Office Design Ideas: 23 Most Beautiful Workspaces In The World

Exquisitely designed personal offices in the middle of nowhere, stunning warehouse conversions, and insanely creative IT giants’ headquarters – these beautiful workspaces around the world will make you want to get a job there right away.

In today’s professional world, the right workspace makes all the difference. Whether temples of Scandinavian minimalism or stylish environs deep rooted in the local culture, these establishments are designed to improve productivity and encourage creativity.

From Barcelona to New York to the open sea, here are 23 beautiful workspaces, quirky mobile workplaces, and striking co-working facilities to inspire your next office design:

Modern Coworking Space in Barcelona

Created by Nook Architects – a boutique design studio based in Barcelona, Zamness is a light and modern shared office, ideal for both individuals and small companies who want their working environment to be functional and inspiring.

Situated in Poblenou’s 22@ district, this dynamic, light-filled space has a neat industrial design and comprises 2 workspaces, 2 meeting rooms, and various chill out areas. The beach is only 5 minutes walk away, and on-site facilities include Wi-Fi, lockers, shower/toilets, as well as a nice bar/kitchen area.

Photography: nieve | Productora Audiovisual

Barbarian Office, New York

I love unconventional workspaces, and this one, designed by Clive Wilkinson Architects for The Barbarian Group, is one of the most unique and creative I’ve ever seen. Plus, it reminds me a little bit of Metropol Parasol in Seville.

However, their new office in New York is an architectural tour de force, a large open space where everything revolves around an endless plywood table that snakes its way through the room, creating all sorts of meeting arrangements and storage opportunities below.

The goal was to create an environment that would resonate with their brand identity while fostering communication and collaboration among employees, and the result is more than amazing.

Food52 Office, New York City

Famous cooking site Food52′s home in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City looks absolutely fabulous. The office is a warm and bright free-flowing space, where custom furnishings and IKEA goods stand side by side with flea market finds and local art.

Sustainable Sala Verde lighting fixtures, Waterworks Kitchen cabinetry, and sleek Electrolux appliances decorate the test kitchen, where all their immaculately presented dishes come to life. The meeting and conference rooms look like cozy living areas, and the entire space is bursting with character and personal touches.

Additionally, Food52 employees get their job done at big, stylish desks that encourage collaborative work, and cook their meals in a cool industrial-style kitchen, complete with white subway tiles and rustic shelves made from reclaimed wood.

Photos by Mark Weinberg

Outdoor Mobile Workplace in the Dutch Countryside

Setting up your office in the middle of nature can be a difficult task, but thanks to The Tipping Point Foundation, who invented the KantoorKaravaan, you can now work off-the-grid in the Dutch countryside.

Designed to accommodate up to 35 people, the second-hand trailers that make up the KantoorKaravaan come equipped with electricity, coffee machines, and Wi-Fi. The mobile workplace travels to various locations around the country, including parks and nature reserves, so make sure you check out their next destination.

Twitter Global HQ, San Francisco

Occupying two floors of an iconic Art Deco building in Market Square, San Francisco, Twitter’s global headquarters has a cool nature theme, with lots of wood, tree branches emerging from the walls, and a huge roof terrace overlooking the city skyline.

Workspaces range from formal glass-enclosed conference rooms to quirky open office workstations, all filled with natural light and understated rustic elegance. Designed by IA Interior Architects in collaboration with Lundberg Design, the office includes a sprawling cafeteria with different themed food areas, a yoga studio, fitness room, and two game rooms.

Photos: Chad Ziemendorf, Ryan Hughes

A Writers’ Cottage in Oslo, Norway

You should never underestimate the power of an inspiring workspace, especially when you are a professional writer.

Writers’ Cottage is a project designed by Jarmund/Vigsnæs AS Arkitekter MNAL and was intended to serve as both an alternative to a cottage in the countryside and a workspace for two Oslo-based writers.

A relaxation area and a cozy reading nook complement the creative interiors, which also include an ingenious stair that doubles as a bookshelf. Both the desk and the north facing façade are made entirely of glass, giving the illusion that the space is elevated above the surrounding landscape.

Photos: Jonas Adolfsen

Haruki Murakami’s Personal Writing Space

I’m a big fan of Haruki Murakami. I love the way he incorporates music and mystery in his novels, and I particularly enjoyed the Norwegian Wood and The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. Now, however, we’re talking about where today’s most famous Japanese novelist works his magic.

Surprisingly, Murakami’s home-based desk is more normal than one would expect from a best-selling author and perennial Nobel Prize contender. It is a tiny, intimate, and honest space that speaks a lot about his habits and personality.

His writing desk is teeming with perfectly sharpened yellow pencils and souvenirs collected from his travels around the world, including a wooden foot with a spider from Laos, a Scandinavian marble stone with a wasp, and a coffee mug he bought during his trip to Switzerland. Also part of the décor are a couple of porcelain figures and a baseball figurine of Yasuhiro “Ryan” Ogawa, a young player from his home team.

The Fresh Exchange Office

Let’s take a peek into the home studio of designers Megan Gilger and her husband Mike from The Fresh Exchange. Helped by Arrowhead design / fabrication company and In Situ studio, the couple managed to create a light-filled, minimalist space where they feel relaxed and inspired, letting their creative ideas flow and flourish.

Featuring a long floating desk, natural open shelving, and smart lighting by SolaTubes, this workspace is Scandinavian simplicity at its best. Everything is exactly how it should be - white, clean, and functional, with embellishments and accessories kept to a minimum; just a cool ‘50s inspired couch and a nice Pottery Barn rug to break the monotony and add a personal touch.

Bright Scandinavian Workspace with Antique Desk

Housed in a 73 sqm apartment in Gothenburg, Sweden, which I found via Alvhem Mäkleri och Interiör, this splendid Scandinavian workspace is refreshingly light and airy. Bleached floors and white walls create a sense of space and serenity, while the high ceilings, beautiful oversized windows, and period details add a sense of grandeur to the scene.

A refined mix of old and new, aesthetics, and functionality, the work area features an antique dark blue desk, a sleek industrial-inspired table lamp, and a modern designer office chair.

Cozy Wooden Studio in the Garden

An award-winning architectural project, the Hackney Shed is an ingenious garden office conceived by London-based design studio Office Sian.

The sustainable wooden structure - built to a limited budget and timescale - is situated in the Hackney area of London and features retractable oak framed doors that open onto the garden. The cozy workspace is lined with library bookshelves and lit with natural light coming through a hidden skylight.

Weebly’s Headquarters in San Francisco

Designed by Huntsman Architectural Group, Weebly’s headquarters in San Francisco’s South Park neighborhood boasts a gym, a cocktail bar, and a soundproof jam room. The design, although sleek and contemporary, is still very much connected to the building’s history and its uses over the years. Inside, the variety of spaces and work settings is outstanding, from a dining area for 200 to stylish, glass-enclosed conference rooms, chic interview rooms, and fun sit-to-stand desks.

Other impressive features include a resident chef, DJ booth, gaming area, laundry facility, a nursing room for new mothers, and the so-called “secret room” – a speakeasy-inspired space decorated with antique leather furniture, velvet wallpaper, and exposed-filament lighting.

Photos: Matthew Millman

Google Tel Aviv Office

Google has some the coolest workspaces around, and their stunningly designed office in Tel Aviv is no exception. Designed by award-winning studio Camenzind Evolution in collaboration with Setter Architects and Studio Yaron Tal, the 8,000 sqm space spreads over 8 floors of the Electra Tower in central Tel Aviv, offering spectacular city views.

Each level is individually styled, but all take inspiration from the vivid local culture. Interiors are decorated with orange trees and special features such as Lego and music rooms, a fully-equipped gym, or a wonderful rooftop deck overlooking the Mediterranean that keeps employees inspired, energized, and in love with their jobs.

Photos: Itay Sikolski

Sailing Catamaran Turned Floating Coworking Space

People have different ideas of what makes a great workplace, especially freelancers who can get their job done from anywhere across the globe. However, I think everyone, not just digital nomads, will agree that working along a group of creative, like-minded individuals while sailing the open seas just can’t be beaten. Coboat, an 82 ft retrofitted sailing catamaran, combines sailing and working into one of the most amazing and stimulating coworking environments out there.

Equipped with solar panels, wind generator, and 24/7 internet connection, the mobile office provides comfortable shared accommodation, food, and flexible workspaces for 20 location-independent professionals at a time.

G Adventures’ Hip UK-Themed Office in London

Designed by Area Sq, G Adventures’ new office in London, called The Summit, is packed with lovely features and UK-themed décor.

The kitchen gives the feeling of an English garden; meeting rooms take inspiration from James Bond and the British Royalty; and private calls are made from iconic London red phone boxes.

Custom made furnishings and quirky design elements such as thrones, furry baddie cats, and UK flag carpets decorate the playful workspace, creating a friendly, visually inspiring environment where the employees of this Canada-based adventure travel agency feel connected to the company and enjoy coming to work every day.

Google Amsterdam Offices

Designed by studio D/DOCK, Google’s newly refurbished headquarters in Amsterdam pays homage to the garage where Larry Page and Sergey Brin founded the company in 1998.

Complete with meeting rooms, video booths, micro kitchens, and a 70-seat auditorium, the office is teeming with quirky design elements and amenities. The design features lots of exposed brick, cool graffiti walls, and ingenious light fixtures that resemble cardboard boxes, but it also incorporates plenty of traditionally Dutch details to give the space a cool local vibe.

Photos: Alan Jensen

Neat Office Space Accented with Messages and Marvel Comics

Neat, stylish, and full of character. That’s how I would describe the headquarters of Dekoratio Branding & Design Studio in Budapest.

Created by local designer and visual artist Kiss Miklos, the 100 square meter office provides an inspiring and enjoyable atmosphere for its employees, while reflecting the company’s ethos through the interplay of innovative design, typography, and comics.

There are playful details at every turn, from the meeting table that resembles a big Pantone Palette to the colorful comic illustrations that adorn the crisp white walls to the strategically placed letter-shaped bookshelves that display cool inspirational messages such as “Believe in BETTER” - a sign which morphs into “Believe in Beer” once the door slides across it.

A Filmmaker’s Stimulating Cinematic Laboratory

A project by Tom Kundig from Seattle-based studio Olson Kundig Architects, The Brain is a striking cinematic laboratory designed for a filmmaker. The 14,280 cubic-foot building is made of glass and cast-in-place concrete, and features interior structures crafted from hot-rolled steel sheets.

The studio, which works as both a playroom and an inspiring workspace, has a raw, industrial feel and is packed with quirky touches such as a fireman’s pole and a steel mezzanine that resembles a treehouse.

Photos: Mark Darley, Benjamin Benschneider

Blonde Robot’s Pub Inspired Office

Blonde Robot, an Australian based importer and distributor of consumer electronics, commissioned Mr. Mitchell interior designers to create the perfect office for their business. Inspired by their clients’ fondness for beer establishments with a slightly industrial feel, they managed to deliver unique, characterful interiors, infused with recycled vintage furnishings and whimsical touches.

Once a cold industrial concrete space, Blonde Robot’s brand new headquarters looks more like a cool, relaxing pub than a commercial office. In addition to 13 chic workstations, the space features a boardroom, a lounge, and a laid-back bar area (staff kitchen), complete with beer tap, beer keg, and fridge. Other notable design elements include a pair of Art Deco doors, an array of industrial style lamps and pendants, as well as a spectacular graffiti mural by Melbourne artist Ki.

Stockholm Strip Club Turned Flexible Office Facility

In search for a new studio and office facility for Studioverket, designers Toki Drobnjakovic and Per Sundberg (Per & Toki) acquired a former underground strip club and transformed it into an inspired, flexible coworking space called the Subterranean Concrete Orgy.

With the help of concrete producer Butong, they managed to create a space of “homogeneous diversity” by using a groundbreaking type of concrete sealed air bubble casting. The interiors are full of ingenuity and one-of-a-kind details such as concrete pendant lamps, a living wall where plants and herbs emerge from popped bubbles, a staircase made of hexagonal concrete leaves, and a fanciful sculpture of a girl that seems trapped in the wall, designed by movie producer Erik Liss.

Superette’s Headquarters in Takapuna

With four retail stores and an online shop, Superette is one of the top style destinations in Australasia, and their office, housed in the city’s former post office, is no less fashionable and creative. Fun wallpapers and inspiring quotes adorn the walls, while a mix of soft, luxe materials and rough details add character to the bright spaces.

Photography by Larnie Nicolson

Presslabs’ Headquarters in Timisoara

This nifty IT office is located inside an 18th-century heritage building in Timisoara, Romania and is teeming with fun, creative details.

Inspired by the staff’s hobbies, the two themed meeting spaces have been named the Snowboard Room and the Ski Room, while the Sailing Area – a space dedicated to temporary office desks – has a cool maritime motif.

Old Warehouse Converted Into Unique Collaborative Studio

Housed in a former lima bean factory in Old Town Irvine, SND CYN Studios is a collaborative workspace shared by a variety of professionals, including artists, designers, and photographers.

A brainchild of Ty Mattson from California-based design firm Mattson Creative - which also has its headquarters here, the office is an inspiring, design-forward environment where creative professionals from different fields can interact and develop their work while soaking in the great artistic vibe.

Paying tribute to the original warehouse, the design is a clever, harmonious mix of vintage industrial and modern mid-century aesthetics with lots of authentic exposed beams. Unique artwork, lima bean-producing paraphernalia, and exquisite designer pieces are everywhere, and each space is brimming with character and individuality.

Photos: Rod Foster & Chard Photography

Where the Artists of Softheads Work Their Magic

Located inside Palau Mercader, in the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona, Softheads’ office is trendy, playful, and in line with the firm’s vision of taking taxidermy to a whole new, friendly level.

Resembling hunting trophies, their imaginative, textile-based objects are handmade and locally produced. Needless to say, their new office - conceived by local designer and founder of Colapso, Susana Piquer - is as ingenious as their original creations. It comprises a workshop area decorated with unique pieces by Softheads, an office, a showroom, and a relaxing meeting space furnished with sun loungers.

Even Astra, the creative director’s dog, has its own stylish wood house in this beautifully designed multi-use facility.