Contemporary home office design ideas

Contemporary home office design keeps the desk light and the lines straight: natural oak, matt black metal, one soft chair and a single calm rug. Domusia furnished the six real rooms below, from an attic under a skylight to a carpeted office with a city view.

Redesign your home office in Contemporary
Contemporary home office with an oak desk facing a city window, a black metal shelf, a boucle armchair and a pale wool rugOriginal photoBeforeAfter
Contemporary home office with a slim oak desk, black and oak shelving, a navy cushioned armchair and a sage rug
Contemporary home office by a glass wall with an oak desk, a cream armchair, an oak and black metal shelf and a light rug
Contemporary home office with an oak desk, a black office chair, a cream armchair, a floor lamp and a pale rug over a dark carpet
Attic home office with an oak desk under the skylight, a black chair, a cream boucle armchair and a stone side table
Contemporary home office with an oak desk, a white office chair, a mustard armchair, a tall plant and a pale rug

Rendered with Domusia

What makes a home office contemporary

  • A slim desk in natural oak, sometimes on a black metal frame, set against a wall or under the window.
  • Open shelving in oak and black metal, kept half empty with books, a plant and a framed print.
  • A desk chair in black or white, light enough to move with one hand.
  • A comfortable armchair in cream boucle or a neutral weave for reading, with a small stone-look side table.
  • A plain wool rug in one soft tone, pale grey, sage or cream, under the desk or the armchair.
  • Slim floor and desk lamps with plain shades, and one or two abstract prints above the desk.

Colour palette

  • Natural oak
  • Matt black
  • Boucle cream
  • Sage
  • Stone grey

Get the look

  1. Replace a heavy desk with a slim oak one and keep only a lamp and a laptop on it.
  2. Add a cream armchair and a small side table, so the office has somewhere to read away from the screen.
  3. Choose one plain rug in a single soft colour and one open shelf in oak and black metal.

Questions

What makes a home office contemporary rather than minimal?

Comfort. A contemporary office keeps clean lines but adds a soft armchair, a rug and a few prints, so it does not feel empty.

Does contemporary office design work in a carpeted room?

Yes. Three of these offices have carpet, two of them dark. A pale rug laid over them gives the desk and chair a lighter base.

Where should the desk go in a contemporary home office?

In most rooms here the desk faces a wall or sits side-on to the window, which keeps glare off the screen and leaves the view open from the armchair.

Contemporary in other rooms

Other styles for your home office

For a whole house

Redesign your home office in Contemporary