Can an office feel like home? The office of ATHOME, a home lifestyle solution company, was designed around the concept of "a home away from home." SPACEBASE planned ATHOME's office as a workplace that nonetheless feels as comfortable and reassuring as home. At the same time, the SPACEBASE team built out a space optimized so that work would never feel inconvenient.

ATHOME's office resembles the brand itself. Just as ATHOME's founding philosophy starts from its identity as "Home" and goes on to discover and resolve everyday inconveniences, the office, too, was designed as a process of resolving the inconveniences employees might encounter in a workspace, all grounded in that home-like identity. The SPACEBASE team set out to understand the brand mission, the way ATHOME works and its culture, and the distinctive qualities of its products and solutions, and to capture them in the space. In this sense, office interior design becomes a process of translating the language of a brand into the language of space.

Realizing a Brand's Identity as Space

The concept image for ATHOME proposed by the SPACEBASE team

Mood boards by space

The SPACEBASE team's space design begins with understanding a brand from many angles. To build a visual concept, the team first conducted research on the company itself, including ATHOME's products, target audience, and founding philosophy. By gathering the products together to read their mood, and by drawing on the company's mission and direction, the team was able to derive the core values. The branding concept the SPACEBASE team first proposed was expressed in the phrase "a home away from home." Centered on the idea of "experiencing a space as stable and cozy as home, even at work," the team sought to create an office that conveyed ATHOME's branding. In keeping with this concept, the mood boards for each space were likewise organized and proposed as clean, warm, achromatic images.

ATHOME office ISO

A floor plan marking the circulation by zone in the ATHOME office

In the floor plan design as well, the team made ATHOME's way of working and its requests the top priority. After comprehensively collecting the RFP details on the functions and structures that were genuinely needed, such as work, meeting, and collaboration spaces, the team designed the circulation. In particular, because the space was split across two floors, it was important to ensure that there was no inconvenience in how employees' work connected. Anyone had to be able to grasp exactly where each zone was located and move organically from one space to another. Above all, a place was needed to efficiently store the belongings that had obstructed such connections in the previous office. To this end, the SPACEBASE team devised the optimal storage circulation and storage system through a series of simulations using the floor plan. As this shows, the SPACEBASE team's design proposal process holds within it multifaceted research and careful thought about the company and the brand.

Point 1. An Office Built Together Through Dialogue with the Client

The SPACEBASE team listened closely to the inconveniences ATHOME had felt while using its office, optimized the circulation, and carried out the design with functional layout in mind. The team worked to resolve the prominent storage problem together with the work circulation, and aimed to create an environment where employees could focus on their work as much as possible. By clearly separating the work spaces from the collaboration spaces and arranging seating to minimize noise and visual distraction, the team gradually refined the design into a structure where "immersion" in work and "rest" could coexist naturally.

The first design proposal, presented in warm wood tones

The fifth design proposal, stripping away elements to reveal a restrained modernity

Throughout the interior design process as well, the team listened to ATHOME's input and revised the design through close, ongoing discussion. While aiming for a space as warm and cozy as home, the team also went through a process of stripping the design away step by step to achieve a more restrained, modern atmosphere. Through repeated rounds of discussion, the elements ATHOME pursues, "restraint, precision, and edge," were actively expressed in the space as well. As a result, an office grounded in a structured, restrained mood yet imbued with a warm sensibility was completed, and the essence the brand pursues could be revealed more clearly.

Point 2. A Storage Solution Optimized for the Flow of Work

ATHOME is a company that handles a wide range of living products such as appliances, health foods, bedding, and cosmetics for single-person households, and moving and storing products happened frequently. For this reason, a systematic storage solution was the top-priority function ATHOME's office required. Product mockups and photography samples had to be stored by team, the storage rooms had to be spacious enough to hold even bulky appliances, and organic circulation toward those rooms along with an efficient storage method were needed as well. Beyond merely storing items, it was also important to test products while sharing ideas at the same time.

Parcel storage and storage simulation

A separate parcel locker is placed in the elevator hall, making loading and movement convenient.

So simply making the storage rooms larger could not solve the storage problem on its own. The team had to create a structure where product storage and communication connected naturally within the flow of work. The SPACEBASE team provided detailed storage solutions tailored to the way ATHOME's members actually work. For instance, a packaging zone (parcel locker) was set up separately near the entrance and storage room so that products could be received and shipped efficiently, and the level differences at the base of the storage furniture were eliminated to make storing and moving items easy. A dedicated archive space specialized for product storage was arranged, and a large work table along with a writable board were placed so that simple meetings and idea sharing could take place. By checking the layout of each functional space against the work circulation, the team planned for the storage circulation to connect organically. A systematic, detailed storage solution like this removes inconveniences within the office and efficiently supports the flow of work.

Point 3. A Lounge Where People Gather and Connect in Many Ways

The town hall lounge proposal image

The completed town hall lounge

Divided across the 6th and 7th floors, ATHOME's office is connected through the lounge at its center. It plays the role of a "plaza" that naturally connects every employee and sparks the most active communication within the organization. Here, quick meetings between departments or within teams take place, as do all-hands meetings that can host up to 150 people. Taking these functional characteristics into account, it was designed as a space for "collaboration," clearly separated from the everyday work spaces.

Beyond this, the lounge serves a variety of functions. It is used as a reception room to welcome outside guests, and with an interview room for hiring located right next to it, it is also the first place candidates encounter. In that sense, it is a symbolic place where ATHOME's brand philosophy can be felt most intuitively. The SPACEBASE team designed a circulation sequence running from the entrance through the showroom to the lounge, so as to maximize this spatial experience. In particular, translucent glass blocks were used for the window facing the entrance, allowing warm sunlight to seep softly deep into the space. Thanks to this, visitors can feel an even more welcoming atmosphere.

Point 4. A Restrained Mood and Finely Crafted Detail

The cafeteria proposal image

The completed cafeteria

ATHOME's office stands out for its restrained mood and finely crafted detail. Rather than ornate finishes, it draws on the inherent textures of natural materials, such as brick tile, wood, and clay plaster, giving it a comfortable sensibility. Through these elements, the SPACEBASE team sought to create a space that grows deeper over time. Instead of filling it completely, the team intentionally left negative space, imagining a form that would gradually be filled in by the user's own touch. While decorative elements were pared away, the structural forms and mass design of the space achieved a sense of depth that is anything but monotonous.

Signage design provided by ATHOME

The detail that shines the more closely you look ties in with ATHOME's product solution, the idea that "a small difference that seems trivial leaves a deeper impression." That philosophy was woven into the office design as well, and you can find even the small, inconspicuous elements resolved with precision. In the door details too, care was given to the slim casing and reveal lines, and the overall lines were kept tidy to create a simple yet polished design. In this way, "the edge that comes from a subtle difference" is a keyword that runs through both ATHOME's branding and its office design.

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The SPACEBASE team's office interior design is a process of listening closely to the client's voice. We resolve, through space, the different problems each company faces in its office, and help people work in comfort. ATHOME's office was completed through a process of resolving the inconveniences of storage and circulation and designing so that the newly pursued branding would be woven in. By following the client's voice through a process of revealing a brand's essence more precisely, the company's distinctive strengths are naturally reflected in ATHOME's office.

*Photography and design provided by the SPACEBASE team