving blue . Here, the bookshelves are brightened with Blue Koto veneer from UltraWood in the office of a yacht belonging to designer Joanne de Guardiola and her husband, Roberto . Yes, you can even have an office on your boat. Other details include Sapele mahogany panels, a vellum-top iron desk by Julian Chichester, and door handles original to the boat.

Creative Work Loft

Jewelry designer Ippolita Rostagno’s home office occupies the top floor of her Brooklyn brownstone; the pendant lamps are by RH, the custom-made oak cabinetry has pulls by Rocky Mountain Hardware, and the tables display an array of Ippolita jewelry and accessories. What was once a kitchen is now a fabulous office with skylights.

Idyllic Home Office Design on Display in New York Penthouse

In a Nicholas Kilner–designed New York penthouse , an 18th-century bust overlooks the office’s Ralph Lauren Home desk and 19th-century Russian armchair. The pop of yellow encasing the room adds a moment of delight.

Green and Navy Work space

Grids and lines galore in the library/office of a French home by Jean-Louis Deniot. The side table by Hervé Van der Straeten rests on a Moroccan rug and makes us want to decorate a room exclusively with green and navy accents.

Burst of Color

Inspire yourself with primary colors, where they provide the perfect burst of shape and structure in this office space. The mirrored trestle desk from Liz O'Brien and Artemide's Tizio lamp brighten the library in the Manhattan apartment , too.

Monochromatic Moves

If you’re looking for a way to decorate your bare walls but don’t want to do the typical gallery wall, a tapestry can be the missing element for visual interest and texture. In this Beverly Hills home by Waldo Fernandez , the office features a 17th-century Belgian tapestry from Mansour, an English mahogany desk, and, in the corner, a Wolfgang Roth sculpture from JF Chen.

Decadent Blues

We'll always love a very blue design idea, and that goes for the high-gloss office at Alex Rodriguez’s Florida estate —Briggs Edward Solomon handled the decoration—a Florence Knoll pedestal table is grouped with Saarinen armchairs, all by Knoll, and a carpet by Diane von Furstenberg for the Rug Company; sconces from Flos flank Marco Ovando photographs.

Heavenly Office Nook

Another case for getting into monochrome , this office goes all in on shades of blue. In the study of Jay McInerney and Anne Hearst's New York penthouse , a color photograph by Elliott Erwitt overlooks a Jansen desk and an Eames chair by Herman Miller. The linen upholstered daybed and Orley Shabahang carpet add an extra layer of coziness.

All About the Art

The prominent gallery wall in this office pays tribute to one of the owner's background in fashion merchandising. Martyn Lawrence Bullard and Trip Haenisch created a European villa-style interior for a couple’s Los Angeles house designed by Harold Levitt in the early 1990s. Trip loves collections and photography, so he used the space to display classic fashion photographs by Steichen, Horst, and Avedon. And all that green, we love it.

Mediterranean Home Office

Thomas Pheasant renovated a couple’s Mediterranean-style house outside Las Vegas, creating an understated and sophisticated environment in a place famous for being glitzy and over-the-top. Pictured: The husband’s study has an Art Deco feel with anigre paneling, muted tones, and elegant fabrics.

Home Office Meets Master Bath

A hybrid home office/master bath is one of the most innovative home ideas we've ever seen. For his Beverly Hills home, photographer Steven Meisel came up with the idea and sheathed the bath area in green onyx; the teak screen was designed by Brad Dunning, who also decorated the home. We'd love a post-meeting soak.

Lush, Green Office Nook

Few improvements make quite as big an impact in a room as a bold wallpaper. Here, the tiny office of a Brooklyn home by Nick Olsen features Zoffany wallpaper and a Vaughan lamp. Oh yeah, and major design inspiration.

Wallpapered Whimsy

Chinoiserie wallpaper by de Gournay lines an office at a New York apartment designed by David Kleinberg. The powdery pastel touches create a peaceful environment—looks like springtime is in full bloom year-round.

Bel Air Office Where More Is More

A good case for more is more in this Bel Air, California, home. Raspberry leather chairs by designer Kelly Wearstler bring color to the office, where a collection of photos is displayed; the tube sculpture on the desk is also by Wearstler, and the carpet was custom made by the Rug Company.

Study With a Statement Wall

A couple with houses all over the world commissioned Robert Couturier to decorate their New York apartment. The challenge: How do you bring “history and culture” to something as supremely impersonal as the Time Warner Center (the home occupies an entire floor in the skyscraper)? The answer: antiques. To provide the wife’s study with a heightened sense of warmth, the designer upholstered the walls in a red silk—a bold counterpoint to the zebra-stripe carpet. The desk, crafted of bronze and leather, is a contemporary design by Ingrid Donat.

Dark Walls and a Bold Rug

With a cozy fire and some dark, moody elements, the office in this New York townhouse of art dealer Christophe Van de Weghe and his wife, Anne-Gaëlle, designed by Annabelle Selldorf, showcases a Sarfatti light fixture, Prouvé desk, and Finn Juhl chair. The mirrors are by Line Vautrin, the artworks are by Cy Twombly (left) and Jean Dubuffet, and the banquette cushions are clad in a Great Plains fabric. And that zebra rug, come on.

Diane von Furstenberg’s Office

Where do you look first in this dazzling and dizzying space? Surrounded by Franz West chairs, the Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann table in Diane von Furstenberg’s Manhattan office/living area often does double duty as a desk and dining table. A Joan Miró etching, a Francesco Clemente painting, and family photographs are displayed on the windowsill.

Hollywood Home Office

Always recommended: shaking up your sofa with a striking shape , as seen here with the curvy plush number. A large artwork by Jack Pierson presides over producer Brian Grazer’s Hollywood home office, where designer Waldo Fernandez paired a sofa, chair, and a wood cocktail table—all vintage pieces by Jean Royère—with midcentury armchairs from France (left) and Italy; the rug was custom made by Mansour Modern.

Aspen Office With Statement Art Piece

If you're undecided on a paint color or how to format a gallery wall, why not just put up one giant piece of art? In an Aspen, Colorado, home by Stonefox Architects , the office is highlighted by an eye-catching Thomas Struth photograph. Not much else is required.

Contemporary Home Office

Bold black lines and furnishings give this space a strong statement. The desk in the late designer Alberto Pinto's Rio de Janeiro home office is surmounted by an Almir Reis photograph of volleyball on Ipanema Beach; the parchment lamps are 1970s, and the chair is by Philippe Hurel. Here, mixing vibrant colors and earthy textures really works.

Manhattan Home Office With a Stunning View

It's hard to beat that view, but this office in a Manhattan duplex by Carlos Aparicio, is full of treasures, too. From a painting by Wayne Gonzales to a sculpture by Geoffrey Clarke, plus the 1930s Cuban mahogany desk by De Coune and a swivel chair covered in an Edelman leather, it's all sophistication.

Gentleman's Library

Known for his work on the television series Northern Exposure, Numbers, and The Whole Truth, actor Rob Morrow and his wife, actor Debbon Ayer, enlisted the help of Schuyler Samperton to redo the interiors of their home in Los Angeles. For his office and music room, Rob's inspiration was something that felt more masculine, like a modern version of a gentleman’s library. He calls this his lair.

Neutral Work Space

This Beverly Hills office decorated by Brad Dunning is simple, but bold. The neutral palette keeps the design clean where pieces of furniture like the Eames-designed swivel chair by Herman Miller and the Brno armchair is by Knoll stand out.

Dark but Bright Home Office

A painting by Caio Fonseca is given pride of place in the office of a Manhattan apartment by S. Russell Groves. Despite the rich, dark walls, the office space still feels bright and inviting, too.

Nantucket Pine Study

At the Nantucket retreat of former Chanel president Arie L. Kopelman and his wife, Coco, the painted-pine office is furnished with an overmantel mirror from Robert Young Antiques, a circa-1810 Windsor armchair from Samuel Herrup Antiques, and a desk chair and mahogany writing table, both 19th-century English. Very modern mixed with vintage, the home’s interiors were designed in collaboration with Nantucket House Antiques and Interior Design Studios.

Modern West Indies Home Office

Some of the best home office ideas are founded on simplicity. Journalist Dena Kaye and her partner, designer Dick Fallin, modernized their house on St. Barts in the French West Indies while retaining its basic footprint. They turned the terrace off the living room into the office and made sure the decor was spare. The chandelier, partly composed of paper notes, is a signature design by Ingo Maurer.

Crisp White Wainscott Home Office

This office, off a master bedroom, has striking vistas. Architect Frank Greenwald built the Wainscott, New York, couple’s Shingle Style residence with painstaking attention to detail, too. The floors, for instance, are made of custom-milled two-inch Douglas fir. The trim and baseboards have a classic refinement of proportion and scale. And, interior designer Timothy Macdonald painted all the woodwork a crisp white.

Office With a View

If only we could all stare off into lush greenery in our home office. Author Judy Blume’s Florida guest-cottage office was decorated by Malcolm James Kutner and is furnished with an Artemide table lamp, a vintage Dunbar desk, and an Eames chair by Herman Miller. The large woven window shade is also a perfect Key West touch.

San Migue Home Office

In designers Andrew Fisher and Jeffry Weisman’s home in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico , Fisher designed the office’s desk and embellished the Queen Anne chair with shells and black paint. Clearly we’re into the seashell decor .

Julianna Margulies's Home Office

The walnut-and-steel partners desk is the focal point in actress Julianna Margulies’s Manhattan home office (it's designed by Vicente Wolf). With varying shades of brown, the space remains fairly neutral save for the patterned Roman shade.

Home Office With a Gallery Wall

The power of neutrals. Prints and drawings by Pablo Picasso, Carolyn Carr, and others fill a wall in the family room of Suzanne Kasler's Atlanta home ; a drafting table bears a picturesque arrangement of antique globes.

Vintage Vibes

Vintage pieces take centerstage in David Kleinberg’s Hamptons home . The desk is a vintage U.S. military design and the circa-1956 armchair is by Gustavo Pulitzer. The purple flowers add that pop of new.

Serene San Francisco Study

At this San Francisco home designed by Tucker & Marks and Andrew Skurman Architects, the study is paneled in rift-sawn oak; the curtains are of a Cowtan & Tout print, and the André Arbus desk and Khotan rug are both vintage. Simple sophistication: check.

Abounding Books

For the francophile, this 19th-century Renaissance-style desk decorates the library of a historic French château. The blue crown molding and rug really tie the room together.

Monochromatic Central Park Home Office

The soft, monochromatic palette creates a lot of light and freshness in this home office, where architect Richard Meier and interior designer Rose Tarlow collaborated on the renovation of a couple’s 2,500-square-foot Central Park apartment . The built-in shelving and drawers allow for ample organization —Marie Kondo would approve.

Ralph Lauren's Personal Office

Ralph Lauren's office at his company's Madison Avenue headquarters makes a case for filling your space to the brim. With art, books, and sundry objects that inspire him, including a 1950s model plane suspended from the ceiling, the warm-toned office is full of wonder. Don't be afraid of stacks on stacks of coffee table books.

Beverly Hills Study

Karin Blake combined East Coast tradition with an eclectic point of view for the interiors of screenwriter Paul Attanasio and producer Katie Jacobs’s Beverly Hills residence. The antique English table, bordered by vintage sewing chairs, lends Attanasio’s office the air of a workshop. The books look well-loved too.

Connecticut Home Office

In interior decorator Elissa Cullman’s Connecticut home , daughter Georgina’s room features a faux-bamboo headboard. Off to right is a gorgeous work space, complete with tall greenery that complements the artwork above the bed.

Standout Desk

Designer Tracey Winn Pruzan renovated the master bedroom of her Manhattan duplex with architect John B. Murray. The dark desk stands out in the white and beige bedroom, giving work space a distinct feel.

Everything You Need in One Room

A 19th-century Spanish sunburst mirror hangs in the master bedroom of a Virginia residence designed by Thomas Pheasant; two blanc de chine export vases were mounted as lamps. With a work space, bed, and seating area, you may never want to leave to leave this gorgeous room.

Pink Perfection

This home office idea is perfect for your tinier family members. Pink is the theme of a daughter’s bedroom in a Manhattan townhouse by decorators Tony Ingrao and Randy Kemper. The space is dressed in Osborne & Little and Designers Guild fabrics, the chair is from Profiles, and the carpeting is by Stark.

Lake Placid Bedroom With Work Space

A soothing Lake Placid, New York, master bedroom is appointed with an armchair and ottoman in a pale-blue Kravet linen, curtains and a bed skirt in a Jasper floral, a Vaughan bedside lamp, and carpeting by Elizabeth Eakins.

Masterful Minimalism

In the master bedroom and home office of this St. Barts hilltop house , Kang Chang of KangModern designed the desk and stainless steel light fixture; the desk chair is by Cassina, the armchair is by Pollaro, and the sculpture is by Fujitsuka Shosei.

Houston Home Office

At the Houston home of decorator J. Randall Powers and William L. Caudell, a French Empire desk sits at the foot of a Rose Tarlow Melrose House bed. This room does double duty as a gorgeous bedroom and serene home office.

Los Angeles Home Office

A custom-made bed upholstered in a Holly Hunt leather is flanked by sconces from Bourgeois Bohème in the master bedroom of this Los Angeles home decorated by Trip Haenisch. The 18th-century Belgian commode at right and the zinc-top oak desk are both from Lucca Antiques.

Bridgehampton Work Space

A Canvas Home four-poster anchors the master bedroom of this Bridgehampton, New York, home ; the Gustavian desk is from Dienst + Dotter Antikviteter, and the stools are from Roark Modern.

Boston Bedroom With Work Space

In the master bedroom of this Boston residence decorated by Thad Hayes, a 1950s Austrian pendant light from Eric Appel is juxtaposed with late-19th-century Moorish chairs and a 1920s armchair attributed to Paul Poiret’s Atelier Martine from Bernd Goeckler Antiques.

Coastal Work Space

Lamps from Circa Lighting flank a sunburst mirror in one of the poolhouse’s bedrooms at interior designer Alessandra Branca and Steve Uihlein’s Bahamas getaway , named Highlowe; the desk is vintage.

Marrakech Home Office

Rounding out our list of home office ideas is this verdant gem. A 19th-century Persian light hangs in the green bedroom of a Marrakech house that belonged to the late Chilean artist Claudio Bravo; the bedspread is Gujarati mirror-work embroidery, the chest is 19th-century Moroccan, and the desk and chair are embellished with bone inlay. Sardar Design Studio renovated the residence.

Bold and Colorful

In stylist Carlos Mota’s Dominican Republic beach house, a Picasso-inspired mural decorates a wall near the office, where an Indian chair is pulled up to a desk designed by Mota.

A Vintage Vision

Inside an 1840s Manhattan townhouse renovated by the architecture firm Leroy Street Studio and decorated by Christine Markatos Design, a Piet Boon ceiling light from Twentieth overlooks the study, where an Aston rolling desk chair from Suite New York is pulled up to a vintage George Nelson table by Herman Miller; the lamp is from Room, and the shelves are vintage Jean-Marie Massaud.

Grownup Baby Blue

In the study of Anne Hearst and Jay McInerney’s Manhattan apartment, a color photograph by Elliott Erwitt overlooks a Jansen desk and an Eames chair by Herman Miller; a Jacques Adnet daybed upholstered in a Loro Piana linen and an Adnet floor lamp from Bernd Goeckler Antiques are arranged on an Orley Shabahang carpet.