2024 Office Design Award: Hommeboys Interiors

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“We wanted to create an office that was both serene to work in and was representative of our design style,” says Hommeboys Interiors cofounder Austin Carrier. “We focus on materiality in our designs, where everything is created from natural materials.”

In the dining/meeting area, a custom table and vintage Rainer Daumiller chairs sit atop a rug designed by Jake Arnold for Lulu and Georgia. Photos by Adam Potts.

Located on a four-acre property in Sonoma between lush vineyards, the 1,200-square-foot office feels more like one of their custom residential interior projects. An organic palette of lime plaster walls, wenge cabinets, limestone floors and Taj Mahal quartzite counters create a direct reflection of the abounding nature that surrounds the space. “We specialize in luxury residential homes and really wanted this to be a showroom of finishes and feel more like home than commercial,” says Carrier’s cofounder and partner Alex Mutter-Rottmayer. “Being home is where we find comfort, and we wanted that to be emulated in our workspace as well. It serves as a space to bring clients to show them different finishes and applications of materials for their own projects, so they feel more comfortable with more out-of-the-box design decisions as well as being inspired.”

The custom working station area features Eco Outdoor flooring, Eames management chairs, a pendant light from Allied Maker and a table lamp from Ceramicah. Photos by Adam Potts.

Aside from the divine materials and textures that dance throughout the space, a curved staircase is the most enthralling detail in the office. “We had a very narrow space to work with to get the staircase in and we didn’t want it to be a backdoor idea, so we decided to make it a feature,” Carrier remarks. “The whole stair was hand trawled in Venetian plaster, including the rounded railing top.”

A Noguchi light illuminates the curved stairwell, which houses a tree planted in a vintage Naga pot.
Photos by Adam Potts.

With so much focus on ensuring the office was warm and inviting, the team could not forget the main purpose—to create a high-functioning office space. “Our biggest design challenge was the desk layout,” says Mutter-Rottmayer. “The space is relatively small and we knew we needed to create space for at least three additional employees beyond ourselves. We designed over a dozen different versions and settled on a galley- style layout with desks at both sides and a long corridor between. One length is a larger desk that Austin and I share, which looks out to the olive grove, while the other side houses three desks that share a long expanse of Taj Mahal stone separated by tall upper cabinets to create individual workspaces. We love this layout because we can all turn around and collaborate on our work together to make it a very creative working space.”

Faucets in the kitchen are from Kallista and the complementary hardware is by Schaub & Company.
Photos by Adam Potts.
The kitchen walls are covered in Rustica by Portola Paints; the artwork is by Adrian Wong. Photos by Adam Potts.

From the attention to material selection to accessories, art and lighting, the Hommeboys Interiors’ studio defies what many might expect of an office. Carrier remarks, “So many design and architecture firms have black-and-white workspaces that feel more corporate, and we really wanted this space to feel unique and true to us.”