Hong Kong-based interior design firm Lim + LU founders Elaine Lu and Vince Lim received a dream assignment from their friends: to design an office space that would accommodate three generations working together in a home-like environment. The client wanted a functional office yet wished to avoid the cold and boring office vibe.

The 300 square-metre (3,229 sq.ft) space exudes elegant simplicity. The designers achieved a sense of relaxed harmony through the use of an extremely limited colour palette and by emphasizing the detailing of each piece.

The entire space and all of its components are in pastel cream and sand hues with only selected lighting, door frames and handles, office chairs and small details in black giving the space structure.
The materials, from wood slats and marble to rattan and gently textured upholstery, emphasize the residential atmosphere while managing to avoid anything that seems too domestic or prim.

A large custom-created Viola Marble boardroom table is surrounded by wood-frame upholstered bar stools. The same dramatic marble adorns the backsplashes in the kitchen and cabinet tops in the office.

Mid-century modernist furniture adds to the timelessness as do the rattan cabinetry and wooden slats. Sliding glass partitions are used to enlarge and decrease the spaces based on the family?s needs.

We particularly like the sense of welcoming calm, created by how the narrow entry corridor flanked by wooden slats opens up to the small seating group i...