Objekts is not your typical design and furniture procurement firm. They required a workspace that reflected their slightly unconventional work style—one that rejected the standard product “showroom” concept and instead embraced multiple roles: events, hospitality, and an evolving product showroom that creates intriguing experiences through beauty, contrast and surprise. The result is a stylish, hospitality-forward workspace that dissolves the edges between vintage and modern, crafted and natural. It also blurs the boundaries between working, entertaining, creating and socializing.
Located in a two-story 1940’s brick building in Seattle's Belltown, visitors step off the street into an unexpectedly cozy ground floor foyer resembling a genteel speak-easy with plush lounge seating. A faux clerestory lined with antiqued mirror creates surprising expansiveness in the small space. With dark wood floors and walls adorned with whimsical picture frames in place of traditional paneling, the atmosphere is more akin to a boutique hotel than the entry to a sales room or workspace.
The journey up the staircase with its fanciful floral carpeting teases at the experiences to come. Arriving on the second-floor guests are greeted by a marble and walnut-topped, horseshoe-shaped bar under a filtered skylight, supplanting the idea of a typical reception desk. The hospitality bar is both meeting and social hub, complete with turntable and beverage service. Opposite, a sculptural library wall punctuated with art-filled niches offers a peek into the working studio.
Anchoring the rear of the bar is a paneled shelving wall that hides meeting space reimagined as a warm, rich hideaway. A secret pass-through window adds to the speakeasy atmosphere. Contrast continues, as wool plaid carpet, pinstripe walls and vintage light fixtures meet a sleek salmon-pink glass conference table.
Along the front window wall, a platform, dubbed the “veranda”, hosts entertainment, work, presentations, casual dining and get-togethers. Lit by a constellation-like chandelier, one side features a long and inviting communal table along with an 80” high-tech presentation screen hidden behind gauzy drapery. Cozy wingback chairs complete the furnishings and provide alternate work points at the windows. The luxe gourmet kitchen opposite is fronted by a monumental marble-clad island that’s tailored to catered events.
When guests need a break, the restrooms provide yet another surprise with their moody palette and cheeky rock n’ roll inspired artwork. The stalls are an assemblage of iron pipe, wood and corrugated steel. The floor, a custom mosaic tile, recalls the building’s vintage era.
The open studio is eclectic, illustrating how uniformity can be dethroned by an approachable, less rigid design. A transparent block of office and meeting space is defined by sliding glass and steel walls that allow flexibility between public and private.
Objekts has created an office / showroom that is all about the creative process and the sharing of ideas among staff and clients. Surrounded by beautiful textures, colors and objects in contrasting yet harmonious combinations, the studio truly reflects its purpose and identity: blurring the edges between playful work and serious fun, resulting in unique and inspirational spaces.
Team:
Architects: SkB Architects
General Contractor: HST
HVAC design: Enviromech
Photographers: Nicholas Worley, Hannah Rankin
Materials used:
Flooring:
Stair Runner, Moooi
Area Rug, Cal 2 Blue, Cloak
Carpet, SkB Custom, Tandus
Carpet, Ivah, Stark
Wood, Monza, Piacenza, ADM
Interior lighting:
Stair Ledge Lighting, Biocca Table Lamp, Marset
Pendant Lights, Corda, Sossego
Entry Lighting, Icaro, Modo Luce
Kitchen Pendants, OR200B, Hightower
Veranda Lighting, Vitis 7, RBW
Floor Lamp, Theia, Marset
Workspace Pendants, Shade, Buzzi
Interior furniture:
Entry Console, Boro Star, Anthropologie
Counter Stool, Santiago, ISA
Counter Stool, Trillia, Gunlocke
Seating, Gimbal Highback Rocker, Hightower
Tables, Sprig, Haworth
Tables, PicNic, BuzziSpace
Stools, Milk, BuzziSpace
Chairs, Maari, Haworth
Chairs, Nadia, Hightower
Poufs, Kona, Hightower
Chairs, Four Cast, Hightower
Sofa, Cane, Buzzi
Poufs, Openest Chic with back, Haworth
Speakeasy Table, Beluga, Pair
Speakeasy Chairs, Poppy, Haworth
Speakeasy Chairs, Archibald, Haworth
Side Table, Stix, Keilhauer
Workspace Storage, Trellis, Corral
Workspace Storage, Block, Corral
Chairs, Float, Buzzi
Tables, Container, Moooi
Chairs, Bounce, Buzzi
Other:
Stone Slab, Bianco Oro, Stone Source
Ceramic Tile, Stoneware Elements, Ann Sacks
Blinds, Parkland, Hunter Douglas
